Manila, Sept. 2 -- A councilor here on Tuesday reminded the police and village officials that they are not allowed by law to mediate in cases involving violence against women and their children (VAWC).

"It is in the law, bawal 'yan (that is not allowed)," Councilor Betty Lourdes Tabanda said in an interview, citing Republic Act No. 9262 or The Anti-Violence Against Women and their Children Act.

Tabanda, who chairs the Committee on Women, Children and the Elderly, said the only action that can be done at the community level is the issuance of a barangay protection order.

The order prevents the perpetrator from going near the victim.

"It is for the protection of the woman or the child that the law prohibits settlement or mediation," Tab...