As stated by the Republic Act 9262 or “Anti-Violence Against Women and Their Children Act of 2004” under “Economic Abuse” the legal wife can file a case towards her husband who does not provide support for the family.
To accomplish this, the wife needs to go through proper documentation that proves the husband’s failure to support his family.
Procedure:
- You need to file a “Petition for Protection Orders” at a trial court. It can be a regional trial court, municipal trial court, regional trial court, municipal circuit trial court, metropolitan trial court which has a territorial jurisdiction of the petitioner’s place of residence. This “petition” covers a number of aspects which includes abuse, provision of support and harassment as mentioned in Section 8.
- The protection order needs to be in writing, signed then verified under oath. These information needs to be included in the petition.
- Names and address of both respondent and petitioner
- Relationship description of both respondent and petitioner
- A statement mentioning the circumstances of the abuse
- Description of reliefs
- Request for counsel and reason
- Request for waiver of the fees throughout the application until hearing
- Attestation stating that there is no pending application for the protection order in other courts
The court personnel or the barangay official will then provide assistance to the applicant. Law enforcement agents can also render their services for cases brought upon their attention.
