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MEMORANDUM CIRCULAR NO. 08Series of 2007

STANDARD OFFICE PROCEDURES IN EXTENDINGLEGAL ASSISTANCE TO WOMEN AND THEIR

CHILDREN SUBJECTED TO VIOLENCE UNDERREPUBLIC ACT NO. 9262 AND OTHER RELATED LAWS

AARRTTIICCLLEE IIPPUURRPPOOSSEE

This circular defines and outlines the procedures and actions to beundertaken by the lawyers and staff of the Public Attorneys Office (PAO)in extending legal assistance to victims of violence against women andtheir children and in handling applications for protection orders, inconsonance with Sections 13 and 35(b) of Republic Act No. 9262, itsImplementing Rules and Regulations, and Supreme Court A.M. No. 04-10-11-SC (Rules on Violence Against Women and Their Children).

AARRTTIICCLLEE IIIIDDEEFFIINNIITTIIOONN OOFF TTEERRMMSS

SSeeccttiioonn 11.. - The definition of terms provided under Republic Act No.9262 and its Implementing Rules and Regulations is hereby adopted.

1. Battery refers to an act of inflicting physical harm upon the

woman or her child resulting to physical and psychological oremotional distress.

2. Children refer to persons below eighteen years of age, orolder, but are incapable of taking care of themselves as definedunder Republic Act No. 7610, as amended. It includes thebiological children of the offended party and other children underher care.

3. Court is a family court or, in places where there are no family

courts, any regional trial court.

4. Violence Against Women and Their Children refers to anyact or a series of acts committed by any person against:


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a) A woman:

i. who is his wife;ii. who is his former wife;iii. with whom the person has or had sexual or dating

relationship;iv. with whom he has a common child.

b) Her child, whether legitimate or illegitimate, within or outsidethe family abode;

which results or is likely to result in physical, sexual,psychological harm or suffering, or economic abuse, includingthreats of such acts, battery, assault, coercion, harassment orarbitrary deprivation of liberty. It includes, but not limited to,physical violence, sexual violence, psychological violence, andeconomic abuse.

5. Dating Relationship refers to a situation wherein the partieslive as husband and wife without the benefit of marriage or areromantically involved over time and on a continuing basis during

the course of the relationship.

A casual acquaintance or ordinary socialization between twoindividuals in a business or social context is not a datingrelationship.

6. Economic Abuse refers to acts that make or attempt to makea woman financially dependent which includes, but not limited tothe following:

a. Withdrawal of financial support or preventing the victim

from engaging in any legitimate profession, occupation,business or activity, except in cases wherein the otherspouse/partner objects on valid, serious and moral groundsas defined in Article 73 of the Family Code;

b. Deprivation or threat of deprivation of financial resourcesand the right to the use and enjoyment of the conjugal,community or property owned in common;

c. Destroying household property; and

d. Controlling the victims own money or properties or solelycontrolling the conjugal money or properties.


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7. Members of the family shall include the husband and wife,parents and children, the ascendants or descendants, brothersand sisters, whether of full or half blood, whether living togetheror not.

8. Members of the household shall include:

a. Spouses, common-law spouses, former spouses, whetherliving together or not, and their children;

b. Relatives by consanguinity or affinity up to the sixth civildegree, including stepparents and stepchildren livingtogether in the same house; and

c. Domestic helpers in the service of the employer, whoseservices are usually necessary or desirable for themaintenance and enjoyment of the home, who attend tothe personal comfort and convenience of the members ofthe household.

9. Physical violence refers to acts that include bodily or physicalharm.

10. Protection Order refers to an order issued by the PunongBarangay or the court to prevent further acts of violence againstwomen and their children, their family or household members,and to grant other necessary relief. Its purpose is to safeguardthe offended parties from further harm, minimize disruption intheir daily life and facilitate the opportunity and ability to regaincontrol of their lives.

The three (3) types of protection orders are: Barangay

Protection Order, Temporary Protection Order, and PermanentProtection Order.

