I. PURPOSE AND POLICY OF RA 9262
• RA 9262 is a special penal law intended to protect women and their children from violence arising from intimate relationships, whether marital or non-marital.
• It recognizes that abuse may be physical, sexual, psychological, or economic, and that harm may occur even without physical injury.
• The law is gender-specific, justified as a valid exercise of police power to address a recognized social evil.
II. COVERED RELATIONSHIPS (THRESHOLD ELEMENT)
For RA 9262 to apply, the offender must be:
• The woman’s husband or ex-husband
• A former or current live-in partner
• A person with whom the woman has or had a sexual or dating relationship
• A person with whom the woman has a common child, legitimate or illegitimate
➡️ Proof of an existing or prior intimate relationship is a jurisdictional fact.
➡️ Absence or termination of the relationship at the material time may be fatal to prosecution, as emphasized in the cited ruling.
III. ACTS PUNISHED UNDER RA 9262 (SUBSTANTIVE LAW)
A. Physical Violence
• Acts causing bodily harm or injury
• Includes assault, battery, or physical maltreatment
B. Sexual Violence
• Rape, sexual harassment, forced prostitution
• Treating a woman as a sex object
• Marital rape is expressly covered
C. Psychological Violence (Most Litigated)
Defined as acts or omissions causing or likely to cause:
• Mental or emotional suffering
• Public ridicule or humiliation
• Repeated verbal abuse
• Emotional abandonment
• Marital infidelity only if proven to cause psychological harm and done with criminal intent
➡️ Section 5(i) covers psychological violence.
D. Economic Abuse
• Deprivation of financial support
• Controlling or destroying property
• Preventing the woman from engaging in legitimate work
IV. PSYCHOLOGICAL VIOLENCE: ELEMENTS THAT MUST BE PROVEN
To secure a conviction under Section 5(i), the prosecution must establish:
• Existence of a covered relationship
• An act or series of acts committed by the accused
• Intent to cause mental or emotional anguish, public ridicule, or humiliation
• Actual mental or emotional suffering suffered by the victim
• A causal connection between the accused’s act and the psychological harm
➡️ The Supreme Court clarified that emotional pain alone is insufficient.
➡️ The anguish must be intentionally caused by the accused.
V. NATURE OF THE OFFENSE: MALA IN SE
• Psychological violence under RA 9262 is mala in se, not merely mala prohibita.
• Criminal intent (mens rea) is indispensable.
• Good faith, lack of intent, or absence of malice may exculpate the accused.
➡️ This is a critical doctrinal point underscored in the acquittal.
VI. ROLE AND LIMITS OF PSYCHOLOGICAL EVIDENCE
• Psychiatric or psychological findings are corroborative, not conclusive.
• Diagnosis (e.g., panic disorder, anxiety) does not automatically establish criminal liability.
• Courts must still determine: – Intent
– Causation
– Credibility of testimony
➡️ Trial courts err when they substitute medical diagnosis for legal proof of mens rea.
VII. KEY REMEDIAL AND LITIGATION ASPECTS
A. Who May File
• The offended woman
• Parents, grandparents, guardians
• Social workers or barangay officials (in certain cases)
B. Protection Orders (Quasi-Civil Remedies)
• Barangay Protection Order (BPO)
• Temporary Protection Order (TPO)
• Permanent Protection Order (PPO)
➡️ Protection orders are preventive, not penal.
➡️ Issuance does not presume criminal guilt.
C. Criminal Prosecution
• Filed before the RTC acting as a Family Court
• Prosecuted by the public prosecutor
• Penalties range from prisión correccional to reclusión temporal, depending on the act
D. Burden of Proof
• Proof beyond reasonable doubt applies
• Relationship, intent, act, and injury must be independently proven
• Inconsistencies in complainant’s testimony may be fatal
➡️ Courts must avoid automatic conviction based on sympathy.
E. Defenses Available to the Accused
• Absence or termination of the intimate relationship
• Lack of criminal intent
• Good faith
• Independent cause of psychological distress
• Credible denial supported by evidence
➡️ Infidelity per se is not a crime under RA 9262.
VIII. DOCTRINAL TAKEAWAYS FROM THE SUPREME COURT RULING
• Ending a relationship, though painful, is not automatically criminal
• Psychological violence requires intentional infliction of harm, not mere heartbreak
• RA 9262 is a penal statute, not a tool to punish failed relationships
• Courts must balance victim protection with constitutional due process
IX. PRACTICAL GUIDANCE FOR LAWYERS AND LITIGANTS
• For complainants:
– Document acts, not emotions alone
– Establish intent and causation
– Ensure consistency of testimony
• For defense counsel:
– Scrutinize proof of relationship and timing
– Challenge mens rea and causation
– Emphasize mala in se doctrine
• For judges and prosecutors:
– Distinguish moral wrongdoing from criminal liability
– Avoid presumption of guilt based solely on diagnosis
SOURCES AND REFERENCES
• Republic Act No. 9262 (Anti-VAWC Act of 2004)
• Supreme Court Decision, Caridaoan v. People, Third Division, J. Caguioa
• Garcia v. Drilon, G.R. No. 179267
• People v. Tulagan, G.R. No. 227363
• Family Courts Act (RA 8369)
• Supreme Court Rules on Violence Against Women and Their Children
(Assisted by ChatGPT, December 18, 2025)
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ADDENDUM:
Supreme Court decisions in which the doctrine that psychological violence under Republic Act No. 9262 is mala in se (and thus requires proof of mens rea/#intent in addition to the act) has been recognized or applied.
1. G.R. No. 224946 — Acharon v. People of the Philippines
Date Promulgated: November 9, 2021
Subject: Clarification that Section 5(i) of RA 9262 penalizes psychological violence that is mala in se, requiring both actus reus and mens rea.
2. G.R. No. 255877 — XXX v. People of the Philippines
Date Promulgated: March 29, 2023
Subject: Supreme Court discussed the mens rea requirement in Section 5(i), affirming that denial of financial support causing mental anguish must be willful and intentional.
3. G.R. No. 268392 — XXX268392 v. People of the Philippines
Date Promulgated: May 19, 2025
Subject: Affirmation of RA 9262 psychological violence standards; Court reiterated elements of psychological violence including requirement of intent accompanying acts causing mental anguish.
(Assisted by ChatGPT, December 18, 2025)
