Short answer. Yes. Under Section 6 of the VAWC law, if the acts of violence are committed in the presence of the woman's child, the penalty is raised to the maximum period of whatever penalty applies to the offence. Committing the violence while she is pregnant has the same effect.
What the law says
If the acts are committed while the woman or child is pregnant or committed in the presence of her child, the penalty to be applied shall be the maximum period of penalty prescribed in the section
RA 9262, Section 6 — Penalties. Read the full provision →
The aggravating circumstance
Section 6 provides that if the acts are committed while the woman or child is pregnant or committed in the presence of her child, the penalty to be applied shall be the maximum period of penalty prescribed in the section. Two situations therefore raise the penalty: the act committed while pregnant, and the act committed in the presence of her child. Maximum period means the higher end of the penalty range the offence otherwise carries. The circumstance does not create a new crime — it shifts the sentence upward within the penalty already applicable to the act committed.
How the base penalty is set first
The law keys the penalty to the kind of act. Acts amounting to physical injuries carry graduated penalties depending on how serious the injuries are, and the other forms of abuse the law covers carry their own penalties. The presence-of-the-child circumstance then pushes whichever of those penalties applies to its maximum period. So the aggravation operates on top of the penalty fixed for the particular act of violence, which is why the effect on any given case depends on what act was committed in the first place.
What 'in the presence of her child' requires
The circumstance is the child's presence at the time the act is committed. It reflects the law's recognition that violence witnessed by a child inflicts a distinct harm. Like any circumstance that increases a penalty, it has to be alleged in the charge and proven by evidence — it is not assumed from the family living together. Whether a child was present, and in what sense witnessed the act, is a factual question decided on the evidence in the case rather than taken for granted because a child is part of the household.
What this means, and next steps
Because the circumstance shifts the sentence rather than defining the crime, it comes to bear at conviction and sentencing on the underlying act of violence. For someone pursuing a complaint, the practical point is to see that the circumstance is set out in the charge from the start, since a circumstance not alleged and proven cannot lawfully raise the penalty. Exactly how it applies to a particular incident is best worked through with counsel, against the facts of what happened and who was present when it did.