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REPUBLIC ACTS
AN ACT DEFINING VIOLENCE AGAINST
WOMEN AND THEIR CHILDREN, PROVIDING FOR PROTECTIVE MEASURES FOR
VICTIMS, PRESCRIBING PENALTIES THEREFOR, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES. |
Section 1. Short Title.- This Act shall be known as the "Anti-Violence Against Women and Their Children Act of 2004." Sec. 2. Declaration of Policy.- It is hereby declared that the State
values the dignity of women and children and guarantees full respect
for human rights. The State also recognizes the need to protect the
family and its members particularly women and children, from violence
and threats to their personal safety and security. Sec. 3. Definition of Terms.- As used in this Act: (a)
"Violence against women and
their children" refers to any act or a series of acts committed
by any person against a woman who is his wife, former wife, or against
a woman with whom the person has or had a sexual or dating
relationship, or 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. It includes, but is not limited to, the
following acts: A.
"Physical Violence"
refers to acts that include bodily or physical harm; a)
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 her/him to watch obscene publications and indecent shows or
forcing the woman or her child to do indecent acts and/or 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; D. "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; (c) "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. (d) "Stalking" 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 thereof. (e) "Dating relationship" refers to a situation wherein 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. (f) "Sexual relations" refers to a single sexual act which may or may not result in the bearing of a common child. (g) "Safe place or shelter" refers to any home or institution maintained or managed by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) or by any other agency or voluntary organization accredited by the DSWD for the purposes of this Act or any other suitable place the resident of which is willing temporarily to receive the victim. (h) "Children" refers to those below eighteen (18) years of age or older but are incapable of taking care of themselves as defined under Republic Act No. 7610. As used in this Act, it includes the biological children of the victim and other children under her care. Sec. 4. Construction.- This Act shall be liberally construed to promote the protection and safety of victims of violence against women and their children. Sec. 5. Acts of Violence Against Women and Their Children.- The crime
of violence against women and their children is committed through any
of the following acts: (a)
Causing physical harm to the woman or her child;
(1)
Threatening to deprive or actually depriving the woman or her child of
custody to her/his family; (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. This shall include, but not be limited to, the following acts: (1)
Stalking or following the woman or her child in public or private
places; (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 of access to the woman's child/children. Sec. 6. Penalties.- The crime of violence against women and their children, under Sec. 5 hereof shall be punished according to the following rules: (a)
Acts falling under Sec. 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; 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 the Sec. In addition to imprisonment, the perpetrator shall (a) pay a fine in the amount of not less than One hundred thousand pesos (P100,000.00) but not more than three hundred thousand pesos (300,000.00); (b) undergo mandatory psychological counseling or psychiatric treatment and shall report compliance to the court. Sec. 7. Venue.- The Regional Trial Court designated as a Family Court shall have original and exclusive jurisdiction over cases of violence against women and their children under this law. In the absence of such court in the place where the offense was committed, the case shall be filed in the Regional Trial Court where the crime or any of its elements was committed at the option of the compliant. Sec. 8. Protection Orders.- A protection order is an order issued under
this act for the purpose of preventing further acts of violence against
a woman or her child specified in Sec. 5 of this Act and granting other
necessary relief. The relief granted under a protection order serve the
purpose of safeguarding the victim from further harm, minimizing any
disruption in the victim's daily life, and facilitating the opportunity
and ability of the victim to independently regain control over her
life. The provisions of the protection order shall be enforced by law
enforcement agencies. The protection orders that may be issued under
this Act are the barangay protection order (BPO), temporary protection
order (TPO) and permanent protection order (PPO). The protection orders
that may be issued under this Act shall 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 Sec. 5 of
this Act; Any of the reliefs provided under this Sec. shall be granted even in the absence of a decree of legal separation or annulment or declaration of absolute nullity of marriage. The issuance of a BPO or the pendency of an application for BPO shall not preclude a petitioner from applying for, or the court from granting a TPO or PPO. Sec. 9. Who may file Petition for Protection Orders. – A petition for
protection order may be filed by any of the following: (a)
The offended party; Sec. 11. How to Apply 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 a violence as described in this Act. A
standard protection order application form, written in English with
translation to the major local languages, shall be made available to
facilitate applications for protections order, and shall contain, among
other, the following information: (a)
names and addresses of petitioner and respondent; An application for protection order filed with a court shall be considered an application for both a TPO and PPO. Barangay officials and court personnel shall assist applicants in the preparation of the application. Law enforcement agents shall also extend assistance in the application for protection orders in cases brought to their attention. Sec. 12. Enforceability of Protection Orders. – 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. Sec. 13. Legal Representation of Petitioners for Protection Order. – If
the woman or her child requests in the applications for a protection
order for the appointment of counsel because of lack of economic means
to hire a counsel de parte, the court shall immediately direct the
Public Attorney's Office (PAO) to represent the petitioner in the
hearing on the application. If the PAO determines that the applicant
can afford to hire the services of a counsel de parte, it shall
facilitate the legal representation of the petitioner by a counsel de
parte. The lack of access to family or conjugal resources by the
applicant, such as when the same are controlled by the perpetrator,
shall qualify the petitioner to legal representation by the PAO. Sec. 14. Barangay Protection Orders (BPOs); Who May Issue and How. -
Barangay Protection Orders (BPOs) refer to the protection order issued
by the Punong Barangay ordering the perpetrator to desist from
committing acts under Sec. 5 (a) and (b) of this Act. A Punong Barangay
who receives applications for a BPO shall issue the protection order to
the applicant on the date of filing after ex parte determination of the
basis of the application. If the Punong Barangay is unavailable to act
on the application for a BPO, the application shall be acted upon by
any available Barangay Kagawad. 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 for the
issuance of the BPO. BPOs shall be effective for fifteen (15) days.
