What is a protection order?

It is an order issued under Republic Act No. 9262 for the purpose of preventing further acts of violence against a woman or her child specified in 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.

Image grabbed from www.changeidentity.net

What are the protection orders that may be issued?

1.  Barangay Protection Order (BPO)
2.  Temporary Protection Order (TPO)
3.  Permanent Protection Order (PPO)

Who is the offended party of this Act?

The following are the offended party:

1.  A woman who is:
     a.  the wife of the offender;
     b.  former wife of the offender;
     c.  with whom the offender has or had a sexual or dating relationship;
     d.  with whom the offender has a common child.

2.  A child of the offender, whether legitimate or illegitimate, within or without the family abode.

Who may file Petition for Protection Orders?

1.  the offended party;
2.  parents or guardians of the offended party;
3.  ascendants, descendants or collateral relatives within the fourth civil degree of consanguinity or affinity;
4.  officers or social workers of the DSWD or social workers of local government units (LGUs);
5.  police officers, preferably those in charge of women and children's desks;
6.  Punong Barangay or Barangay Kagawad;
7.  lawyer, counselor, therapist or healthcare provider of the petitioner;
8.  at least 2 concerned responsible citizens of the city or municipality where the violence against women and their children occurred and who has personal knowledge of the offense committed.

What are the reliefs granted under the protection order?

The protection orders that may be issued under the R.A. No. 9262 shall include any, some or all of the following reliefs:

1.  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;

2.  Prohibition of the respondent from harassing, annoying, telephoning, contacting or other communicating with the petitioner, directly or indirectly;

3.  Removal and exclusion of the respondent from the residence of the petitioner, regardless of ownership of the residence, either temporarily for the purpose of protecting the petitioner, or permanently where no property rights are violated, and if respondent 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;

4.  Directing the respondent to stay away from the 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;

5.  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;

6.  Granting a temporary or permanent custody of a child/children to the petitioner;

7.  Directing the respondent to provide to the woman and/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 and/or withhold or any delay in the remittance of support to the woman and/or her child without justifiable cause shall render the respondent or his employer liable for indirect contempt of court;

8.  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 for 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 firearms and shall direct the appropriate authority to investigate on the offender ad take appropriate action on matter;

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

10.. Directing the DSWD or any appropriate agency to provide petitioner may need; and

11.  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.

Where to apply for a protection order?

Applications for BPOs shall be filed in the same barangay where both of the parties are actually residing or if the parties are living in different barangays within the same city or municipality, BPOs shall be filed in the barangay where the respondent is actually residing at the option of the complainant.

An application for a TPO or PPO may be filed in the regional trial court, metropolitan trial court, municipal trial court, municipal circuit trial court with territorial jurisdiction over the place of residence of the petitioner: Provided, however, That if a family court exists in the place of residence of the petitioner, the application shall be filed with that court.

Where the protection orders shall be enforced?

All TPOs and PPOs issued shall be enforceable anywhere in the Philippines and a violation thereof shall be punishable with a fine raning from P5,000.00 to P50,000.00 and/or imprisonment of 6 months.

What is the effectivity of the protection orders?

All BPOs shall be effective for a period of 15 days while TPOs shall be for a period of 30 days while PPOs are permanent.



Source:  Republic Act No. 9262 or "Anti-Violence Against Women and Their Children Act of 2004"

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Probation Law of 1976 as Amended

Image
As defined, probation  is a disposition under which a defendant, after conviction and sentence, is released  subject to conditions imposed by the court and to the supervision of a probation officer. image grabbed from cartoonstock.com The Parole and Probation Administration has defined probation as a privilege  granted by the court to a person convicted of a criminal offense to remain in the community instead of actually going to prison/jail. As defined, a probation is just a privilege and not as a matter of right.  It shall only be granted after conviction and sentence.  There is no probation when the accused/defendant has not been convicted yet. Google defines conviction as a formal declaration that someone is guilty of a criminal offense, made by the verdict of a jury or the decision of a judge in a court of law.  In the Philippines, it is only a judge of a court of law promulgates the decision. What are the advantages of probatio...
Read more

Anti-Photo and Video Voyeurism Act of 2009

Image
Since I became a lawyer, it was only just very recently that I came across with a criminal case involving  Anti-Photo and Video Voyeurism Act of 2009.  Yes, the law was enacted in 2009 but only a few cases were filed in court.  This is Republic Act No. 9995 or otherwise known as the "Anti-Photo and Video Voyeurism Act of 2009." Image grabbed from Esquire Philippines So, what this law is all about? Before telling you about the law itself, Google has defined voyeurism as the practice of gaining sexual pleasure from watching others when they are naked or engaged in sexual activity. The law has defined photo or video voyeurism as the act of taking or video coverage of a person or group of persons performing sexual act or any similar activity or of capturing an image of the private area of a person or persons without the latter's consent, under circumstances in which such person/s has/have a reasonable expectation of privacy, or the act of selling, ...
Read more

Philippine Laws on Illegal Gambling

The following are the gambling laws of the Philippines: PRESIDENTIAL DECREE NO. 1602 It amended the criminal provisions of Arts. 195-199 of the Revised Penal Code of the Philippens (as amended), Republic Act No. 3063, Presidential Decree Nos. 483, 449, 510 and 1306 and all letters of instructions, executive orders, rules and regulations, city and municipal ordinances which are inconsistent thereof. Penalties: 1.  Imprisonment of prision correccional in its medium period or a fine ranging from One Thousand to Six Thousand Pesos, and in case of recidivism, the penalty of prision mayor in its medium period or a fine ranging from Five Thousand to Ten Thousand Pesos shall be imposed to those: a.  Any person who in any manner shall directly or indirectly take part in any illegal or unauthorized activities or games of  cockfighting, jueteng, jai alai or horse racing to include bookie operations and game fixing, numbers, bingo and other forms of lotteries; c...
Read more