Short answer. Yes. Under Section 28 of RA 7610, the offended party — the abused child — shall be immediately placed under the protective custody of the Department of Social Welfare and Development. The language is not discretionary; the child is taken into the State's care at once, with custody proceedings following Presidential Decree No. 603.
What the law says
The offended party shall be immediately placed under the protective custody of the Department of Social Welfare and Development pursuant to Executive Order No. 56, series of 1986.
RA 7610, Section 28 — Protective Custody Of Child. Read the full provision →
What the law says
In the regular performance of this function, the officer of the Department of Social Welfare and Development shall be free from any administrative, civil or criminal liability.
RA 7610, Section 28 — Protective Custody Of Child. Read the full provision →
What the law says
Custody proceedings shall be in accordance with the provisions of Presidential Decree No. 603.
RA 7610, Section 28 — Protective Custody Of Child. Read the full provision →
The law says immediately, and it means it
Section 28 of Republic Act No. 7610 does not leave this to anyone's discretion. It commands that The offended party shall be immediately placed under the protective custody of the Department of Social Welfare and Development pursuant to Executive Order No. 56, series of 1986. The word is immediately: once a child is the offended party in an abuse case, protective custody follows at once, not after a full hearing or a parent's consent. The provision treats the child's safety as too urgent to wait, so the DSWD steps in to shelter the child while the case against the abuser is dealt with separately.
Why the social worker is shielded
The section then protects the officer who carries this out: In the regular performance of this function, the officer of the Department of Social Welfare and Development shall be free from any administrative, civil or criminal liability. The law understands that a worker who removes an abused child quickly may later be accused of overreaching by an angry family. To keep that fear from freezing a rescue, it gives the DSWD officer immunity — but only for the regular performance of the duty. Acting in good faith within the function is covered; abuse of the power, or action outside it, is not shielded by this clause.
How the custody proceeds
Protective custody is not a legal black hole. The section provides that Custody proceedings shall be in accordance with the provisions of Presidential Decree No. 603 — the Child and Youth Welfare Code. That framework governs how the child's placement is handled and reviewed, so the child does not simply vanish into an office. The removal is the emergency first step; the settled procedure of Presidential Decree No. 603 then supplies the process that follows, keeping the child's situation under a recognised legal regime rather than an ad hoc one.
What protective custody is not
This provision is about rescuing an abused child, not about deciding a custody tug-of-war between parents. It does not permanently strip parents of their children, nor does it resolve who should raise a child in an ordinary family dispute — different rules govern that. Protective custody is a shield placed around the offended child during an abuse case, meant to remove the child from harm and into State care. Whether longer-term arrangements follow is decided under the separate processes the law provides, not by Section 28 standing alone.