The Estrada vs. Escritor case: Did the Supreme Court legitimize live-in relationships?

Two weeks ago, various newspapers reported the Supreme Court’s 9-5 decision in the Estrada vs. Escritor case, a landmark decision involving the Constitutional freedom of religion. The Court (even in its in interim resolution last August 2003) ruled that Escritor, a court interpreter at the Las Pińas Regional Trial Court Branch 253, could not be dismissed from the government service for “disgraceful and immoral conduct” on the basis of a valid exercise of her freedom of religion.

Admittedly, Escritor was living in with Luciano Quilapio Jr (also married to another person) without the benefit of marriage. But her church (the Jehovah’s Witnesses) had recognized her relationship and allowed them to have marital relations, since her legal husband had abandoned her. In a JW church document known as “Declaration of Pledging Faithfulness” entered into by Escritor and Quilapio, they bound themselves to have their union legally recognized should the opportunity arise.

Moreover, as investigation by the Office of the Court Administrator showed, such a practice of the JW had extensive theological underpinnings and was a long time, widely held practice. It was not simply a device or scheme that Escritor resorted to in order to evade administrative liability.

The JW, in the defense of its doctrines and practices, has had a long history of butting heads with the State. In 1956, for example, the Supreme Court ruled against the JW in the Gerona case, where JW members enrolled in public schools were not granted exemption from attending flag ceremonies and singing the national anthem. Yet the JW persisted in challenging this ruling. Finally, after 39 long years, in 1995, the Supreme Court in the case of Ebralinag vs. Division Superintendent of Cebu, recognized the right of the JW members not to participate in the flag ceremonies and in the singing of the national anthem.

Please also take note that being a Baptist, I do not subscribe to the JW teachings and practices; I hope only to clarify what the Supreme Court’s ruling is in the Escritor case.

Flawed understanding of the Escritor ruling in media reports

The problem is, some newspaper reporters and editors have misunderstood the SC ruling. For example, one headline in a business newspaper stated, “SC ruling favors live-in setup if church-blessed.” The lead went on to say, “The Supreme Court virtually gave its blessing to living-in couples when it issued a landmark decision declaring that they cannot be punished for having such an arrangement if it does not clash with their religious beliefs.”

"Repercussions" of the Supreme Court ruling

Some people I have talked to (and who have read the skewed news reports) are disgusted with the SC ruling, saying that it’s another assault on the institution of marriage, encouraging people to simply live in without the benefit of marriage, in the name of religious freedom. (In a previous post, I mentioned a DSWD finding that 40% of couples in the CALABARZON area are merely living in.) They say that now, various religious groups will come up with doctrines, documents and practices similar to the JW’s “Declaration of Pledging Faithfulness” in order to accommodate their own members. One pastor (from the Visayas region) I talked to last year, mentioned the difficulty of one couple in his church. They are new converts, living in together as husband and wife, but could not have their previous marriages annulled because of the prohibitive legal expenses. The pastor mentioned that he has been thinking of just conducting an “ecclesiastical marriage” so that this couple and the church could say that in the eyes of God, they are husband and wife, even though legally, they are married to other persons.

Justice Consuelo Ynares-Santiago, who voted against the majority ruling, states in her dissenting opinion (see below) the possible repercussion that each church or religion could become a republic unto itself.

Setting the record straight on the Escritor ruling

The legal expert on GMA-7’s early morning show “Unang Hirit” about a week ago has explained quite clearly what this SC decision is all about. (My congratulations to her for such a clear explanation despite the very limited time allotted to her. I was riding on a G-Liner bus equipped with a TV set, on my way from Pasig/Ortigas to the NLRC in Quezon City when her portion came on. Atty. Roldan, I think her name is, used to do the late night news for RPN-9, if I'm not mistaken.) She clarified that:

1. As a general rule, people in live-in relationships and whose marriages to other parties have not been annulled or declared null and void, can and will be held criminally liable for adultery, concubinage, marital infidelity, etc. under the Revised Penal Code and other special laws like RA 9262.

2. If these people in live-in relationships are in the government service, then they can be charged administratively under the Administrative Code of 1987.

3. The Escritor doctrine established not a general rule but an exception to the general rule on the basis of a valid exercise of the Constitutional freedom of religion. As the Supreme Court clarified, “It does not mean that the Court would grant exemptions everytime a free exercise of religion comes before it.”

Restricted application of the Supreme Court’s ruling

As the Supreme Court in the dispositive (concluding) portion of its June 2006 decision stated,

Thus, we find that in this particular case and under these distinct circumstances, respondent Escritor’s conjugal arrangement cannot be penalized as she has made out a case for exemption from the law based on her fundamental right to freedom of religion. The Court recognizes that state interests must be upheld in order that freedoms - including religious freedom - may be enjoyed. In the area of religious exercise as a preferred freedom, however, man stands accountable to an authority higher than the state, and so the state interest sought to be upheld must be so compelling that its violation will erode the very fabric of the state that will also protect the freedom. In the absence of a showing that such state interest exists, man must be allowed to subscribe to the Infinite. (emphasis by boldfacing supplied)

A word of caution to other live-in couples and to other religions

Thus, any pastor, church or members of a religious sect who might draw some unfounded conclusions and consequently act according to the way some media outlets have reported the Escritor case, should be forewarned. Any pastor who obtains a license from the State to solemnize marriages is bound by the laws of the Philippines. If he solemnizes a marriage without observing the legal requirements, he could be charged criminally with violation of the Revised Penal Code in performing an illegal marriage. If he claims freedom of religion and the Escritor ruling as his defense, he’d better make sure that his case has similar antecedents (background) as that of the Escritor case. As lawyers are fond of saying, his case must be “on all fours” with the Escritor case.

I strongly recommend that pastors, Bible students and church members read the complete text of the Supreme Court’s interim decision in August 2003 and its final decision released this June 2006. The decision is a difficult read even for law students but the time and effort are well worth it.

But from my own perspective, and without going into the merits or the intricacies of the Escritor ruling, I would always be in favor of the “least interference” or “no excessive entanglement with religion” by the State. This is the so-called “Lemon Test” in American jurisprudence. In the Escritor case, the Supreme Court used the “compelling state interest” test from a benevolent neutrality stance. That is, the Court entertained the possibility that Escritor’s claim to religious freedom could warrant carving out an exception to the Civil Service law, unless the government succeed in demonstrating a more compelling state interest.

The “compelling state interest test from a benevolent neutrality stance”

In its 2003 interim decision, the Supreme Court explained how the “compelling state interest test from a benevolent neutrality stance” was to be applied:

In applying the test, the first inquiry is whether respondent’s right to religious freedom has been burdened. There is no doubt that choosing between keeping her employment and abandoning her religious belief and practice and family on the one hand, and giving up her employment and keeping her religious practice and family on the other hand, puts a burden on her free exercise of religion. xxx

The second step is to ascertain respondent’s sincerity in her religious belief. Respondent appears to be sincere in her religious belief and practice and is not merely using the “Declaration of Pledging Faithfulness” to avoid punishment for immorality. She did not secure the Declaration only after entering the judiciary where the moral standards are strict and defined, much less only after an administrative case for immorality was filed against her. The Declaration was issued to her by her congregation after ten years of living together with her partner, Quilapio, and ten years before she entered the judiciary. Ministers from her congregation testified on the authenticity of the Jehovah’s Witnesses’ practice of securing a Declaration and their doctrinal or scriptural basis for such a practice. As the ministers testified, the Declaration is not whimsically issued to avoid legal punishment for illicit conduct but to make the “union” of their members under respondent’s circumstances “honorable before God and men.” xxx Respondent’s request for exemption from the flag ceremony shows her sincerity in practicing the Jehovah’s Witnesses’ beliefs and not using them merely to escape punishment. She is a practicing member of the Jehovah’s Witnesses and the Jehovah ministers testified that she is a member in good standing.

In its 2003 decision, the Supreme Court remanded the case to the Office of the Court Administrator. The Solicitor General was ordered to intervene in the case and be given the opportunity (a) to examine the sincerity and centrality of Escritor’s claimed religious belief and practice; (b) to present evidence on the state’s “compelling interest” to override Escritor’s religious belief and practice; and (c) to show that the means the state adopts in pursuing its interest is the least restrictive to Escritor’s religious freedom.

Well, as things turned out from 2003, the OSG failed to prove, in the minds of the nine justices who voted in favor of the Escritor ruling, any compelling interest of the State that could have overridden Escritor’s exercise of her religion.

Dissenting opinions in the Escritor case; Muslims’ exemption from prosecution for bigamy

Supreme Court Justice Antonio Carpio, voting against the majority in the Escritor case, explained in his dissenting opinion that:

“The majority opinion will make every religion a separate republic, making religion a haven for criminal conduct that otherwise would be punishable under the law of the land. Today concubinage, tomorrow bigamy, will enjoy protection from criminal sanction under the new doctrine foisted by the majority opinion.”

