Short answer. Yes. Police officers are one of the categories who may petition for a protection order, and the law states a preference for those in charge of women and children's desks. Since the officer is not the offended party, the application must be accompanied by an affidavit on the abuse and on your consent.
What the law says
(e) police officers, preferably those in charge of women and children's desks
RA 9262, Section 9 — Who May File. Read the full provision →
What the law says
Law enforcement agents shall also extend assistance in the application for protection orders in cases brought to their attention.
RA 9262, Section 11 — How To Apply. Read the full provision →
What “preferably” is doing in that clause
The word states a preference, not a restriction. The category is police officers; the desk is named because officers assigned to it are the ones trained for these cases, which makes it the sensible place to start rather than the only door. If the station you can reach has no such desk available when you are there, the clause does not put you outside the section. It is worth asking who at that station handles these matters before recounting anything, so you tell it once.
A protection order and a criminal case are separate decisions
People often hold off because they think approaching the police commits them to a criminal complaint. The Act treats an application for a protection order as something that may be filed as an independent action, or else as incidental relief inside a civil or criminal case already running. So the two can move separately: an application does not require a criminal case to exist, and a criminal case is not what an application automatically becomes. Ask an officer or a lawyer which of the two you are being asked to sign.
What the Act asks of officers who are told about a case
Assistance is not discretionary politeness. Law enforcement agents are directed to extend assistance in applications for protection orders in cases brought to their attention, and barangay officials and court personnel are likewise directed to help prepare the application. Where a court issues a temporary order it is served personally by the sheriff, who may call on law enforcement agents for that service. The Act also provides that a police authority who responds or intervenes in accordance with law, without using force greater than necessary to ensure safety, is not liable for doing so.
Which court, and how far an order reaches
An application for a temporary or permanent order goes to the trial court with territorial jurisdiction over the petitioner's residence, and to the family court where one exists in that place. One application filed with a court counts as an application for both the temporary and the permanent order, so it is not two separate filings. Orders issued by a court under the Act are enforceable anywhere in the Philippines, which matters if you move or if the respondent does. Applications are heard ahead of the court's other business.
Related provisions
- RA 9262, Section 10 — Where To Apply
- RA 9262, Section 12 — Enforceability Of Orders
- RA 9262, Section 34 — Intervenors Exempt From Liability