Short answer. Yes. For a temporary or permanent protection order the Act fixes venue by the place of residence of the petitioner, and if a family court exists there the application must go to that court. Where you now live is your residence for this purpose, not the house you left.

What the law says

An application for a TPO or PPO may be filed in the regional trial court, metropolitan trial court, municipal trial court, municipal circuit trial court with territorial jurisdiction over the place of residence of the petitioner

RA 9262, Section 10 — Where To Apply. Read the full provision →

Venue follows you, not the address you left

The provision fixes venue by the petitioner's place of residence and says nothing about where the abuse happened, where the marriage was celebrated, or where the family home stands. That is deliberate: a rule tied to the scene of the incident would send every applicant back to the place she had moved away from. Residence here is where you are actually living, which can be a relative's house or temporary accommodation. Be ready to say when the move happened and that it is where you are now living, because that is what the venue rule turns on.

Family court first, where one exists

The section names four levels of trial court and then adds a proviso: if a family court exists in the petitioner's place of residence, the application shall be filed with that court. So the list is not a menu you pick from. Where a family court is available locally it takes the application; the other courts are what the rule reaches for where there is none. Establishing which applies to your new address is a one-question enquiry at the courthouse, and it is worth settling before anything is drafted rather than after.

A criminal case is governed by a different rule

Do not read the venue rule for protection orders as covering everything. For cases of violence against women and their children under the Act, the Regional Trial Court designated as a family court has original and exclusive jurisdiction. Where there is no such court in the place where the offence was committed, the case goes to the Regional Trial Court where the crime or any of its elements was committed, at the option of the complainant. So the criminal side can sit in a different place from the protection order, and both can be live at once.

Filing where you live without publishing where you live

Moving and then having to write the new address on a form is the obvious worry. The Act allows for it: where disclosure of the address would pose a danger to the victim's life, that is stated in the application, and instead there is an attestation that she resides in the city or municipality over which the court has territorial jurisdiction, together with a mailing address for service. Note also that orders issued by a court under the Act are enforceable anywhere in the Philippines, so the protection does not stop at the city line.

Related provisions

Note. Statute text quoted on this page is reproduced from the official enactment and is linked to the full provision. The explanation around it is general legal information from Vivas & Nobles Law Office, not legal advice. Whether it applies to your situation depends on facts only a lawyer reviewing them can assess.