Short answer. Yes. RA 9262 directs the court to expedite the issuance of a hold departure order in cases prosecuted under the Act. That means the court can bar your abuser from leaving the Philippines while the case is ongoing, so he cannot simply fly out to escape the proceedings or evade the protection order.
What the law says
The court shall expedite the process of issuance of a hold departure order in cases prosecuted under this Act.
RA 9262, Section 37 — Hold Departure Order. Read the full provision →
What a hold departure order does
Section 37 of Republic Act No. 9262 provides that the court shall expedite the process of issuance of a hold departure order in cases prosecuted under this Act. A hold departure order is a directive that keeps a person from leaving the country. Applied to your abuser, it means he can be barred from boarding a flight or otherwise departing the Philippines while the VAWC case runs its course. The order is issued by the court handling the case, and it is one of the ways the law tries to make sure a respondent actually stays and answers the charges instead of slipping abroad.
The law tells courts to move quickly
The word the statute chooses is expedite. That is a deliberate instruction to the court not to let the request languish, because the risk in these cases is precisely that an abuser will leave before anything can be done. Speed matters when someone with the means to travel senses that a case is closing in. By directing courts to hasten the process, Section 37 recognises that a hold departure order is only useful if it is in place before the person is gone. It reflects the practical reality that flight is a real danger in abuse cases.
When it applies and who issues it
The section ties the hold departure order to cases prosecuted under this Act. In other words, there must be a VAWC case in motion for the court to act on. It is the court, not the barangay or the police on their own, that issues the order, as part of its authority over the pending case. This keeps the measure grounded in an actual proceeding rather than a mere suspicion, while still giving the court the means to prevent the respondent from placing himself beyond the reach of the process he is subject to.
Limits and related measures
A hold departure order restrains movement; it does not decide guilt or stand in for the protection order's other reliefs, such as stay-away directives or support. It is a companion measure aimed at keeping the respondent within the country's reach. Its usefulness also depends on timing — if the abuser has already left the Philippines, a domestic order cannot pull him back, and different steps would be needed. That is why acting promptly, and asking the court to move on the request early, fits the very reason the law tells courts to expedite it. Prompt legal guidance helps ensure the right relief is sought at the right moment.