Research Paper
LEGAL AND CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK OF BATTERED
WOMAN SYNDROME AS A DEFENSE *
Maria Rowena Amelia V. Guanzon**
I. INTRODUCTION
In September 2011, a woman by the name of Shiela Macapugay hid a .38 caliber gun in the lining of her bag that was undetected by the security in the mall where her husband was working. She fired a fatal shot at her husband and in her attempt to kill herself immediately thereafter, also killed the security guard who tried to stop her from committing suicide.1
The demise of Macapugay’s husband was not a simple but common occurrence. Her husband abandoned her and their child to be with another woman, and denied them of support. These are acts of violence against women protected by Republic Act No. 9262, otherwise known as the Anti-Violence
* A paper originally delivered in the Experts ' Meeting on Battered Woman Syndrome as a
Psychological Concept and a Legal Defense sponsored by the Women 's Crisis Center, Inc. and the
Canadian International Development Agency in Innotech, Quezon City, August 9, 2005. It has been edited and updated for publication. Cite as Rowena V. Guanzon, Legal and
Conceptual Framework of Battered Woman Syndrome as a Defense, 86 Phil L.J. 1 (page cited) (2011)
** Atty. Rowena V. Guanzon (U.P. Law ' 84) has a degree of Master in Public
Administration from Harvard University (1995). She is a litigation lawyer known in the pioneer filed of gender discrimination including violence against women. Formerly a Mayor of Cadiz City, Atty. Guanzon is a faculty member of the University of the Philippines
College of Law and Officer-in-Charge of the U.P. Law Center Institute for the
Administration of Justice. She authored Engendering the Philippine Judiciary, The Davide Court:
Its Contributions to Gender and Women’s Rights, and the Anti-Violence Against Women and Their
Children Act. In researching for this paper, she was assisted by Marcrese C. Banaag, Maria
Graciela D. Base, Celeni Kristine G. Guinto, and Paula
WOMAN SYNDROME AS A DEFENSE *
Maria Rowena Amelia V. Guanzon**
I. INTRODUCTION
In September 2011, a woman by the name of Shiela Macapugay hid a .38 caliber gun in the lining of her bag that was undetected by the security in the mall where her husband was working. She fired a fatal shot at her husband and in her attempt to kill herself immediately thereafter, also killed the security guard who tried to stop her from committing suicide.1
The demise of Macapugay’s husband was not a simple but common occurrence. Her husband abandoned her and their child to be with another woman, and denied them of support. These are acts of violence against women protected by Republic Act No. 9262, otherwise known as the Anti-Violence
* A paper originally delivered in the Experts ' Meeting on Battered Woman Syndrome as a
Psychological Concept and a Legal Defense sponsored by the Women 's Crisis Center, Inc. and the
Canadian International Development Agency in Innotech, Quezon City, August 9, 2005. It has been edited and updated for publication. Cite as Rowena V. Guanzon, Legal and
Conceptual Framework of Battered Woman Syndrome as a Defense, 86 Phil L.J. 1 (page cited) (2011)
** Atty. Rowena V. Guanzon (U.P. Law ' 84) has a degree of Master in Public
Administration from Harvard University (1995). She is a litigation lawyer known in the pioneer filed of gender discrimination including violence against women. Formerly a Mayor of Cadiz City, Atty. Guanzon is a faculty member of the University of the Philippines
College of Law and Officer-in-Charge of the U.P. Law Center Institute for the
Administration of Justice. She authored Engendering the Philippine Judiciary, The Davide Court:
Its Contributions to Gender and Women’s Rights, and the Anti-Violence Against Women and Their
Children Act. In researching for this paper, she was assisted by Marcrese C. Banaag, Maria
Graciela D. Base, Celeni Kristine G. Guinto, and Paula
Cited: by Myrna Feliciano, The Battered Woman/Child Syndrome, a lecture delivered in the PWJA Convention, Manila Hotel on March 4, 2004. I LUIS REYES, THE REVISED PENAL CODE CRIMINAL LAW 320-322, (2008 ed.). 27 See Rowena Guanzon, Lucid Interval, Philippine Daily Inquirer, January 31, 2004 for the history and rationale of the provision on BWS. 28 Rep. Act No. 9262, §26 (2004).