Sec. 5(h); Elements of the crime of violence against women through harassment. – The elements of the crime of violence against women through harassment are:
- The offender has or had a sexual or dating relationship with the offended woman;
- The offender, by himself, or through another, commits an act or series of acts of harassment against the woman; and
- The harassment alarms or causes substantial emotional or psychological distress to her;[1]
“A conviction for violation of sub-paragraph 5, Section 5 (h) of Republic Act No. 9262 requires the presence of the following elements, which must be proven by the prosecution beyond reasonable doubt” first, the offender has or had a sexual or dating relationship with the offended woman; second, the offender, by himself or through another, commits an acts or a series of acts of harassment against the woman; third, the harassment alarms or causes substantial emotional or psychological distress to the woman; and fourth, the offender acted for the purpose of alarming or causing the substantial emotional or psychological distress to the woman, or knowing that their conduct will alarm or cause substantial emotional or psychological distress to the woman, or the offender acted recklessly, in conscious disregard of the risk that the act or series of acts of harassment will alarm or cause substantial emotional or psychological distress to the woman.”[2]
Element of past or present relationship. “In other words, one element of violence against women is through harassment is either a present of past sexual or dating relationship with the offended woman. Thus, as long as at the time the alleged crime was committed, the offender and the offended woman either were or used to be in a sexual or dating relationship, the foregoing element is present.[3]
What the provision penalizes. “It should be stressed that what is penalized under the law is the act of engaging in purposeful, knowing , or reckless conduct that alarms or causes substantial emotional or psychological distress to a woman or her child. In other words, what constitutes the crime is the commission of acts that cause psychological harm to a woman or her child.”[4]
First conviction under RA 9262. Ang vs People of the Philippines is the first conviction for a crime under R.A. 9262, involving a violation of Section 5(h) of the law. The accused was charged when he sent text messages to the private complainant, superimposing the latter’s face on the picture of a naked woman, making it appear that it was the picture of the private complainant who is naked. In his defense, the accused argues that his relationship with the complainant was on an “on and off basis”; thus it cannot be considered as “over time and on a continuing basis”. His single act of sending an offensive picture should not be considered as harassment. The court struck down his argument. For the court, an “away-bati” relationship is a common occurrence among lovers; their taking place does not mean that the romantic relation between the two should be deemed broken up during periods of misunderstanding; on whether a single act of harassment constitutes a violation of the law, the court ratiocinated that “Section 3(a) of R.A. 9262 punishes any act or series of acts” that constitutes violence against women. This means that a single act of harassment, which translates into violence, would be enough. The object of the law is to protect women and children. Punishing only violence that is repeatedly committed would license isolated ones.
[1] Ang vs People of the Philippines, G.R. No. 182835, April 20, 2010
[2] XXX236779 vs People of the Philippines, G.R. No. 236779, December 3, 2025
[3] Sedenio v. People of the Philippines, January 19, 2026
[4] Sedenio v. People of the Philippines, January 19, 2026