Immediately after the issuance of an ex parte BPO, the Punong Barangay
or Barangay Kagawad shall personally serve a copy of the same on the
respondent, or direct any barangay official to effect is personal
service. Sec. 15. Temporary Protection Orders. – Temporary Protection Orders (TPOs) refers to 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. A court may grant in a TPO any, some or all of the reliefs mentioned in this Act and shall be effective for thirty (30) days. The court shall schedule a hearing on the issuance of a PPO prior to or on the date of the expiration of the TPO. The court shall 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 shall include notice of the date of the hearing on the merits of the issuance of a PPO. Sec. 16. Permanent Protection Orders. – Permanent Protection Order
(PPO) refers to protection order issued by the court after notice and
hearing. Sec. 17. Notice of Sanction in Protection Orders. – The following
statement must be printed in bold-faced type or in capital letters on
the protection order issued by the Punong Barangay or court: "VIOLATION
OF THIS ORDER IS PUNISHABLE BY LAW." Sec. 18. Mandatory Period For Acting on Applications For Protection Orders – Failure to act on an application for a protection order within the reglementary period specified in the previous Sec. without justifiable cause shall render the official or judge administratively liable. Sec. 19. Legal Separation Cases. – In cases of legal separation, where violence as specified in this Act is alleged, Article 58 of the Family Code shall not apply. The court shall proceed on the main case and other incidents of the case as soon as possible. The hearing on any application for a protection order filed by the petitioner must be conducted within the mandatory period specified in this Act. Sec. 20. Priority of Application for a Protection Order. – Ex parte and adversarial hearings to determine the basis of applications for a protection order under this Act shall have priority over all other proceedings. Barangay officials and the courts shall 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. Sec. 21. Violation of Protection Orders. – 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. Violation of a BPO shall be punishable by imprisonment
of thirty (30) days without prejudice to any other criminal or civil
action that the offended party may file for any of the acts committed. Sec. 22. Applicability of Protection Orders to Criminal Cases. – The foregoing provisions on protection orders shall be applicable in impliedly instituted with the criminal actions involving violence against women and their children. Sec. 23. Bond to Keep the Peace. – The Court may order any person
against whom a protection order is issued to give a bond to keep the
peace, to present two sufficient sureties who shall undertake that such
person will not commit the violence sought to be prevented. Sec. 24. Prescriptive Period. – Acts falling under Sec.s 5(a) to 5(f) shall prescribe in twenty (20) years. Acts falling under Sec.s 5(g) to 5(i) shall prescribe in ten (10) years. Sec. 25. Public Crime. – Violence against women and their children shall be considered a public offense which may be prosecuted upon the filing of a complaint by any citizen having personal knowledge of the circumstances involving the commission of the crime. Sec. 26. Battered Woman Syndrome as a Defense. – Victim-survivors who
are found by the courts to be suffering from battered woman syndrome do
not incur any criminal and civil liability notwithstanding the absence
of any of the elements for justifying circumstances of self-defense
under the Revised
Penal Code. Sec. 27. Prohibited Defense. – Being under the influence of alcohol, any illicit drug, or any other mind-altering substance shall not be a defense under this Act. Sec. 28. Custody of children. – The woman victim of violence shall be
entitled to the custody and support of her child/children. Children
below seven (7) years old older but with mental or physical
disabilities shall automatically be given to the mother, with right to
support, unless the court finds compelling reasons to order otherwise. Sec. 29. Duties of Prosecutors/Court Personnel. – Prosecutors and court
personnel should observe the following duties when dealing with victims
under this Act: a)
communicate with the victim in a language understood by the woman or
her child; and (a)
respond immediately to a call for help or request for assistance or
protection of the victim by entering the necessary whether or not a
protection order has been issued and ensure the safety of the victim/s; Sec. 31. Healthcare Provider Response to Abuse – Any healthcare
provider, including, but not limited to, an attending physician, nurse,
clinician, barangay health worker, therapist or counselor who suspects
abuse or has been informed by the victim of violence shall: (a)