Associate Justice Consuelo Ynares-Santiago, in her separate dissenting opinion, stated that Escritor should have been declared guilty of immorality and disgraceful conduct and subsequently suspended for six months without pay. Justice Santiago stated in her opinion,

“The Court cannot be the instrument by which one group of people is exempted from the effects of these laws just because they belong to a particular religion. Moreover, it is the sworn mandate of the Court to supervise the conduct of an employee of the judiciary, and it must do so with an even hand regardless of her religious affiliation.”

I have read the 2003 interim decision of the Supreme Court in the Escritor case and there it was mentioned that under Art. 180 of P.D. No. 1083, otherwise known as the Code of Muslim Personal Laws of the Philippines, Muslims have been expressly exempted from the operation of bigamy laws of the Philippines. This provision of law has never been challenged in terms of violation of the “establishment of religion clause” of the 1987 Constitution. In the light of the Escritor ruling however, if and when such a case is brought before the Supreme Court, my guess is that the said provision of law will be declared as constitutional.

Unless, in view of the vigorous dissent by the five justices who voted against the Escritor ruling (namely, Justices Carpio, Consuelo Ynares- Santiago, Romeo Callejo, Conchita Carpio Morales and Chief Justice Artemio Panganiban), the Ecritor ruling could later on be overturned. Is this possible? Well, from the introductory portion of the interim 2003 decision as quoted below, from Justice Puno’s ponencia, the issue of freedom of religion has had a long and convoluted history. Anything is possible.

Anyway, here’s the introductory part of Justice Puno’s compellingly-written ponencia in the 2003 interim decision in the Escritor case:

"The case at bar takes us to a most difficult area of constitutional law where man stands accountable to an authority higher than the state. To be held on balance are the state’s interest and the respondent’s religious freedom. In this highly sensitive area of law, the task of balancing between authority and liberty is most delicate because to the person invoking religious freedom, the consequences of the case are not only temporal. The task is not made easier by the American origin of our religion clauses and the wealth of U.S. jurisprudence on these clauses for in the United States, there is probably no more intensely controverted area of constitutional interpretation than the religion clauses. The U.S. Supreme Court itself has acknowledged that in this constitutional area, there is “considerable internal inconsistency in the opinions of the Court.” As stated by a professor of law, “(i)t is by now notorious that legal doctrines and judicial decisions in the area of religious freedom are in serious disarray. In perhaps no other area of constitutional law have confusion and inconsistency achieved such undisputed sovereignty.” Nevertheless, this thicket is the only path to take to conquer the mountain of a legal problem the case at bar presents. Both the penetrating and panoramic view this climb would provide will largely chart the course of religious freedom in Philippine jurisdiction. That the religious freedom question arose in an administrative case involving only one person does not alter the paramount importance of the question for the “constitution commands the positive protection by government of religious freedom - not only for a minority, however small - not only for a majority, however large - but for each of us.”

Liberty and authority; freedom and responsibility; law and grace … this reminds me of that famous chapter (“The Grand Inquisitor”) in Fyodor Dostoyevski’s novel “The Brothers Karamazov.” But that’s for another post …

Again, I strongly recommend that pastors, Bible students and church members read the complete text of the Supreme Court’s interim decision in August 2003 and its final June 2006 decision.

Hope and help for the battered woman (5): Biblical response to abuse; evangelical Christians are best husbands – University of Virginia study

How should individual Christians, pastors and churches respond to the issue of spousal abuse? For the answers to this vital question, please surf over to my Salt and Light blog.

I have also written several other articles about spousal abuse, domestic violence, etc. Please take time to read the following:

• Hope and help for the battered woman (2): RA 9262 essential provisions
• Hope and help for the battered woman (3): RA 9262 Protection Orders
• Hope and help for the battered woman (4): Emotional abuse / psychological violence
• The "Battered Woman Syndrome" as defense
• Mediation not applicable to domestic violence cases

Hope and help for the battered woman (4): Emotional abuse/psychological violence

RA 9262 penalizes psychological violence as defined in Section 3 thereof. For a discussion of what psychological violence or emotional abuse is all about, please surf over to my Salt and Light blog.


Note: I have also written several other articles about spousal abuse, domestic violence, etc. Please take time to read the following:

• Hope and help for the battered woman (2): RA 9262 essential provisions
• Hope and help for the battered woman (3): RA 9262 Protection Orders
• Hope and help for the battered woman (5): Biblical response to abuse; evangelical Christians are best husbands – University of Virginia study
• The “Battered Woman Syndrome” as defense
• Mediation not applicable to domestic violence cases

Hope and help for the battered woman (3): Protection Orders under RA 9262 "Anti-Violence Against Women and their Children Act of 2004"

Related posts: Hope and help for the battered woman (2): ntial provisions of RA 9262 Hope and help for the battered woman (4): Emotional abuse or psychological violence Hope and help for the battered woman (5): Biblical response to abuse; evangelical Christians are best husbands – University of Virginia study The “Battered Woman Syndrome” as defense Mediation not applicable to domestic violence cases Update: Supreme Court upholds Constitutionality of protection orders under  RA 9262 (Garcia vs. Drilon, G.R. No. 179267, June 25, 2013) The grant of a TPO (Temporary Protection Order) without a hearing does not violate the Constitutional right to due process. RA 9262 does not unduly delegate judicial power to barangay officials. The BPO (Barangay Protection Order) is purely executive in nature in keeping with the barangay captain’s duty under the Local Government Code to “enforce all laws and ordinances,” and to “maintain public order in the barangay.”

The provisions of RA 9262 on protection orders are discussed below in question and answer format.

What is a protection order?

Section 8 of RA 9262 defines “protection order” as an order issued for the purpose of preventing further acts of violence against a woman or her children specified in Section 5 and granting other necessary relief.

The provisions of the protection orders must be enforced by law enforcement agencies.

What are the different kinds of protection orders under RA 9262?

The three kinds of protection orders under RA 9262 are:

BPO (Barangay Protection Order);

TPO (Temporary Protection Order) issued by the court; and

PPO (Permanent Protection Order) issued by the court.

What court has jurisdiction over RA 9262 cases?

The Regional Trial Court designated as a Family Court has original and exclusive jurisdiction over cases of violence against women and their children.

In the absence of a Family Court in the place where the offense was committed, the case can be filed in the Regional Trial Court where the crime or any of its elements was committed, at the option of the complainant.

What are the purposes of a protection order?

The reliefs granted under a protection order are for:

1. safeguarding the victim from further harm,

2. minimizing any disruption in the victim’s daily life, and

3. providing the opportunity and ability of the victim to independently regain control over her life.

What are the reliefs or remedies under a protection order?

The protection orders that may be issued under Section 8 of RA 9262 include any, some, or all of the following reliefs:

[a] Prohibition of the respondent from threatening to commit or committing, personally or through another, any of the acts mentioned in Section 5 of this Act;

[b] Prohibition of the respondent from harassing, annoying, telephoning, contacting or otherwise communicating with the petitioner, directly or indirectly;

[c] Removal and exclusion of the respondent from the residence of the petitioner, regardless of ownership of the residence, either temporarily for the purpose or protecting the petitioner, or permanently where no property rights are violated, and if respondents must remove personal effects from the residence, the court shall direct a law enforcement agent to accompany the respondent has gathered his things and escort respondent from the residence;

[d] Directing the respondent to stay away from petitioner and designated family or household member at a distance specified by the court, and to stay away from the residence, school, place of employment, or any specified place frequented by the petitioner and any designated family or household member;

[e] Directing lawful possession and use by petitioner of an automobile and other essential personal effects, regardless of ownership, and directing the appropriate law enforcement officer to accompany the petitioner to the residence of the parties to ensure that the petitioner is safely restored to the possession of the automobile and other essential personal effects, or to supervise the petitioner’s or respondent’s removal of personal belongings;

[f] Granting temporary or permanent custody of a child or children to the petitioner;

[g] Directing the respondent to provide support to the woman or her child if entitled to legal support. Notwithstanding other laws to the contrary, the court shall order an appropriate percentage of the income or salary of the respondent to be withheld regularly by the respondent’s employer for the same to be automatically remitted directly to the woman.

Failure to remit or withhold or any delay in the remittance of support to the woman or her children without justifiable cause will render the respondent or his employer liable for indirect contempt of court;

[h] Prohibition of the respondent from any use or possession of any firearm or deadly weapon and order him to surrender the same to the court for appropriate disposition by the court, including revocation of license and disqualification to apply fore any license to use or possess a firearm. If the offender is a law enforcement agent, the court shall order the offender to surrender his firearm and shall direct the appropriate authority to investigate on the offender and take appropriate action on the matter;

[i] Restitution for actual damages caused by the violence inflicted, including but not limited to, property damage, medical expenses, childcare expenses and loss of income;

[j] Directing the DSWD or any appropriate agency to provide what the petitioner may need; and

k] Provision of such other forms of relief as the court deems necessary to protect and provide for the safety of the petitioner and any designated family or household member, provided petitioner and any designated family or household member consents to such relief.

Any of the reliefs provided above shall be granted even in the absence of a decree of legal separation or annulment or declaration of absolute nullity of marriage.

