Short answer. If he violates a court-issued TPO or PPO, that violation is punishable as contempt of court under the Rules of Court, and he can still be charged separately for any crime the same acts amount to. (Violating a barangay protection order carries thirty days' imprisonment.) The offended party keeps every other criminal and civil remedy.
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
Violation of a BPO shall be punishable by imprisonment of thirty (30) days 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 →
Two kinds of protection order, two consequences
Republic Act No. 9262 recognises different protection orders, and the consequence of breaking one depends on which it is. A Barangay Protection Order (BPO) is issued at the barangay level; its violation shall be punishable by imprisonment of thirty (30) days, and a complaint for that violation is filed directly with the municipal or metropolitan trial court that has jurisdiction over the barangay that issued it. A Temporary or Permanent Protection Order (TPO or PPO), by contrast, is issued by a court, and violating one is treated differently — as contempt of that court. Knowing which order you hold tells you which route applies when it is disobeyed.
Violating a court order is contempt
For the court-issued orders, the section is explicit: 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. Contempt is the court's power to punish disobedience of its own orders, and it can mean a fine or imprisonment imposed by that court. This gives a protection order real teeth: if your husband ignores a term of a TPO or PPO — coming near you, contacting you, or entering the home the order excluded him from — he is not merely breaking a piece of paper, he is defying a judge, and the court that issued the order can act on that defiance.
The violation is without prejudice to other charges
The most important words for a victim may be without prejudice to any other criminal or civil action that the offended party may file for any of the acts committed. They appear for both the BPO and the TPO or PPO. This means the contempt, or the thirty-day penalty, is on top of, not instead of, liability for whatever the acts themselves are. If in violating the order he also hurt you, threatened you, or damaged property, those are separate offences he can be charged with in their own right. The protection-order penalty punishes the defiance of the order; the ordinary criminal law still punishes the underlying violence or harassment. One act can therefore lead to several proceedings at once.
Where it goes, and what the court can do
The forum differs by order: a BPO-violation complaint goes directly to the proper municipal or metropolitan trial court, while a TPO or PPO violation is pursued as contempt in the issuing court, and the section notes that a judgment on a BPO violation may be appealed under the Rules of Court. Usefully, the law also lets the trial court, during trial and upon judgment, motu proprio issue a protection order as it deems necessary without need of an application — the court can protect you on its own initiative. What the section does not do is act by itself: someone must report the violation and pursue it. If your husband breaches an order, document what happened and bring it to the authorities and counsel promptly.