properly document any of the victim's physical, emotional or
psychological injuries; It shall be the duty of the concerned government agencies and LGU's to ensure the sustained education and training of their officers and personnel on the prevention of violence against women and their children under the Act. Sec. 33. Prohibited Acts. – A Punong Barangay, Barangay Kagawad or the
court hearing an application for a protection order shall not order,
direct, force or in any way unduly influence he applicant for a
protection order to compromise or abandon any of the reliefs sought in
the application for protection under this Act. Sec. 7 of the Family
Courts Act of 1997 and Sec.s 410, 411, 412 and 413 of the Local
Government Code of 1991 shall not apply in proceedings where relief is
sought under this Act. Sec. 34. Persons Intervening Exempt from Liability. – In every case of violence against women and their children as herein defined, 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. Sec. 35. Rights of Victims. – In addition to their rights under
existing laws, victims of violence against women and their children
shall have the following rights: (a)
to be treated with respect and dignity; Sec. 36. Damages. – Any victim of violence under this Act shall be entitled to actual, compensatory, moral and exemplary damages. Sec. 37. Hold Departure Order. – The court shall expedite the process of issuance of a hold departure order in cases prosecuted under this Act. Sec. 38. Exemption from Payment of Docket Fee and Other Expenses. – If the victim is an indigent or there is an immediate necessity due to imminent danger or threat of danger to act on an application for a protection order, the court shall accept the application without payment of the filing fee and other fees and of transcript of stenographic notes. Sec. 39. Inter-Agency Council on Violence Against Women and Their
Children (IAC-VAWC). In pursuance of the abovementioned policy, there
is hereby established an Inter-Agency Council on Violence Against Women
and their children, hereinafter known as the Council, which shall be
composed of the following agencies: (a)
Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD); The Council members may designate their duly authorized representative who shall have a rank not lower than an assistant secretary or its equivalent. These representatives shall attend Council meetings in their behalf, and shall receive emoluments as may be determined by the Council in accordance with existing budget and accounting rules and regulations. Sec. 40. Mandatory Programs and Services for Victims. – The DSWD, and
LGU's shall provide the victims temporary shelters, provide counseling,
psycho-social services and /or, recovery, rehabilitation programs and
livelihood assistance. Sec. 41. Counseling and Treatment of Offenders. – The DSWD shall provide rehabilitative counseling and treatment to perpetrators towards learning constructive ways of coping with anger and emotional outbursts and reforming their ways. When necessary, the offender shall be ordered by the Court to submit to psychiatric treatment or confinement. Sec. 42. Training of Persons Involved in Responding to Violence Against
Women and their Children Cases. – All agencies involved in responding
to violence against women and their children cases shall be required to
undergo education and training to acquaint them with: Sec. 43. Entitled to Leave. – Victims under this Act shall be entitled
to take a paid leave of absence up to ten (10) 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. Sec. 44. Confidentiality. – 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. 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. Sec. 45. Funding – The amount necessary to implement the provisions of
this Act shall be included in the annual General Appropriations Act
(GAA). Sec. 46. Implementing Rules and Regulations. – Within six (6) months from the approval of this Act, the DOJ, the NCRFW, the DSWD, the DILG, the DOH, and the PNP, and three (3) representatives from NGOs to be identified by the NCRFW, shall promulgate the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of this Act. Sec. 47. Suppletory Application – For purposes of this Act, the Revised Penal Code and other applicable laws, shall have suppletory application. Sec. 48. Separability Clause. – If any Sec. or provision of this Act is held unconstitutional or invalid, the other Sec.s or provisions shall not be affected. Sec. 49. Repealing Clause – All laws, Presidential decrees, executive orders and rules and regulations, or parts thereof, inconsistent with the provisions of this Act are hereby repealed or modified accordingly. Sec. 50. Effectivity – This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days
from the date of its complete publication in at least two (2)
newspapers of general circulation. Approved: March 08, 2004 |
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