Is it only the woman-victim or her children who can ask for the issuance of a protection order?

No. Violence against women or their children is considered as a public offense under Section 25 of RA 9262. Section 9 of RA 9262 enumerates the persons, besides the woman or her children, who can file the petition for a protection order. These persons are:

• parents or guardians of the offended party;
• ascendants, descendants or collateral relatives within the fourth civil degree of consanguinity or affinity;
• officers or social workers of the DSWD or social workers of local government units (LGUs);
• police officers, preferably those in charge of women and children’s desks;
• Punong Barangay or Barangay Kagawad;
• lawyer, counselor, therapist or healthcare provider of the petitioner; or
• at least two concerned responsible citizens of the city or municipality where the violence against women and their children took place and who have personal knowledge of the offense committed.

What are the procedures in applying for a protection order?

Section 11 of RA 9262 provides the steps in applying for a protection order:

The application for a protection order must be in writing, signed and verified under oath by the applicant.

It may be filed as an independent action or as incidental relief in any civil or criminal case the subject matter or issues thereof partakes of violence as described in this Act.

A standard protection order application form, written in English with translation to the major local languages, is available to facilitate applications for protection order, and contains, among others, the following information:

[1] names and addresses of the petitioner and respondent

[2] description of relationships between petitioner and respondent;

[3] a statement of the circumstances of the abuse;description of the reliefs requested by petitioner as specified in Section 8 herein;

[4] request for counsel and reasons for such;

[5] request for waiver of application fees until hearing; and

[6] an attestation that there is no pending application for a protection order in another court.

If the applicant is not the victim, the application must be accompanied by an affidavit of the applicant certifying to (a) the circumstances of the abuse suffered by the victim and (b) the circumstances of consent given by the victim for the filing of the application. When disclosure of the address of the victim will pose danger to her life, it must be so stated in the application. In such a case, the applicant shall attest that the victim is residing in the municipality or city over which the court has territorial jurisdiction, and must provide a mailing address for purpose of service processing.

An application for protection order filed with a court is an application for both a TPO and PPO.

Barangay officials and court personnel must assist applicants in the preparation of the application. Law enforcement agents must also extend assistance in the application for protection orders in cases brought to their attention.

Does the TPO or PPO have valid effect only within the jurisdiction of the court that issued the order?

Section 12 of RA 9262 provides: “All TPOs and PPOs issued under this Act shall be enforceable anywhere in the Philippines and a violation thereof shall be punishable with a fine ranging from Five Thousand pesos (P5,000.00) to Fifty Thousand Pesos (P50,000.00) and/or imprisonment of six (6) months.”

What are the procedures in the issuance of a Barangay Protection Order?

Section 14 of RA 9262 provides for the following procedures:

A Punong Barangay who receives applications for a BPO must issue the protection order to the applicant on the date of filing after ex parte determination of the basis of the application.

[1] If the Punong Barangay is unavailable to act on the application for a BPO, the application must be acted upon by any available Barangay Kagawad.

[2] If the BPO is issued by a Barangay Kagawad, the order must be accompanied by an attestation by the Barangay Kagawad that the Punong Barangay was unavailable at the time of the issuance of a BPO.

[3] BPOs are effective for fifteen days.

[4] Immediately after the issuance of an ex parte BPO, the Punong Barangay or Barangay Kagawad must personally serve a copy of the same on the respondent, or direct any barangay official to effect its personal service.

[5] The parties may be accompanied by a non-lawyer advocate in any proceeding before the Punong Barangay.

The BPO is limited only to the following reliefs or remedies:

[a] Prohibition of the respondent from threatening to commit or committing, personally or through another, any of the acts mentioned in Section 5 of this Act;

[b] Prohibition of the respondent from harassing, annoying, telephoning, contacting or otherwise communicating with the petitioner, directly or indirectly.

If the barangay issued a BPO, will this prevent the woman-victim or her children from going to court and asking for a TPO or a PPO?

The issuance of a Barangay Protection Order or the pendency of an application for BPO does not prevent a petitioner from applying for, or the court from granting a TPO or PPO.

What is a Temporary Protection Order (TPO)?

Section 15 of RA 9262 defines a TPO as the protection order issued by the court on the date of filing of the application after ex parte determination that such order should be issued.

Ex parte determination means that the offender does not need to be notified of the hearing or to be present during the hearing for the issuance of a TPO.

What can the court provide for in a TPO?

A court may grant in a TPO any, some or all of all the reliefs mentioned in Section 8 of RA 9262. The TPO is effective for thirty days. The court must schedule a hearing on the issuance of a PPO on or before the date of the expiration of the TPO.

The court must order the immediate personal service of the TPO on the respondent by the court sheriff who may obtain the assistance of law enforcement agents for the service. The TPO must include notice of the date of the hearing on the merits of the issuance of a PPO.

What is a Permanent Protection Order (PPO)?

Section 16 of RA 9262 defines “Permanent Protection Order” (PPO) as the protection order issued by the court after notice and hearing.

While a TPO may be decided ex parte, notice to the alleged offender and due hearing are necessary for the issuance of a PPO.

What if the offender refuses or fails to appear during the hearing for the issuance of a PPO?

The alleged offender cannot frustrate justice by refusing or failing to appear during the hearing. RA 9262 provides for the following:

[1] Respondent’s non-appearance despite proper notice, or his lack of a lawyer, or the non-availability of his lawyer shall not be a ground for rescheduling or postponing the hearing on the merits of the issuance of a PPO.

[2] If the respondent appears without counsel on the date of the hearing on the PPO, the court shall appoint a lawyer for the respondent and immediately proceed with the hearing.

[3] In case the respondent fails to appear despite proper notice, the court shall allow ex parte presentation of the evidence by the applicant and render judgment on the basis of the evidence presented.

What are the procedures to be followed by the court in the hearing for the issuance of a PPO?

RA 9262 provides for the following procedures:

[1] The court shall allow the introduction of any history of abusive conduct of a respondent even if the same was not directed against the applicant or the person for whom the application is made.

[2] The court shall, to the extent possible, conduct the hearing on the merits of the issuance of a PPO in one day.

[3] Where the court is unable to conduct the hearing within one day and the TPO issued is due to expire, the court must continuously extend or renew the TPO for a period of thirty days at each particular time until a final judgment is issued. The extended or renewed TPO may be modified by the court as may be necessary or applicable to address the needs of the applicant.

[4] The court may grant any, some or all of the reliefs specified in Section 8 hereof in a PPO. A PPO is effective until revoked by a court upon application of the person in whose favor the order was issued.

[5] The court must ensure immediate personal service of the PPO on respondent.

[6] The court must not deny the issuance of protection order on the basis of the lapse of time between the act of violence and the filing of the application.

[7] Regardless of the conviction or acquittal of the respondent, the Court must determine whether or not the PPO should become final. Even in a dismissal, a PPO must be granted as long as there is no clear showing that the act from which the order might arise did not exist.

What should the copy of the protection order contain?

Section 17 of RA 9262 provides that the following statement must be printed in boldfaced type or in capital letters on the protection order issued by the Punong Barangay or Court: “VIOLATION OF THIS ORDER IS PUNISHABLE BY LAW”

What will happen if the barangay or the court fails to observe the periods mentioned in RA 9262?

Section 18 provides that failure to act on an application for a protection order within the prescribed period without justifiable cause will render the official or judge administratively liable.

What if the barangay council or the judges are busy with other matters?

Section 20 provides that application for a protection order must have priority:

[1] Barangay officials and the courts must schedule and conduct hearings on applications for a protection order under this Act above all other business and, if necessary, suspend other proceedings in order to hear applications for a protection order.

[2] Ex parte and adversarial hearings to determine the basis of applications for a protection order under RA 9262 must have priority over all other proceedings.

What if the barangay issued a BPO but the woman’s intimate partner violates it by inflicting harm or threatening the woman and/or her child?

Under Section 21, violation of a BPO is punishable by imprisonment of thirty days without prejudice to any other criminal or civil action that the offended party may file for any of the acts committed.

[1] A complaint for a violation of a BPO issued under this Act must be filed directly with any municipal trial court, metropolitan trial court, or municipal circuit trial court that has territorial jurisdiction over the barangay that issued the BPO.

[2] A judgment of violation of a BPO may be appealed according to the Rules of Court. During trial and upon judgment, the trial court may on its own issue a protection order as it deems necessary without need of an application.

What are the consequences if a TPO or a PPO is violated?

Violation of any provision of a TPO or a PPO issued under this Act constitutes contempt of court punishable under Rule 71 of the Rules of Court, without prejudice to any other criminal or civil action that the offended party may file for any of the acts committed.

What consequences, if any, are there if barangay or police officials refuse to act on a complaint filed by an abused woman or her children?

Any barangay official or law enforcer who fails to report the incident is liable for a fine not exceeding ten thousand pesos or whenever applicable criminal, civil or administrative liability.

Are complaints for violations of RA 9262 covered by the barangay justice system, or by mediation and conciliation?

