Short answer. That is indirect assault under Article 149 of the Revised Penal Code. It punishes anyone who uses force or intimidation on a person who comes to the aid of the authorities or their agents while a direct assault under Article 148 is being committed.

What the law says

any person who shall make use of force or intimidation upon any person coming to the aid of the authorities or their agents on occasion of the commission of any of the crimes defined in the next preceding article

Revised Penal Code, Article 149 — Indirect Assaults. Read the full provision →

The offence protects the helper, not the officer

Article 149 punishes any person who shall make use of force or intimidation upon any person coming to the aid of the authorities or their agents on occasion of the commission of any of the crimes defined in the next preceding article. Read it carefully and you will see that the victim of this crime is you — the civilian who stepped in — not the officer. The law's reasoning is straightforward. If a bystander who helps an officer under attack is left with nothing but an ordinary complaint for injuries, nobody will help. So it treats the attack on the helper as an offence against public order, with a penalty of its own.

There must have been a direct assault first

The phrase the next preceding article points to Article 148, which defines direct assault — the attack on, or serious intimidation or resistance of, a person in authority or an agent of one who is engaged in the performance of official duties. That is the setting Article 149 requires. It is not enough that a police officer happened to be nearby, or that you were being generally helpful. Somebody must have been assaulting or seriously resisting the officer, and you must have come to the officer's aid on that occasion. If no direct assault was under way, your attacker is answerable for physical injuries or threats instead, which are real charges but different ones.

What counts as force or intimidation

The article covers force or intimidation, so no blow needs to land. A credible threat made to drive you off — a weapon shown, a promise of what will happen to you or your family — falls within the wording. Nor does the article require that you be injured, which is why a complaint is worth making even where the assault left no marks. Note two limits. The provision reaches those who aid the authorities or their agents, so it does not cover a person who intervenes in a purely private quarrel where no officer is involved. And it is aimed at genuine assistance, not at someone who joins a scuffle to take sides.

The penalty, and what to do now

Indirect assault carries prisión correccional in its minimum and medium periods and a fine not exceeding one hundred thousand pesos. That figure comes from Republic Act No. 10951 (2017), which revised the fines and property values throughout the Revised Penal Code — older reproductions still print the far smaller 1930 amounts, so check which version any source you consult is giving you. If you were also injured, the injuries are a separate matter, and any medical treatment should be documented immediately. Two things help a case of this kind more than anything else: the officer's own report, which places you at the scene assisting, and the identity of other bystanders. Ask for a copy of the blotter entry and take advice promptly.

Related provisions

Note. Statute text quoted on this page is reproduced from the official enactment and is linked to the full provision. The explanation around it is general legal information from Vivas & Nobles Law Office, not legal advice. Whether it applies to your situation depends on facts only a lawyer reviewing them can assess.