BAGUIO CITY – A councilor here on Tuesday reminded the police and village officials that they are not allowed by law to mediate in cases involving violence against women and their children (VAWC).
“It is in the law, bawal ‘yan (that is not allowed),” Councilor Betty Lourdes Tabanda said in an interview, citing Republic Act No. 9262 or The Anti-Violence Against Women and their Children Act.
Tabanda, who chairs the Committee on Women, Children and the Elderly, said the only action that can be done at the community level is the issuance of a barangay protection order.
The order prevents the perpetrator from going near the victim.
“It is for the protection of the woman or the child that the law prohibits settlement or mediation,” Tabanda, also a lawyer and the only woman in this city’s legislative body, said.
She noted that unlike in the past, there are now avenues where abused women can seek refuge to prevent the repeat of the violence, which she said affects the victim’s mental health.
The Office of the City Social Welfare and Development has a temporary shelter for abused women where they will be assessed for possible financial assistance and other government interventions.
“We have the Haven for Women and Girls managed by the DSWD (Department of Social Welfare and Development) where they can seek temporary or longer period of shelter if home is not possible,” Tabanda said.
“There are even some women victims who bring their children to the center to ensure that they are not left behind at the place where they can also be possibly abused.”
Tabanda said government interventions aim to make the victim financially capable and empowered.
“There is a need to boost the morale of the victims so that they can renew themselves and stand up to help themselves and their children,” she said.
Tabanda urged women to empower themselves intellectually, physically, psychologically and financially to prevent becoming victims of violence in their own homes. **Liza Agoot