No. Section 33 provides that the following are prohibited acts:

[1] A Punong Barangay, Barangay Kagawad or the court hearing an application for a protection order must not order, direct, force or in any way unduly influence the applicant for a protection order to compromise or abandon any of the reliefs sought in the application for protection under RA 9262.

[2] Section 7 of the Family Courts Act of 1997 and Sections 410, 411, 412 and 413 of the Local Government Code of 1991 do not apply in proceedings where relief is sought under RA 9262.

[3] Failure to comply with this Section will render the official or judge administratively liable.

Hope and help for the battered woman (2): Essential provisions of RA 9262 "Anti-Violence Against Women and their Children Act of 2004"

Related posts: Hope and help for the battered woman (3): RA 9262 Protection Orders Hope and help for the battered woman (4): Emotional abuse or psychological violence Hope and help for the battered woman (5): Biblical response to abuse; evangelical Christians are best husbands – University of Virginia study The "Battered Woman Syndrome" as defense Mediation not applicable to domestic violence cases Update: Supreme Court upholds Constitutionality of RA 9262 (Garcia vs. Drilon, G.R. No. 179267, June 25, 2013) R.A. 9262 does not violate the guaranty of equal protection of the laws. It is not an “anti-male,” “husband-bashing,” and “hate-men” law. R.A. 9262 covers lesbian relationships. The grant of a TPO (Temporary Protection Order) without a hearing does not violate the Constitutional right to due process. The non-referral of a VAWC (violence against women and children) case to a mediator is justified. RA 9262 does not unduly delegate judicial power to barangay officials. The BPO (Barangay Protection Order) is purely executive in nature in keeping with the barangay captain’s duty under the Local Government Code to “enforce all laws and ordinances,” and to “maintain public order in the barangay.”

Enumerated below in question and answer format are some of the salient provisions of Republic Act 9262 “Anti-Violence Against Women and their Children Act of 2004” and pertinent information regarding domestic violence.

What is the legal definition of “violence against women and their children?”

“Violence against women and their children” is any act or series of acts committed by any person against a woman with whom the person has or had a sexual or dating relationship, with whom he has a common child, or against her child whether legitimate or illegitimate, within or without the family abode, which result in or is likely to result in physical, sexual, psychological harm or suffering, or economic abuse including threats of such acts, battery, assault, coercion, harassment or arbitrary deprivation of liberty.

Can RA 9262 apply even to those who are not married?

Yes, RA 9262 applies also to those persons involved in a “dating relationship.” The term refers to “a situation where the parties live as husband and wife without the benefit of marriage, or are romantically involved over time and on a continuing basis during the course of the relationship. A casual acquaintance or ordinary socialization between two individuals in a business or social context is not a dating relationship.”

What does RA 9262 mean by “sexual relations?”

The term refers to “a single sexual act which may or may not result in the bearing of a common child.” Persons involved in such are covered by the provisions of RA 9262.

What do the terms “battery” and “Battered Woman Syndrome” mean?

“Battery” refers to an act of inflicting physical harm upon the woman or her child resulting to physical and psychological or emotional distress.

“Battered Woman Syndrome” refers to a scientifically defined pattern of psychological and behavioral symptoms found in women living in battering relationships as a result of cumulative abuse.

What is stalking?

The term refers to an intentional act committed by a person who, knowingly and without lawful justification follows the woman or her child or places the woman or her child under surveillance directly or indirectly or a combination.

What kinds of violence are prohibited by RA 9262?

RA 9262 prohibits physical violence, sexual violence, psychological violence, and economic abuse.

What is sexual violence?

It refers to an act which is sexual in nature, committed against a woman or her child. It includes but is not limited to:

1. rape, sexual harassment, acts of lasciviousness, treating a woman or her child as a sex object, making demeaning and sexually suggestive remarks, - physically attacking the sexual parts of the victim’s body, forcing him/her to watch obscene publications and indecent shows or forcing the woman or her child to do indecent acts and/or to make films thereof, forcing the wife and mistress/lover to live in the conjugal home or sleep together in the same room with the abuser;
2. acts causing or attempting to cause the victim to engage in any sexual activity by force, threat of force, physical or other harm or coercion;
3. prostituting the woman or child.

What is psychological violence?

“Psychological Violence” refers to acts or omissions causing or likely to cause mental or emotional suffering of the victim such as but not limited to:

1. intimidation
2. harassment
3. stalking
4. damage to property
5. public ridicule or humiliation
6. repeated verbal abuse
7. marital infidelity
8. causing or allowing the victim to witness the physical, sexual or psychological abuse of a member of a family to which the victim belongs
9. causing victim to witness pornography in any form or to witness abusive injury to pets
10. unlawful or unwanted deprivation of the right to custody and/or visitation of common children.

Why does RA 9262 seem to overemphasize psychological violence? What are the effects of psychological or emotional abuse?

Neil Jacobson and John Gottman in their study “When Men Batter Women” relate the insidious effects of psychological or emotional abuse as follows:

• Emotional abuse is harder to live with than being beaten and it means something different to women when it occurs with physical abuse.
• Despite the pain and bruises inflicted by punching, kicking and worse mayhem, it is the scarring left by an emotionally abusive husband that is more likely to trigger a battered wife’s decision to leave her spouse.
• Emotional abuse is more oppressive, particularly when it is frequent. It can be present every day, every waking hour, 24 hours a day. What men are doing with emotional abuse is almost like mind control.

What is economic abuse?

“Economic Abuse” refers to acts that make or attempt to make a woman financially dependent which includes but is not limited to the following:

1. withdrawal of financial support or preventing the victim from engaging in any legitimate profession, occupation, business or activity, except in cases wherein the other spouse/partner objects on valid, serious and moral grounds as defined in Article 73 of the Family Code.
2. deprivation or threat of deprivation of financial resources and the right to the use and enjoyment of the conjugal, community or property owned in common;
3. destroying household property;
4. controlling the victims’ own money or properties or solely controlling the conjugal money or properties.

What are the specific acts of violence punishable under RA 9262?

Section 5 of RA 9262 enumerates the specific acts of violence against women and their children. These are the following:

[a] Causing physical harm to the woman or her child;

[b] Threatening to cause the woman or her child physical harm;

[c] Attempting to cause the woman or her child physical harm;

[d] Placing the woman or her child in fear of imminent physical harm;

[e] Attempting to compel or compelling the woman or her child to engage in conduct which the woman or her child has the right to desist from or desist from conduct which the woman or her child has the right to engage in, or attempting to restrict or restricting the woman’s or her child’s freedom of movement or conduct by force or threat of force, physical or other harm or threat of physical or other harm, or intimidation directed against the woman or her child.

[f] Inflicting or threatening to inflict physical harm on one’s self for the purpose of controlling her actions or decisions;

[g] Causing or attempting to cause the woman or her child to engage in any sexual activity which does not constitute rape, by force or threat of force, physical harm, or through intimidation directed against the woman or her child or her/his immediate family;

[h] Engaging in purposeful, knowing, or reckless conduct, personally or through another, that alarms or causes substantial emotional or psychological distress to the woman or her child.

[i] Causing mental or emotional anguish, public ridicule or humiliation to the woman or her child, including but not limited to, repeated verbal and emotional abuse, and denial of financial support or custody of minor children or access to the woman’s child/children.

What prohibited acts are included under paragraph [e] above?

Paragraph [e] of Section 5 states: “Attempting to compel or compelling the woman or her child to engage in conduct which the woman or her child has the right to desist from or desist from conduct which the woman or her child has the right to engage in, or attempting to restrict or restricting the woman’s or her child’s freedom of movement or conduct by force or threat of force, physical or other harm or threat of physical or other harm, or intimidation directed against the woman or her child.”

This includes the following acts committed with the purpose or effect of controlling or restricting the woman’s or her child’s movement or conduct:

1. Threatening to deprive or actually depriving the woman or her child of custody to her/his family;
2. Depriving or threatening to deprive the woman or her children of financial support legally due her or her family, deliberately providing the woman’s children insufficient financial support;
3. Depriving or threatening to deprive the woman or her child of a legal right;
4. Preventing the woman in engaging in any legitimate profession, occupation, business or activity or controlling the victim’s own money or properties, or solely controlling the conjugal or common money or properties.

What prohibited acts are included under paragraph [h] of Section 5?


Paragraph [h] of Section 5 states: “Engaging in purposeful, knowing, or reckless conduct, personally or through another, that alarms or causes substantial emotional or psychological distress to the woman or her child.” This includes the following acts:

1. Stalking or following the woman or her child in public or private places;
2. Peering in the widow or lingering outside the residence of the woman or her child;
3. Entering or remaining in the dwelling or on the property of the woman or her child against her/his will;
4. Destroying the property and personal belongings of inflicting harm to animals or pets of the woman or her child; and
5. Engaging in any form of harassment or violence.

What are the penalties for acts of violence against women?


