Short answer. Yes. If your husband refuses to appear despite being properly notified, the court does not have to wait for him. The anti-VAWC law lets it hear your evidence ex parte and decide on that basis, so a permanent protection order can be issued even though he never shows up in court.
What the law says
In case the respondent fails to appear despite proper notice, the court shall allow ex parte presentation of the evidence by the applicant and render judgment on the basis of the evidence presented.
RA 9262, Section 16 — Permanent Protection Orders. Read the full provision →
Staying away does not stop the case
The law refuses to let an abuser defeat a protection order by simply not turning up. It provides: "In case the respondent fails to appear despite proper notice, the court shall allow ex parte presentation of the evidence by the applicant and render judgment on the basis of the evidence presented." It adds that his non-appearance, his lack of a lawyer, or his lawyer's unavailability is not a ground to reschedule the hearing. So a husband who ignores the summons does not freeze the proceedings — he forfeits his chance to be heard, and the court moves ahead on your evidence.
Proper notice is the one condition
The court's power to proceed rests on the respondent having been properly notified. That is the safeguard: the law does not punish someone who never knew, but it does not reward someone who knew and chose to stay away. The provision even handles the case where he appears without a lawyer — the court appoints one for him and proceeds immediately, rather than granting a delay. The message running through the section is that fair notice, not the respondent's cooperation, is what due process requires.
What the court can weigh and grant
Deciding on your evidence alone does not make the order thin. The court may consider any history of the respondent's abusive conduct, even conduct not directed at you, and it may grant any, some, or all of the reliefs the Act allows in a permanent order. The law also says a protection order may not be denied merely because time passed between the violence and the filing. Once issued, a permanent protection order stays effective until a court revokes it on the application of the person it protects — it does not quietly lapse.
Protection continues, and stands on its own
If the hearing cannot be finished in a single day, the law directs the court to keep extending the temporary order in thirty-day stretches until final judgment, so you are not left unprotected in the gap. A protection order is also independent of any criminal case: whatever the outcome of a related prosecution, the court decides separately whether the permanent order should stand, and it may issue one even where a case is dismissed, unless it is clearly shown the act never happened. This is general information about the order, not advice on a specific case.