Short answer. Yes. A victim under the anti-VAWC law is entitled to up to ten days of paid leave from work, on top of the other paid leaves you already have under the Labor Code and Civil Service rules. It can be extended when necessary, as stated in a protection order.
What the law says
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.
RA 9262, Section 43 — Paid Leave For Victims. Read the full provision →
The ten-day paid leave
The Act is direct about this: "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." Two things matter in that sentence. First, the leave is paid, not merely permitted. Second, it is in addition to your ordinary leave credits — it does not come out of your vacation or sick leave, and an employer cannot make you spend those first. It applies whether you work in the private sector under the Labor Code or in government under the Civil Service rules.
When it can be extended
Ten days is the baseline, not a hard ceiling. The same provision makes the leave "extendible when the necessity arises as specified in the protection order." So if attending to your safety, medical care, or the court case genuinely needs more time, an extension can be built into the protection order you obtain from the barangay or the court. That ties the longer leave to something concrete a judge or barangay official has assessed, rather than leaving it to argument with your employer. It is one practical reason a victim is often advised to pursue a protection order rather than rely on informal arrangements.
Your employer cannot punish you for using it
The law does not leave the right to good faith. It says an employer who prejudices a victim's right under this section is penalised in accordance with the Labor Code and Civil Service rules. It goes further: an employer who prejudices any person for assisting a co-employee who is a victim is liable for discrimination. So a supervisor cannot lawfully dock your pay, deny the leave, or retaliate against a colleague who helped you take it. If an employer does, that is itself a violation the law attaches consequences to, separate from the abuse that prompted the leave.
What the leave is for, and its limits
The leave exists so a victim can deal with the fallout of the abuse — seeking medical attention, arranging safety, going to the barangay or court — without losing income or a job. It does not by itself grant any of the other reliefs under the Act; the protection order, support, and custody arrangements are pursued separately. In practice you claim it through your employer, and being able to show a report or a protection order helps establish that you are a victim under the Act. This is general information about the entitlement, not advice on a particular workplace.