Section 6 of RA 9262 provides for penalties for various prohibited acts of violence against women and their children. These are the following:

[1] Acts falling under Section 5(a) constituting attempted, frustrated or consummated parricide or murder or homicide shall be punished in accordance with the provisions of the Revised Penal Code.
[2] If these acts resulted in mutilation, it shall be punishable in accordance with the Revised Penal Code; those constituting serious physical injuries shall have the penalty of prision mayor; those constituting less serious physical injuries shall be punished by prision correccional; and those constituting slight physical injuries shall be punished arresto mayor.
[3] Acts falling under Section 5(b) shall be punished by imprisonment of two degrees lower than the prescribed penalty for the consummated crime as specified in the preceding paragraph but shall in no case be lower than arresto mayor.
[4] Acts falling under Section 5(c) and 5(d) shall be punished by arresto mayor;
[5] Acts falling under Section 5(e) shall be punished by prision correccional;
[6] Acts falling under Section 5(f) shall be punishable by arresto mayor;
[7] Acts falling under Section 5(g) shall be punished by prision mayor;
[8] Acts falling under Section 5(h) and Section 5(i) shall be punished by prision mayor.

If the acts are committed while the woman or child is pregnant, or committed in the presence of her child, the penalty to be applied shall be the maximum period of penalty prescribed in this section. 

What do the terms “prision mayor,” “arresto mayor,” etc. mean?

Prision mayor – Penalty of imprisonment is from 6 years and 1 day to 12 years; minimum - from 6 years and 1 day to 8 years; maximum - from 10 years and 1 day to 12 years.

Prision correctional - Penalty of imprisonment is from 6 months and 1 day to 6 years ; minimum - from 6 months and 1 day to 2 years and 4 months; maximum - from 4 years, 2 months and 1 day to 6 years

Arresto mayor - Penalty of imprisonment is from 1 month and 1 day to 6 months; minimum - from 1 to 2 months; maximum - from 4 months and 1 day to 6 months.

Beside imprisonment, are there any other penalties provided by RA 9262?

Yes, in addition to imprisonment, the perpetrator must:

1. pay a fine in the amount of not less than One Hundred Thousand Pesos but not more than Three Hundred Thousand Pesos;
2. undergo mandatory psychological counseling or psychiatric treatment and must report compliance to the court.

What court has jurisdiction over RA 9262 cases?

The Regional Trial Court designated as a Family Court has original and exclusive jurisdiction over cases of violence against women and their children.

In the absence of such court in the place where the offense was committed, the case must be filed in the Regional Trial Court where the crime or any of its elements was committed at the option of the complainant.

Is it only the woman-victim of abuse who can report the offense to the police authorities?

Under Section 25 of RA 9262, violence against women and their children are considered as a public crime. This means that the case may be prosecuted upon the filing of a complaint by any citizen having personal knowledge of the circumstances involving the commission of the crime.

If a person witnesses abuse being committed against a woman or her child and intervenes, does that person have any liability?

Section 34 of RA 9262 provides: "In every case of violence against women and their children, any person, private individual or police authority or barangay official, who acting in accordance with law, responds or intervenes without using violence or restraint greater than necessary to ensure the safety of the victim, shall not be liable for any criminal, civil or administrative liability resulting therefrom."

What are the rights of victims under RA 9262?

Section 35 of RA 9262 that in addition to their rights under existing laws, victims of violence against women and their children have the following rights:

[a] to be treated with respect and dignity;

[b] to avail of legal assistance from the PAO of the Department of Justice (DOJ) or any public legal assistance office;

[c] to be entitled to support services from the DSWD and LGUs;

[d] to be entitled to all legal remedies and support under the Family Code; and

[e] to be informed of their rights and the services available to them including their right to apply for a protection order.

Section 36 also provides that any victim of violence under this Act are entitled to actual, compensatory, moral and exemplary damages.

Section 40 obligates the DSWD and local government units to provide mandatory programs and service for victims such as temporary shelters, provide counseling, psycho-social services or recovery, rehabilitation programs and livelihood assistance. The DOH must provide medical assistance to victims.

A woman-victim might be prejudiced in her employment if she takes time off to get medical treatment or to seek police and legal assistance in filing her case. What provision if any does RA 9262 have in this situation?


Section 43 of RA 9262 provides that victims are entitled to take a paid leave of absence up to ten days in addition to other paid leaves under the Labor Code and Civil Service Rules and Regulations, extendible when the necessity arises as specified in the protection order.

Any employer who prejudices the right of the person under this section must be penalized according to the provisions of the Labor Code and Civil Service Rules and regulations.

Likewise, an employer who prejudices any person for assisting a co-employee who is a victim under this Act must be held liable for discrimination.

What if the perpetrator of abuse against a woman or her child tries to evade prosecution by leaving the country?

Section 37 of RA 9262 states: "The court shall expedite the process of issuance of a hold departure order in cases prosecuted under this Act."

What are the responsibilities of doctors, nurses and healthcare workers under RA 9262?


Section 31 of RA 9262 provides, among other things, that healthcare providers should:

[a] automatically provide the victim free of charge a medical certificate concerning the examination or visit;

[b] safeguard the records and make them available to the victim upon request at actual cost; and

[c] provide the victim immediate and adequate notice of rights and remedies under RA 9262, and the services available to them.

Why is there a need for information and training of healthcare providers? By the nature of their work, aren’t they already familiar with domestic violence, their causes and manifestations?

A study by Evan Stark and Ann Flitcraft (“Medical Therapy as Repression: The Case of the Battered Woman,” Health and Medicine, 1982) discovered that out of one million women who sought medical treatment for injuries inflicted by their husbands or boyfriends, doctors correctly identified the injuries as a result of battering only four percent of the time.

What prevents a woman or her children or both from filing a case is the possible shame and embarrassment in their community. What are the provisions of RA 9262 to ensure the confidentiality of the victims and the case?

Section 44 provides the following safeguards and penalties so as to ensure confidentiality:

1. All records pertaining to cases of violence against women and their children including those in the barangay shall be confidential and all public officers and employees and public or private clinics to hospitals shall respect the right to privacy of the victim.
2. Whoever publishes or causes to be published, in any format, the name, address, telephone number, school, business address, employer, or other identifying information of a victim or an immediate family member, without the latter’s consent, shall be liable to the contempt power of the court.
3. Any person who violates this provision shall suffer the penalty of one year imprisonment and a fine of not more than Five Hundred Thousand Pesos.

What can be done for the offenders?

Section 41 provides that the DSWD must provide rehabilitative counseling and treatment to perpetrators towards learning constructive ways of coping with anger and emotional outburst and reforming their ways. When necessary, the offender must be ordered by the Court to submit to psychiatric treatment or confinement.

Next time around we will discuss the provisions of RA 9262 on protection orders – BPO (Barangay Protection Order), and the TPO (Temporary protection Order) and PPO (Permanent Protection Order) issued by the court.

RA 9262 Anti-Violence Against Women and their Children Act of 2004; myths about spousal abuse; reasons why women stay in abusive relationships

Related posts: Hope and help for the battered woman (2): RA 9262 essential provisions Hope and help for the battered woman (3): RA 9262 Protection Orders Hope and help for the battered woman (4): Emotional abuse or psychological violence Hope and help for the battered woman (5): Biblical response to abuse; evangelical Christians are best husbands – University of Virginia study The “Battered Woman Syndrome” as defense Mediation not applicable to domestic violence cases RA 9262 and other cases involving women: where to ask for help Update: Supreme Court upholds Constitutionality of RA 9262 (Garcia vs. Drilon, G.R. No. 179267, June 25, 2013) R.A. 9262 does not violate the guaranty of equal protection of the laws. It is not an “anti-male,” “husband-bashing,” and “hate-men” law. R.A. 9262 covers lesbian relationships. The grant of a TPO (Temporary Protection Order) without a hearing does not violate the Constitutional right to due process. The non-referral of a VAWC (violence against women and children) case to a mediator is justified. RA 9262 does not unduly delegate judicial power to barangay officials. The BPO (Barangay Protection Order) is purely executive in nature in keeping with the barangay captain's duty under the Local Government Code to “enforce all laws and ordinances,” and to “maintain public order in the barangay.”

“Violence against women is perhaps the most shameful human rights violation. It knows no boundaries of geography, culture or wealth. As long as it continues, we cannot claim to be making real progress towards equality, development and peace.” (UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan)

Republic Act 9262 or the “Anti-Violence Against Women and Their Children Act of 2004” is our country’s landmark law on domestic violence. Women’s groups, led by the National Commission on the Role of Filipino Women (NCRFW), fought patiently for RA 9262 for ten long years before it became a law in March 2004.

Summer last year, through the coordination of the hardworking and dedicated Social Welfare Development Officers of the various LGUs in Region IV-A, I conducted seminars on RA 9264 for barangay officials, police officers, day care center workers, parents and other government employees. I had the privilege of holding these seminars for Laguna (Kalayaan, Lumban, Victoria, Alaminos), Cavite City, and Sto. Tomas, Batangas. I also conducted a seminar for Calabarzon social workers held at the DSWD Haven For Women in Ayala Alabang.

