Short answer. A Regional Trial Court designated as a Family Court has original and exclusive jurisdiction over violence against women and their children (VAWC) cases under RA 9262. Only where no such court exists in the place of the offense does an ordinary Regional Trial Court take over.
What the law says
The Regional Trial Court designated as a Family Court shall have original and exclusive jurisdiction over cases of violence against women and their children under this law.
RA 9262, Section 7 — Venue And Jurisdiction. Read the full provision →
Family Courts have exclusive jurisdiction
Section 7 of RA 9262 places VAWC cases in a single forum: The Regional Trial Court designated as a Family Court shall have original and exclusive jurisdiction over cases of violence against women and their children under this law. A Family Court is simply a Regional Trial Court that has been designated to handle family and child cases. Original jurisdiction means the case begins there, not on appeal; exclusive means no other court — not a first-level trial court, not a regular RTC branch — may hear it while a designated Family Court is available in that place.
Why the forum is specialised
VAWC covers physical, sexual, psychological, and economic abuse against a woman and her children by a partner or former partner. Concentrating these cases in Family Courts is meant to give them judges and staff attuned to the dynamics of intimate-partner violence, to protection orders, and to child-sensitive procedure. That specialised handling is part of why the law makes the jurisdiction exclusive rather than shared: it keeps a coherent, protective process rather than scattering VAWC cases across courts that may treat them as ordinary criminal complaints.
The fallback when no Family Court sits there
Because not every locality has a designated Family Court, the same section provides that in the absence of such a court in the place where the offense was committed, the case is filed in the Regional Trial Court where the crime or any of its elements was committed, at the option of the complainant. So the absence of a Family Court never leaves a victim without a court — an ordinary Regional Trial Court hears the case, and the complainant chooses among the places where an element occurred.
What this decides and what it leaves open
This rule answers which court, not whether a given act is VAWC or how strong the evidence is — those remain to be proven. Filing in the correct court from the outset avoids dismissal or transfer for lack of jurisdiction, which only postpones relief such as a protection order and support. It does not, by itself, decide how the case will turn out. If you are unsure whether a designated Family Court covers your area, confirming it before filing, ideally with a lawyer's help, spares you avoidable delay.