Short answer. Two things at once. Under Section 21, violating a court-issued TPO or PPO is contempt of court under Rule 71 of the Rules of Court. Under Section 12, it is also punishable by a fine of P5,000 to P50,000 and/or six months' imprisonment. Separate criminal or civil actions for the underlying acts are not barred.
What the law says
Violation of any provision of a TPO or PPO issued under this Act shall constitute contempt of court punishable under Rule 71 of the Rules of Court, without prejudice to any other criminal or civil action that the offended party may file for any of the acts committed
RA 9262, Section 21 — Violation Of Protection Orders. Read the full provision →
What the law says
a violation thereof shall be punishable with a fine ranging from Five Thousand Pesos (P5,000.00) to Fifty Thousand Pesos (P50,000.00) and/or imprisonment of six (6) months
RA 9262, Section 12 — Enforceability Of Orders. Read the full provision →
Violation is treated as contempt of court
A TPO (temporary) or PPO (permanent) protection order is a court order, and Section 21 backs it with the court's own enforcement power. It provides that violation of any provision of a TPO or PPO issued under this Act shall constitute contempt of court punishable under Rule 71 of the Rules of Court. That means a breach is not just a fresh complaint to investigate from scratch; it can be pursued before the very court that issued the order, under the contempt procedure, which is one of the faster routes to a consequence.
There is also a fine and imprisonment
Section 12 adds a distinct penal consequence and a jurisdictional point. It states that all TPOs and PPOs are enforceable anywhere in the Philippines, and that a violation thereof shall be punishable with a fine ranging from Five Thousand Pesos (P5,000.00) to Fifty Thousand Pesos (P50,000.00) and/or imprisonment of six (6) months. So geography is no shield — an order followed across city or provincial lines is still binding — and the breach carries a fine, imprisonment, or both. The two sections together mean a violation can draw both a contempt citation and this penalty.
The underlying acts remain separately actionable
Both sections are careful to add that the protection-order consequences are without prejudice to any other criminal or civil action the offended party may file for the acts committed. Punishing the breach of the order does not absorb or excuse the conduct that breached it. If the violation involved, say, a fresh assault or threat, that act can be the subject of its own separate case. The protection-order penalty and any charge for the underlying act run on parallel tracks rather than one replacing the other.
What to do when an order is breached
Because enforcement runs through the issuing court, documenting the breach is what makes it actionable — dates, what was done, and any witnesses or records. The section also lets the trial court, during trial and upon judgment, issue a protection order on its own motion where it sees the need. A person protected by a TPO or PPO who experiences a violation should report it promptly and keep evidence of it, and take advice on whether to move for contempt, file a separate case, or both.