It’s sad to say, however, that a lot of barangay officials and police officers still do not know the provisions of RA 9262. In television news reports of domestic violence, I still hear of police officers filing cases of physical injuries, grave threats, etc. against abusive men, when the proper offense to be charged should have been any of those enumerated under Section 5 of RA 9262.

For RA 9262 and other cases involving women, you can ask for help from the following:

Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Crisis Intervention Unit (CIU) Rehabilitation Unit Tel. No.: (02) 734-8635 NCR Ugnayang Pag-asa, Legarda, Manila Tel. Nos.: (02) 734-8617 to 18

Philippine National Police (PNP) Women and Children’s Concern Division (WCCD) Tel. No.: (02) 723-0401 loc. 3480 Call or text 117 (PATROL 117)

National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Violence Against Women and Children’s Desk (VAWCD) Tel. Nos.: (02) 523-8231 loc. 3403

DOJ Public Attorney’s Office Women's Desk
Tel. Nos.: (02) 929-9010; 929-9436 to 37

Philippine General Hospital (PGH) Women’s Desk Tel. Nos.: (02) 524-2990; 521-8450 loc. 3816

Women’s Crisis Center Women and Children Crisis Care & Protection Unit – East Avenue Medical Center (WCCCPU-EAMC) Tel. Nos.: (02) 926-7744; 922-5235

Before we discuss the various important provisions of RA 9262, let me cite to you some of the statistics and information on violence against women. I got these statistics and information from my own research, and from a seminar sponsored by the Philippine Association of Christian Counselors and held at the Alliance Biblical Seminary in Quezon City, late 2004.

Statistics on domestic violence around the world

1. At least one in every three women has been beaten, coerced into sex or otherwise abused during her lifetime.

2. Women of all races are about equally vulnerable to violence by an intimate partner.

3. In Brazil, a woman is abused every fifteen seconds.

4. In Great Britain, 100,000 women per year seek treatment for violent injuries received in the home. One to two women are killed by their male partners every week. 45% of murdered women are killed by their male partners.

Statistics on domestic violence in the USA

1. Estimates range from 960,000 up to three million women being physically abused by their husband or boyfriend per year.

2. In 2001, more than half a million women were victims of nonfatal violence committed by an intimate partner.

3. As many as 324,000 women each year experience intimate partner violence during

Statistics on domestic violence in Canada

1. Some 27% of all victims of violent crimes were victims of family violence. Among all family violence victims, 62% were victims of spousal violence.

2. In 2002, females accounted for 85% of all victims of spousal violence. Young females aged 25-to-34 experienced the highest rates of spousal violence.

3. Children and youth under the age of 18 accounted for 61% of victims of sexual assault and 20% of all victims of physical assault.

4. In 2002, girls represented 79% of victims of family-related sexual assaults. Rates of sexual offenses were highest among girls between the ages of 11 and 14, with the highest at age 13 (165 per 100,000 females).

Statistics on domestic violence in Switzerland

1. 20% of women suffered from domestic violence, according to a 1997 study.

2. Currently, 12.6% of Swiss women or more than one in eight suffer from physical violence; 11.6% or one in nine had suffered sexual violence.

Honor crimes against women

Jordan – 20 killings (1998)

Lebanon – 36 honor crimes (1996-1998)

Bangladesh – 200 women attacked with acid by husbands or relatives (1996-1998)

Pakistan – 850 women killed by husbands or family members; many cases not reported

Statistics on domestic violence in the Philippines

1. The PNP reported 5,058 cases of physical injury/wife battering in 2002. In previous years, the total number of cases was: 2,213 (1999); 3,824 (2000); and 5,668 (2001).

2. 90% of the victims in domestic violence cases were women.

3. 60% of these abused women suffered the abuse during pregnancy.

4. 90% experienced marital rape.

5. 60% had unwanted pregnancies.

These are just the reported cases, with the implication being that the actual number of abused women in the Philippines could be higher. Indeed the Social Weather Stations has reported the following findings:

A. 1.6 million women above the age of eighteen have suffered at least one instance of physical abuse from an intimate partner.

B. 2.8 million men have admitted to having physically harmed their intimate partners.

C. Of the 340 reported cases of domestic abuse in Bacolod, only 38 cases were actually filed in court.

Common injuries suffered by abused women (from the NCRFW Institutional Strengthening Project)

The violence against women ranges from verbal abuse (centered on how the woman has neglected her looks), to emotional battering (like accusing the woman of having affairs), withholding economic support and, in many instances, physical maltreatment.

Physical abuse has included: shoving, cutting off fingers, undressing a woman in front of other men, and calling her a whore, attempted burning, aiming a blowgun at a woman’s genital, beating with a hammer, raining fist blows, etc.

Myths about spousal abuse

1. Battering is primarily a woman’s fault; she must have provoked him by neglecting her chores, nagging, being unfaithful, etc.

2. She is exaggerating and would have left if the situation was that bad.

3. She should maintain family harmony and protect the husband’s name at all costs.

4. A man would stop the battering if the woman showed more sympathy to his remorse.

Why do abused women stay in abusive relationships (from Mary Ann Dutton, Dynamics of Domestic Violence: Understanding the Response from Battered Women)

1. Many women believe they cannot leave because “He can’t live without me.” They may fear that he will have a nervous breakdown, commit suicide, or lose his job.

2. She may believe that the children need a father, rationalizing that an abusive father is better than no father at all.

3. Many women fear that they will be killed if they leave an abusive relationship. Studies indeed show that battered women are more likely to be killed after leaving an abusive relationship

4. Abused women also convince themselves that things are going to get better.

Neil Jacobson and John Gottman in their study “When Men Batter Women” have observed that:

“The decision to leave an abusive husband and the actual process of doing so can be arduous, stretching over months or even years. Shame, self-blame, emotional dependence, fear of increased physical violence and the woman’s inability to “give up her dream of having a normal, loving relationship” can stop a woman from leaving.

“Violence paired with love creates an almost unbreakable emotional connection called “traumatic bonding.”

Reasons why abused women don’t leave their abusive partners (from the Women’s Legal Bureau and the NCRFW)

The man might still change for the better.

She still loves the man despite everything.

She can’t abide a broken family.

She’s doing it for the children.

She can’t support the children by herself.

She doesn’t want to be blamed by her parents for the break-up of the family.

She is afraid of what the husband can do to her.

The guy might take her kids.

She probably deserves the beating.

To maintain the good reputation of the man.

Wife-beating is part of the hazards of getting married; it’s just natural for women to get beaten up.

She pities the man because nobody else understands him, like she does.

If she improves herself, she won’t get beaten.

She’s afraid to be alone and lonely.

She doesn’t know she has rights not to be beaten.

It’s a family affair and others shouldn’t meddle.

He might lose his job if she calls the police.

Jurisdiction of courts

By law or the Constitution itself, courts are vested with jurisdiction to hear and try specific cases. If a case is filed with the wrong court, it will be dismissed for lack of jurisdiction.

Jurisdiction of Metropolitan/Municipal Trial Courts/Municipal Trial Courts in Cities

1. All civil cases, the grant of provisional remedies in proper cases, and all probate proceedings, where the value of personal property, estate or amount of demand does not exceed Php 200,000. exclusive of interest, damages, litigation and other expenses (in Metro Manila, the amount should be Php 400,000.)

2. All cases of forcible entry and unlawful detainer (ejectment)

3. All civil cases which involve title to or possession of real property or any interest therein where the assessed value does not exceed Php 20,000. (in Metro Manila Php 50,000.) exclusive of interest, damages, litigation and other expenses

4. Civil cases under the rules on summary procedure

5. All offenses punishable by imprisonment not exceeding six years, regardless of the fine or other imposable accessory or other penalties including the civil liability (in offenses involving damage to property through criminal negligence, the MTC has exclusive original jurisdiction)

6. Petitions for issuances of original certificates of titles

Jurisdiction of Regional Trial Courts

A. Exclusive original jurisdiction

1. All civil cases in which the subject of litigation cannot be estimated in monetary terms

2. All civil cases which involve title to or possession of real property, or interest therein, where the assessed value of the property exceeds Php 20,000. (in Metro Manila exceeding Php 50,000.) Exceptions: forcible entry and unlawful detainer of lands and buildings

3. All actions in admiralty and maritime jurisdiction where the demand or claim exceeds Php 100,000 (in Metro Manila, over Php 200,000)

4. All probate matters, both testate and intestate where the gross value of the estate exceeds Php 100,000 (in Metro Manila, the value must exceed Php 200,000.)

5. All actions involving the marriage contract and marital relations (annulment, legal separation, support, etc)

6. All cases not within the exclusive jurisdiction of any court, tribunal, person or quasi-judicial body

7. All civil actions and special proceedings falling within the exclusive original jurisdiction of a Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court (JDRC) and the Court of Agrarian Relations

8. All other cases in which the demand or the value of personal property, exclusive of interest, damages, litigation and other costs, exceeds Php 200,000. (in Metro Manila, the value must exceed Php 400,000.)