11. Psychological Violence refers to acts or omissions causing orlikely to cause mental or emotional suffering of the victim such asbut not limited to intimidation, harassment, stalking, damage toproperty, public ridicule or humiliation, repeated verbal abuse andmarital infidelity. It includes causing or allowing the victim towitness the physical, sexual or psychological abuse of a memberof the family to which the victim belongs or to witness

pornography in any forms, or to witness abusive injury to pets, orto unlawful or unwanted deprivation of the right to custody and/orvisitation of common children.


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12. Sexual Relation - refers to a single sexual act, which may ormay not result in the bearing of a common child.

13. Sexual Violence refers to an act, which is sexual in nature,committed against a woman or her child. It includes, but notlimited to:

a. Rape, sexual harassment, acts of lasciviousness, treating awoman or her child as a sex object, making demeaningand sexually suggestive remarks, physically attacking the

sexual parts of the victims body, forcing him/her to watchobscene publications and indecent shows or forcing thewoman or her child to do indecent acts and/or make filmsthereof, forcing the wife and mistress/lover to live in theconjugal home or sleep together in the same room with theabuser.

b. Acts causing or attempting to cause the victim to engage inany sexual activity by force, threat of force, physical orother harm or threat of physical or other harm or coercion;and,

c. Prostituting the woman or her child.

14. Stalking refers to an intentional act of knowingly and withoutlawful justification, following the woman or her child or placing thewoman or her child under surveillance, directly or indirectly orthrough a combination thereof.

AArrttiiccllee IIIIIICCLLIIEENNTTEELLEE

SSeeccttiioonn 11. - The Public Attorneys Office shall extend legalassistance to victims of violence against women and their children whohave passed the:

1. Merit Test; and2. Indigency Test

The standards set forth under Memorandum Circular No. 18, Seriesof 2002, on Merit and Indigency Tests are to be followed. However, the

lack of access to family or conjugal resources by aforesaid victim(s), suchas when the same are controlled by the perpetrator, shall qualify the victimas an indigent, and free legal assistance of PAO shall therefore beafforded to her/him.


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Pursuant to the provisions of Sections 13 and 35 of Republic Act No.9262, the woman or victim may avail of the services of PAO in the filing ofan application/petition for protection order and/or civil action for damages.However, where the applicant is already represented by counsel de parte,PAO may represent the other party.

AARRTTIICCLLEE IIVVLLEEGGAALL AASSSSIISSTTAANNCCEE TTOO CCLLIIEENNTTSS

Section 1. Legal Assistance to Women and Children Subjected

to Abuse The assistance of the Public Attorneys Office to women andchildren who are victims of violence under RA No. 9262 shall be limited to thefollowing services:

a. Legal advice or consultation;

b. Conduct of pre-litigation/mediation conference between the parties incases involving economic abuse, with the express consent of thevictim and where there is no imminent danger to her life and limb and

those of her children;

c. Preparation of affidavits and other pertinent papers necessary to thefiling of the complaint for violence against women or children,petition/application for protection order and/or civil action for damages;

d. Filing of petition/application for protection order;

e. Representation in courts in cases of petition for protection order and/orcivil action for damages.

Section 2. Provisional Legal Assistance Pending verification on

the applicants indigency and evaluation of the merit of her/his case, the PublicAttorneys Office may provide legal assistance to women and their children whoare victims of violence in cases where a pleading has to be filed immediately toavoid adverse effects to the applicant, except when the same would give rise toconflict of interest.

When at anytime, during the hearing of the application for protection order,the Public Attorney finds that the petitioner/applicant is not qualified for PAO legalassistance, he/she should be referred to any other public and/or free legal aidorganization and/or be duly advised to retain the services of a counsel of his/herown choice.

Section 3. Handling of Cases In the handling of cases involvingviolence to women and their children, the First Come First Serve Policyembodied in Memorandum Circular No. 18 shall be strictly observed.


