Short answer. Yes. The anti-VAWC law lists parents and guardians of the offended party among those who may file a petition for a protection order. So a parent can seek a protection order for an abused daughter, and does not need to be the direct victim to do so.
What the law says
A petition for protection order may be filed by any of the following: (a) the offended party; (b) parents or guardians of the offended party
RA 9262, Section 9 — Who May File. Read the full provision →
Parents are named on the list
The law does not confine the right to file to the victim alone. It says "A petition for protection order may be filed by any of the following: (a) the offended party; (b) parents or guardians of the offended party." A parent therefore has standing in their own right — they are not merely helping the daughter file, they may file the petition themselves. This is squarely aimed at situations like a daughter being abused: the person closest to her, and often the one who first sees the danger, can go to the barangay or the court on her behalf.
Why the law opens the door so wide
A victim of abuse is frequently the person least able to file — held back by fear, financial dependence, control by the abuser, or, if she is a minor, by age itself. The Act answers that by listing a wide circle who may petition: the offended party, her parents or guardians, other relatives within the fourth civil degree, social workers of the DSWD or the local government, police officers, barangay officials, her lawyer or health provider, and even two concerned citizens with personal knowledge of the abuse. A parent stepping in is exactly the situation the provision was written to allow.
What the parent is actually asking for
The petition seeks a protection order — an order restraining the abuser and safeguarding the victim. Depending on where it is filed and how urgent the danger is, that can be a Barangay Protection Order, a Temporary Protection Order from the court issued the same day, or, after a hearing, a Permanent Protection Order. When a parent files, the relief runs to the protection of the daughter: keeping the abuser away, stopping the harassment, and, where appropriate, arranging support. The parent is the one who brings the case; the daughter is the one the order shields.
Practical points and limits
Filing as a parent still requires showing that what happened falls within the kind of violence the Act covers, so the petition has to set out the abuse and the relationship involved. A parent's standing does not depend on the daughter separately signing on, though her cooperation naturally strengthens the case; and if she is already an adult, she can also file on her own. Because timelines and venue matter when someone is in danger, act quickly and bring whatever evidence exists. This is general information about who may file, not advice on a particular case.