9. Intra-corporate disputes (formerly under the SEC); intellectual property cases

B. Exclusive appellate jurisdiction over all cases decided by the lower courts (MTCs) in their respective territorial jurisdictions

C. Concurrent jurisdiction with the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeals over petitions for certiorari, prohibition and mandamus against all lower courts; habeas corpus and quo warranto

Note: Republic Act 8369, approved on October 28, 1997, established the Family Court, with jurisdiction over adoption, guardianship, custody of children, support, acknowledgment, complaints for annulment or nullity of marriage, criminal cases where one or more of the accused is below 18 years of age, domestic violence against women and children, etc.

Jurisdiction of the Court of Appeals

A. Original jurisdiction to issue writs of certiorari, prohibition, mandamus, habeas corpus, quo warranto and auxiliary writs and processes

B. Exclusive jurisdiction over actions for the annulment of judgments rendered by the Regional Trial Courts

C. Concurrent jurisdiction with the Supreme Court over petitions for certiorari, prohibition or mandamus filed against the RTCs, the Civil Service Commission, the Court of Tax Appeals, the Central Board of Assessment Appeals, commissions and other quasi-judicial bodies or agencies.

D. Concurrent jurisdiction with the Supreme Court and RTCs over petitions for certiorari, prohibition or mandamus filed against lower courts and quasi-judicial bodies; petitions for habeas corpus and quo warranto.

E. Appellate jurisdiction over ordinary appeals from RTCs, except in cases exclusively appealable to the Supreme Court; petitions for review from the RTCs in all cases appealed to it from the lower courts; petitions for review from the Civil Service Commission, the Court of Tax Appeals and the other quasi-judicial bodies or agencies (e.g. National Labor Relations Commission)

Note: The Sandiganbayan handles cases of government officials and employees with salary grades 27 and above.

Jurisdiction of the Supreme Court

A. Original exclusive jurisdiction over petitions for certiorari, prohibition or mandamus filed against the Court of Appeals and the Sandiganbayan, the Commission on Elections, Commission on Audit, and the Department of Labor and Employment

B. Concurrent jurisdiction with the Court of Appeals over petitions for certiorari, prohibition and mandamus filed against the Regional Trial Courts, the Civil Service Commission, the Central Board of Assessment Appeals, the Court of Tax Appeals, Securities and Exchange Commission, other quasi-judicial bodies

C. Concurrent jurisdiction with the Court of Appeals and the Regional Trial Courts over petitions for certiorari, prohibition and mandamus filed against the lower courts and certain quasi-judicial bodies; petitions for habeas corpus and quo warranto

D. Concurrent jurisdiction with the RTCs over actions against ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls

E. Appellate jurisdiction over petitions for review on certiorari from the CA, Sandiganbayan and RTCs on questions of law only; criminal cases in which the penalty imposed by the trial court is either death or reclusion perpetua (“life imprisonment”) on questions of fact and law.

Barangay conciliation

Procedures in barangay conciliation

1. The offended party files his complaint orally or in written form to the Lupon chairman.
2. The Barangay Captain (or Lupon chairman) then summons the respondent within the next working day.
3. If the respondent fails to appear, he is barred from filing a counterclaim. If it is the complainant who fails to appear, he is barred from seeking recourse in court.
4. Mediation, conciliation or arbitration of the conflicting interests of the parties takes place through the Lupon. If the Lupon chairman fails in the mediation efforts within fifteen (15) days from the first meeting of the parties before him, he sets the date of the constitution of the Pangkat ng Tagapagkasundo.
5. Within three (3) days from its constitution, the Pangkat will summon the parties for a confrontation (no lawyers or representatives are allowed, except for cases involving minors or incompetents who may be assisted by their next of kin).
6. The Pangkat shall arrive at a settlement or resolution within fifteen days from the day it convenes (the period is extendible to another fifteen days in meritorious cases).
7. Either party may repudiate the settlement by filing a sworn statement within ten (10) days from the date of the written amicable settlement.
8. The amicable settlement or arbitration award may be executed by the Lupon within six (6) months from the date of the settlement. After this period, it may be enforced by a court action.
9. If within fifteen to thirty days the parties fail to amicably settle the matter, the Lupon issues a certification for filing of the action in court.
10. The complainant files the case in court for civil cases, or with the office of the public prosecutor (“fiscal”) for criminal cases.

Note: The prescriptive period for the filing of cases in court is interrupted by conciliation proceedings, up to 60 days from filing of the complaint with the Punong Barangay. Actions based on written contracts prescribe in ten years. Criminal cases involving BP 22 (bouncing checks) must be filed within four years from the time the check bounced; after that period, only a civil case for collection can be filed. The prescriptive period is tolled or interrupted by the filing of the complaint with the fiscal or public prosecutor's office.

Cases not covered by barangay conciliation (Local Government Code, Section 408)

1. Where one party is the government or any of its subdivision or instrumentality
2. Where one party is a public officer or employee, and the dispute relates to the performance of his official functions
3. Offenses punishable by imprisonment exceeding one year or by a fine exceeding five thousand pesos (Php 5,000.)
4. Offenses where there is no private offended party

Disputes not covered by barangay conciliation

1. Those involving parties who actually reside in barangays of different cities or municipalities, except where such barangays adjoin each other
2. Those involving real property located in different cities or municipalities

Note: In both cases, the parties may agree to submit their differences for amicable settlement by the appropriate Lupon.

Instances when the parties may go directly to court

1. Where the accused is under police custody or detention
2. Where a person has otherwise been deprived of personal liberty calling for habeas corpus proceedings
3. Actions coupled with provisional remedies such as preliminary injunction, temporary restraining orders, attachment, replevin, etc
4. Where the action may be barred by the Statute of Limitations (the law that bars the filing of an action after a prescribed period)
5. Labor disputes arising from an employer-employee relationship, or disputes arising from the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law

Land titles: issues and questions (3)

Question: My daughter, having saved some money from her call center job, recently bought a small piece of property. After my daughter fully paid the purchase price to the seller and the Deed of Absolute Sale had been signed, the seller for one reason or another now keeps on postponing giving to her the title to the property. What should my daughter do?

Answer: Your daughter should ask a lawyer/notary public to prepare and notarize an affidavit of adverse claim. She should then have the affidavit of adverse claim recorded with the Register of Deeds which has jurisdiction over the property.

A claim or interest may be registered as an adverse claim under the following circumstances:

(1) the claimant’s right or interest in registered land is adverse to the registered owner;

(2) such right or interest arose subsequent to the date of original registration; and

(3) no other provision is made in the Decree for the registration of such right or claim.

The formal requisites of an adverse claim for the purpose of registration are as follows:

(1) The adverse claimant must state the following in writing:

a. his/her alleged right or interest
b. how and under whom such alleged right or interest was acquired;
c. the description of the land in which the right or interest is claimed, and
d. the certificate of title number

(2) Such statement must be signed and sworn to before a notary public or other officer authorized to administer oath.

(3) The claimant shall state his/her residence or place to which all notices may be served upon him.

The purpose of annotating an adverse claim on the certificate of title is to notify third parties that there is a controversy over the ownership of the land bought by your daughter, and to preserve and protect her right during the pendency of the controversy. It is a notice to third persons that any transaction regarding the disputed land is subject to the outcome of the dispute between your daughter and the seller.

Under Section 70 of PD 1529, the adverse claim may be cancelled in the following ways, among others:

(1) After the lapse of thirty days, upon the filing by the party in interest of a verified petition for such cancellation. No second adverse claim based on the same ground may thereafter be registered by the same claimant.

(2) Before the lapse of the thirty day period, when a party in interest flies a petition before the Regional Trial Court of the place where the property is located for the cancellation of the adverse claim. If after due notice and hearing, the court finds the claim to be invalid, it will order the cancellation of the claim and may at the same time fine the claimant.

If a property is being contested by several parties in court, the subsequent annotation of a notice of lis pendens on the certificate of title on file with the Register of Deeds also serves the purpose of an adverse claim.

Note: Prospective buyers of any property should check the TCT (Transfer Certificate of Title) on file with the Register of Deeds which has jurisdiction over the property. Check to see if there is any lien or encumbrance recorded at the back of the title (like an adverse claim, lis pendens, mortgage, etc). Buyers can also ask the Land Registration Authority to verify the whether the title is authentic or not. It is estimated that there are some 100,000 fake titles in circulation in the Philippines.

Also, upon signing the Deed of Absolute Sale and paying in full for the property, the title should at the same time be given to the buyer.

Land titles: issues and questions (2)

What are the requirements of the Register of Deeds for the issuance of transfer certificates of titles?

Deeds of transfers (sale, assignment, exchange, etc):

(1) copies of the document; (2) owner’s duplicate of certificate of title; (3) current tax declaration; (4) certificate of realty tax payment; (5) transfer tax; (6) capital gains tax and BIR clearance; (7) BIR confirmation receipts evidencing payments of documentary stamps; (8) payment of registration fees.

Deed of donation, mortis causa or inter vivos:

(1) copies of the document; (2) owner’s duplicate of certificate of title; (3) current tax declaration; (4) certificate of realty tax payment; (5) transfer tax; (6) donor’s tax and BIR clearance; and (7) payment of registration fees.

