Republic of the Philippines

Department of Education
REGION V. – BICOL
SCHOOLS DIVISION OF LEGAZPI
LEGAZPI CITY SCIENCE HIGH SCHOOL
BITANO, LEGAZPI CITY

CATCH-UP FRIDAYS – March 8, 2024

Grade 10 Q3 – Relevant Laws Concerning Abusive Relationships
Name: ____________________________________________ Grade 10 – _____________ Date: __________

Read the following selection and answer the Guide Questions that follow.
TRIGGER WARNING: ABUSE AND VIOLENCE (If, in any case, you are unable to read this text due to trauma
and triggers, DO NOT PROCEED ON READING. Inform the teacher to provide you a new activity sheet.)

This is a real account of domestic violence from a survivor. Source:

https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/specials/content/187/living-in-hell/

LIVING IN HELL – MAE

“I thought he would change,” Mae said. Through 28 years of marriage with Rodrigo, she always held out
hope that one day, he would stop. Mae met him when she was just 20. He was a part-time student who
worked as a security guard near her home. Mae thought that the man she met was kind and flawless. He
even made an effort to be close to her family. It took a year in the relationship for him to show his true colors.

“He was very jealous and very controlling,” Mae said. Mae couldn’t get a haircut without Rodrigo getting mad
because she “didn’t ask for his permission.” She couldn’t wear mini skirts and she couldn’t go out alone. She
always had to ask for his permission for even the smallest things. There even came a point when he would
get jealous of his own uncle and brothers.

“I was young, and I was glad because, ‘Ay, he really loves me’ because he’s getting jealous. But that was
wrong. He was getting possessive. It wasn’t just jealousy anymore.” Then she got pregnant. She had to get
married because Mae’s job at a big company didn’t allow unwed mothers on its staff. Rodrigo only got
worse.

“In the beginning, when he’d get jealous, he’d slap me. At first, I’d fight back, but if you fight back, he’s really
going to kill you. That’s why I decided to keep quiet most of the time,” Mae said, adding she couldn’t
remember all the incidents; there were just too many. “At first, it was just slaps, until he began to punch me
in different parts of my body.”

Life at home was hell. When he came home and there was no dinner, Rodrigo would throw pots at Mae. If
he didn’t like how she answered a question, he’d throw the glass he was drinking from at her. If she cut the
bangus wrong, he would flip over the table. If she served pork and beans and he did not like it, he would
push the can against her face.

If he was not laying his hand on her, she would still get verbal lashings that would make her feel like the
smallest person. “He would curse at me, in a terrible way. He would tell me I could only become a secretary
and nothing more. He’d accuse me of cheating and tell me I had a rotten organ because of the affairs I’ve
allegedly been in. It’s all very humiliating.”

The abuse did not stay private. “He’d humiliate me in public. For example, at the cashier in the department
store, he’d tell me, ‘Who told you to get that? You’re spending so much. Put that back!’ He’d turn you into a
kid,” Mae said. “When we’re in the car and he’s driving, if you just glance at the window and there’s a man
standing there, he’d slap me and tell me that I liked the man outside.”
The jealousy only got worse. “He’d always say that our neighbor was my boyfriend. He would accuse me of
having a relationship with his brother, his friend, any man he saw,” Mae said. It turned out that Rodrigo was
guilty of the very thing he kept accusing Mae of doing.
I had officemates that he pursued. He was a womanizer.

She worked hard but Rodrigo was in charge money. In fact, he controlled every centavo, even the amount
she can spend for their household.

All five of their children bore witness to their own father’s abuse. “I wish the kids didn’t see, but he’d show it.
He’d even hurt the children,” Mae said. “He’d slap them, punch them in the stomach.”

But every time he’d hurt her, Mae knew an apology would come soon after. “He’d say sorry the next day. He
didn’t mean it. He’d even go down on his knees. He’d hug you and kiss you and say it won’t happen again.
I’d escape so many times but he’d still find me again. They call it the cycle of abuse,” Mae said.

“I bore it all because he was providing for my children’s education, their allowance, their tuition. I stayed in
the relationship for my children. I stayed because I wanted a complete family. But nothing happened
because that was who he was,” she added.

For almost a decade, Mae didn’t tell anyone about the abuse she’s suffered at the hands of Rodrigo. “I didn’t
have anyone to go to,” she began. Mae hid it from her parents for a very long time. When they would visit
and saw she had a black eye, they turned suspicious. “I told them that I accidentally hit myself but they didn’t
believe me.”

Her whole family, even her children, pushed her to leave. “My children, my eldest and my daughter would tell
me to get away from him because he ‘might kill you.’” It did not help that when she went to the police, the
whole thing just backfired on her. “They just told me it was ‘away-pamilya,’ a family quarrel,” Mae said.

Mae finally found the courage in 2004, when Republic Act 9262, also known as the Anti-Violence Against
Women and Their Children Law, was enacted. By then, Mae had been suffering for 28 long years.

Mae’s children were already grown up by the time she mustered enough courage to leave Rodrigo. She was
reading the newspaper when she saw an ad about an organization that helps survivors of violence. Mae
dialed the contact number.

After R.A. 9262 was implemented, Mae decided to get a barangay protection order against him. With the
order, Rodrigo was forbidden by law to lay a finger on Mae. But Rodrigo beat Mae again with a telephone
when he found her talking to his aunt. Her daughter called the cops after that incident.

“The police came and he started crying. He was throwing a fit on the street in front of our house. It was
drizzling then. He said, ‘Go, arrest me! Just kill me!’ He was like a child lying down on the street in the rain.
Is that something a sane person would do?” Mae said.

They went to the municipal hall, where he continued to beg their children to drop the charges. But Mae was
initially adamant to send him to jail. “What a waste it didn’t push through.”

But when they reached the women’s desk, she simply told him, “Get out of the house. Send us money, but
don’t ever come back again.” He walked away free, but despite their agreement, he rarely sent money. Mae
had to work hard to make ends meet, but after 28 years of living in fear, it was a worthy price to pay to finally
be free.

(You may also read the full article on the link provided to gain more insights.)
VOCABULARY DEVELOPMENT
Write three unfamiliar words from the selection text and write the definition according to how the words were
used in the selection text.

CHECK FOR UNDERSTANDING

Answer the following questions.
1. How did Mae's relationship with Rodrigo initially begin, and what were her expectations for their future
together?
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2. Describe the impact of Rodrigo's abuse on Mae and her children, both emotionally and physically.
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3. Why did Mae endure all the abuse she was experiencing?
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4. How did the passing of Republic Act 9262 affect Mae's decision to seek help and leave Rodrigo?
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 5. Reflecting on Mae's journey, what message or lesson can be gleaned from her story about domestic
violence and the importance of seeking support?
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PROTECT YOURSELF
Fill the chart with signs of abuse.

SIGNS OF
ABUSE

KNOW YOUR RIGHTS

Research and fill the table with laws and support that the government provides to women and children against
domestic violence and abusive relationships.

LAW WHAT IT DOES