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AARRTTIICCLLEE VVPPRROOCCEEDDUURREE IINN EEXXTTEENNDDIINNGG LLEEGGAALL AASSSSIISSTTAANNCCEE TTOO WWOOMMEENN

AANNDD CCHHIILLDDRREENN SSUUBBJJEECCTTEEDD TTOO VVIIOOLLEENNCCEE

Section 1. WALK-IN CLIENTS.For clients who seek the services ofthe Office, or who visit the same for consultation, the following procedures shallbe observed:

a. When a person visits the Office to seek legal advice for a problemconcerning violence against women and their children, he/she shall be

referred to a PAO staff who shall conduct an interview and determine ifthe person/client is qualified under the Indigency Test and to a Public

Attorney for the Merit Standard Tests, in accordance with MC No. 18.

In qualifying the person for the Indigency Test, the Public Attorneyor staff shall require the submission of any of the following: the latestIncome Tax Return (ITR), DSWD Certificate of Indigency, BarangayCertificate of Indigency, or other pertinent proof of indigency. Insituations where the victim woman or child lacks access to family orconjugal resources, such as when the same are controlled by theperpetrator, this shall qualify the victim as an indigent, and free legal

assistance of PAO shall therefore be afforded to her/him.

b. If the person is qualified to avail of free legal assistance, the PublicAttorney shall advise her/him on the proper action to be taken,including the filing of the application/petition for protection order.

In filing the application/petition for protection order, the PublicAttorney shall prepare the pleadings, as well as the affidavits of theapplicants and the witnesses in support thereof.

c. If the person does not qualify for free legal assistance after applyingthe merit and indigency tests, he/she should be referred to any otherpublic and/or free legal aid organization and/or be duly advised to seekthe legal assistance of a counsel of his/her own choice;

d. Whether or not the person is qualified to avail of free legal assistance,the Public Attorney shall cause to be entered in the Logbook for Casesof Violence Against Women and Their Children the following data:

Entry No.

Date Received

Name and Address of Victim/ Complainant

Name and address of Parents/Guardian of the victim

Name and Address of Respondent

Assistance Given

Remarks


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Each PAO District Office shall maintain a separate logbook for casesinvolving violence against women and their children. The logbook shallserve as a directory for cases handled by the Office. At the same time,it shall also be a guide/reference for Public Attorneys in accepting orrefusing acceptance of a case by reason of conflict of interest; and,

e. In an application/petition for protection order, the appearance andassistance of PAO shall extend up to the final resolution of the case.

f. In the event a criminal Information is filed in court against the accused,as a result of PAOs assistance to the complainant at the prosecutors

office, the active prosecution of the criminal case in court shallimmediately be turned over to the public prosecutor.

Section 2. WHERE APPEARANCE OF PAO IS THROUGHCOURT APPOINTMENT

Where an application/petition for protection order is filed in court throughthe assistance of any person mentioned in Section 9 of R.A. 9262, and the Public

Attorney is appointed by the court to appear for the applicant/petitioner, he shallprovisionally accept such appointment.

However, in case of conflict of interest or after determining that theapplicant can afford to hire the services of a counsel de parte, the handlingPublic Attorney shall withdraw his appearance, and thereafter refer the applicantto any other public and/or free legal aid organization or advise him/her to retainthe services of a counsel of his/her own choice.

AARRTTIICCLLEE VVIISSAANNCCTTIIOONN

Section 1. Sanction Willful and unjustified deviation from theseProcedures on the part of the PAO lawyer shall warrant the imposition ofsanctions in accordance with the Civil Service Laws, Rules and Regulations.

AARRTTIICCLLEE VVIIIIFFIINNAALL PPRROOVVIISSIIOONN

Section 1. Suppletory character These Procedures shall be

suppletory to Memorandum Circular No. 18, Series of 2002 on AmendedStandard Office Procedures in Extending Legal Assistance and the ImplementingRules and Regulations of R.A. No. 9406.


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Section 2. Repealing Clause

Memorandum Circular No. 01, Seriesof 2006 on the Standard Office Procedures in Extending Legal Assistance toWomen and Their Children who are victims of violence, other circulars,issuances and memoranda or any portion thereof inconsistent herewith arehereby repealed and/or modified accordingly.

Section 3. EffectivityThis Memorandum Circular shall take effect on

December 7_, 2007.

Signed this _7th_ day of _November_ 2007, Quezon City.

PERSIDA V. RUEDA-ACOSTAChief Public Attorney

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