Short answer. Yes. RA 9262 requires the healthcare provider to safeguard the records and make them available to the victim upon request at actual cost. The records are to be kept for you and released to you; what you may be charged is the cost of producing the copies.
What the law says
safeguard the records and make them available to the victim upon request at actual cost
RA 9262, Section 31 — Healthcare Provider Response. Read the full provision →
One clause, two obligations
The safeguarding comes first and is the reason the second obligation means anything. A provider who has kept the records properly can release them years later; one who has not cannot, however willing. So the clause is as much about the file continuing to exist as about your access to it. If you were seen some time ago, ask early rather than assuming the material will still be retrievable whenever you eventually need it. Note also who the access is given to. The clause names the victim, so it is not a general release point for relatives or for anyone else who takes an interest, and the Act's confidentiality rule cuts the same way.
“At actual cost” is not a fee at large
The phrase limits what a clinic may charge to what producing the copies actually costs. It is not a price for the records and not a professional fee for retrieving them. Set it beside the neighbouring duty in the same provision — the medical certificate on the examination is to be provided automatically and free of charge — and the scheme is clear enough: the document that proves the visit costs you nothing, and reproducing the underlying file is charged at cost.
What the records are supposed to contain
More than a note of a physical injury. The provider is required to properly document the victim's physical, emotional or psychological injuries, and separately to properly record suspicions, observations and the circumstances of the examination or visit. That second limb is the one people do not expect, and it is often the more useful: a contemporaneous note of how you presented and what was said at the time. If your copy is thinner than that, it is fair to ask whether anything further is on file.
Why they matter, and what protects them
An application for a protection order asks for a statement of the circumstances of the abuse, and a permanent order is decided by the court on the evidence presented to it. Records made at the time are the material least dependent on anyone's memory. They are also protected: records of cases of violence against women and their children are confidential, and public or private clinics and hospitals are required to respect the victim's right to privacy. Make your request in writing and keep a copy of the request itself.
Related provisions
- RA 9262, Section 11 — How To Apply
- RA 9262, Section 16 — Permanent Protection Orders
- RA 9262, Section 44 — Confidentiality