Dear Atty. Angela,

My former live-in partner and I had a serious fight when my son who was then 12 years old came to my rescue. As my partner was drunk, he vented on my son and stabbed him at the back until he passed away. I filed a case for murder, in relation to Section 5 (a) and 6 of Republic Act 9262. He is questioning the decision whether he was properly convicted for violation of Section 5 (a) of RA 9262, constituting murder under Article 248 of the Revised Penal Code.

Sonya

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Dear Sonya,

Yes, it was correct that your former partner was convicted under RA 9262, and still constituting murder under criminal law.

Section 3 (a) of RA 9262 defines “violence against women and their children” as “any act or a series of acts committed by any person against a woman who is a woman with whom the person has or had a sexual or dating relationship, or with whom he has a common child, or against her child whether legitimate or illegitimate, within or without the family abode, which result in or is likely to result in physical harm or suffering, including threats of such acts, battery, assault, coercion, harassment or arbitrary deprivation of liberty.”

While Section 5 (a), in relation to Section 6 (a), of RA 9262 provides that when the acts of violence committed by causing physical harm to the woman or her child constitute murder, this shall be punished in accordance with the provisions of the Revised Penal Code, in addition to the penalty of fine and mandatory psychological counseling.

In People v. XXX277980, G.R. No. 277980 (2025), the Supreme Court affirmed with modification the conviction of the accused for violation of Section 5(a) in relation to Section 6 of RA 9262, effectively dropping the murder charge. It explained that the variance doctrine applies, which considered murder deemed absorbed by RA 9262.

The Supreme Court applied RA 9262 in this case, considering that the victim was the child of the accused’s common-law wife. It noted that the scope of the said special law is not limited only to the woman with whom the accused has or had a dating or sexual relationship but also extends to her child. This applies even if the accused has no direct relationship with the victim by consanguinity or affinity, as in this case, where he was merely the victim’s stepfather.

As for the penalty, pursuant to Section 6(a) of Republic Act 9262, the acts of violence committed by the accused constitute the crime of murder where the law imposes the penalty of reclusion perpetua to death.

Atty. Angela Antonio