Extrajudicial settlement of the estate of a deceased person:

(1) copies of the document; (2) owner’s duplicate of certificate of title; (3) current tax declaration; (4) certificate of realty tax payment; (5) transfer tax; (6) estate tax and BIR clearance; (7) affidavit of publication by the editor or publisher; (8) payment of registration fees; (9) if the deed includes personal property, a bond shall be filed.

Judicial settlement of estate of a deceased person:

(1) certified copies of the following documents: [A] project of partition/last will; [B] letters of administration / testamentary; [C] court order approving project of partition/allowing probate of last will; (2) certificate of finality of the court order; (3) owner’s duplicate of certificate of title; (4) current tax declaration; (5) certificate of realty tax payment; (6) transfer tax; (7) proof of payment of estate tax and BIR clearance; (8) payment of registration fees.

Real estate mortgage/Lease contract:

(1) copies of the instrument; (2) owner’s duplicate of certificate of title; (3) certificate of realty tax payment; (4) documentary stamps/BIR; (5) payment of registration fees.

Notes:

A. If the transferor or transferee is a corporation, the following also have to be submitted: secretary’s certificate, board resolution, copies of the articles of incorporation and bylaws.

B. in all the foregoing deeds or documents, tax identification number of the executors and the notary public must be reflected.

Land titles: issues and questions (1)

Requirements and procedures in the issuance of an original certificate of title

1. Survey of the land - the lot is surveyed by a licensed surveyor who will prepare a plan on tracing cloth or Diazo polyester film.

2. Approval of the plan - The plan will need to be approved by the Director of Lands, or the regional lands director, or regional technical director, who has jurisdiction over the location of the land. The plan should have a technical description to be verified and certified by the Director of Lands or the regional technical director or his authorized personnel making such certification.

3. Filing of application - The application for land registration needs to be typewritten and filed with the Regional Trial Court where the land is located. The application shall be in seven copies, signed and sworn to by the applicant.

The application shall contain the following:

- The original plan on the tracing cloth or Diazo polyester film certified by the Director of Lands or regional technical director, or copy on tracing cloth or Diazo polyester film attested to or certified by the official or the official authorized to certify, along with two printed copies of the plan.

- Three copies of the technical description which are verified and certified by the regional technical director or his authorized official representative, in accordance with LRC Circular 11365.

- Three copies of the certificate of the surveyor or geodetic engineer, or certificate of non-availability from the regional technical director

- Four copies of the latest tax declaration or assessment certificate from the assessor’s office

- The application shall contain the following data or information: description of the land, civil status of the applicant, full name and residence of the applicant, persons renting the land and the owners of the nearby lands if known, and if the applicant is a minor, the full name and address of his legal guardian; citizenship of the applicant.

4. Land registration case number - The clerk of court will provide a land registration case number after receiving the application.

5. Date of hearing - The court will set the date and time for the hearing of the application. The court order for the first hearing will be sent to the LRA together with a duplicate copy of the application, original or certified copy of the plan on tracing cloth or Diazo polyester film; duplicate original copy of the technical descript-ion; surveyor’s certificate; the latest tax declaration and proof of payment of publication fee to the Official Gazette.

6. Publication - The notice of the initial hearing prepared by the LRA will need to be published in the Official Gazette and once in the newspaper of general circulation in the Philippines. The cost of publication must be paid by the applicant to the clerk of court after filing the application. The amounts will be given to the National Printing Office.

7. Opposition - All persons claiming ownership or who may have any interest in the land may file an opposition to the court so they may be heard in court.

Note: Please read the Supreme Court decision in Recto vs. Republic (G.R. No. 160421; October 4, 2004) for an informative discussion of the requirements and procedures in the issuance of an OCT.

Rules of procedure in administrative cases against teachers

Newspaper and television news reports in recent weeks have bannered stories of abuse allegedly committed by teachers against helpless schoolchildren. We have, for example, that egregious case of a teacher punishing a Grade 2 student by asking her to swallow pencil shavings.

The Family Code, in several articles, provides for the scope and limitations of teachers’ special parental authority over their students:

Art. 218. The school, its administrators and teachers, or the individual, entity or institution engaged in child care shall have special parental authority and responsibility over the minor child while under their supervision, instruction or custody.
Authority and responsibility shall apply to all authorized activities whether inside or outside the premises of the school, entity or institution.

Art. 219. Those given the authority and responsibility under the preceding Article shall be principally and solidarily liable for damages caused by the acts or omissions of the unemancipated minor. The parents, judicial guardians or the persons exercising substitute parental authority over said minor shall be subsidiarily liable.

The respective liabilities of those referred to in the preceding paragraph shall not apply if it is proved that they exercised the proper diligence required under the particular circumstances.

Art. 220. The parents and those exercising parental authority shall have with the respect to their unemancipated children or wards the following rights and duties:

(1) To keep them in their company, to support, educate and instruct them by right precept and good example, and to provide for their upbringing in keeping with their means;

(2) To give them love and affection, advice and counsel, companionship and understanding;

(3) To provide them with moral and spiritual guidance, inculcate in them honesty, integrity, self-discipline, self-reliance, industry and thrift, stimulate their interest in civic affairs, and inspire in them compliance with the duties of citizenship;

(4) To furnish them with good and wholesome educational materials, supervise their activities, recreation and association with others, protect them from bad company, and prevent them from acquiring habits detrimental to their health, studies and morals;

(5) To represent them in all matters affecting their interests;

(6) To demand from them respect and obedience;

(7) To impose discipline on them as may be required under the circumstances; and

(8) To perform such other duties as are imposed by law upon parents and guardians.

Art. 221. Parents and other persons exercising parental authority shall be civilly liable for the injuries and damages caused by the acts or omissions of their unemancipated children living in their company and under their parental authority subject to the appropriate defenses provided by law.

Art. 233. The person exercising substitute parental authority shall have the same authority over the person of the child as the parents.

In no case shall the school administrator, teacher or individual engaged in child care exercising special parental authority inflict corporal punishment upon the child. (emphasis by boldfacing supplied)

Please take note especially of Article 233 which absolutely prohibits teachers from inflicting physical punishment on their students.

While there are true stories of abuse committed by teachers against their students, still, the Constitutional presumption of innocence applies. As former Senator Rene Saguisag (my fellow alumnus from Rizal High School in Pasig) once said, “It is only by guaranteeing the rights of the most guilty that we can guarantee the rights of the most innocent.”

Thus, charges against a teacher must go through a process where he or she is given the chance to be heard and present exculpatory evidence. In administrative cases against teachers, the Department of Education follows “The DECS Rules of Procedure” under DECS Order N0. 33, s. 1999. Disappointingly, as of this writing, the DepEd does not have a copy of this Order in its website. (But these rules, with some differences, basically follow the rules of procedure laid down by the Civil Service Commission. You can read these rules in the CSC website.)

Basically, however, the DECS Rules observe the following requirements and procedures:

1. A complaint in writing and under oath is filed against a teacher. Anonymous complaints, under certain conditions, may be allowed. For example, the complaint is supported by documentary evidences upon which the truth can be ascertained, even without the presence of a complainant. If the complaint is filed with the DepEd Central Office or with its Regional Offices, the complaint is indorsed to the respective Division Office under which the teacher serves.

2. The complaint must contain a certification against non-forum shopping.

3. A fact-finding or preliminary investigation is conducted to determine whether the complaint is meritorious or not. The investigating officer or committee of the Division submits its Investigation Report to the Regional Office. The report may either recommend the filing of a formal charge against the teacher by the disciplining authority, OR the dismissal of the complaint.

If the complaint is dismissed, the complainant can file a Petition for Review with the Secretary of the DepEd.

4. The formal charge will require the respondent-teacher to submit within a maximum of five days from receipt of the charge to file his answer. In the answer, the teacher must state whether he chooses to exercise his right to a formal investigation.

5. The Division Office concerned creates its investigation committee. The composition of the committee can be challenged under the DECS Rules (or under the Magna Carta for Teachers).

The respondent may be placed under preventive suspension for a maximum of ninety days.

The formal investigation is conducted just like a courtroom trial, and both complainant and respondent are entitled to the services of lawyers. Testimonies of witnesses are under oath, and subject to cross-examination. Documentary evidences are marked and later on formally offered.

After the proceedings, the committee submits to the Regional Office its Formal Investigation Report with its recommendations for either a finding of guilt or innocence. The Regional Office will then hand down its decision on the case. (Please take note that the Supreme Court has ruled that the Formal Investigation Report is an internal document of the DepEd, and there is no denial of due process if the complainant or respondents is not provided with a copy of the said report.)

6. If the teacher-respondent is found guilty, his successive modes of appeal are as follows: (a) motion for reconsideration filed with the Regional Office; (2) appeal to the Secretary of DepEd; and (3) petition for judicial review with the Court of Appeals.

If the teacher-respondent is acquitted, however, the complainant must file a Petition for Review with the Civil Service Commission.