Three out of 10 policemen are henpecked and even "battered husbands," or in Filipino slang, ander de saya (literally, under the skirt), according to Chief Inspector Sotera Macatangay, who heads the Women’s and Children’s Division of the Philippine National Police Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG).
"Being a policeman is not an assurance that one is not a battered husband," she said, noting that battery ing does not only include physical violence but also psychological and emotional abuse.
However, Macatangay said that while her division has the statistics, "it becomes irrelevant" once compared to the statistics on the violence committed against women and children.
"Violence against women and children are surging, the number of incidents of battered husband is also swelling, and some of the victims are policemen in active service," she said.
Macatangay pointed out that there is no particular law that will penalize an abusive wife — the Revised Penal Code only penalizes a person who inflicts injury on another.
"You, especially those who are relatives of Andres, have to lobby for a law to protect you from violence committed by your wives," she said, speaking before the operatives of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Team led by Chief Inspector Archibald Afan.
"Andres" is a name derived from the Filipino term for henpecked husband.
Asked if there are pending complaints by policemen against their wives, Macatangay admitted that several have been filed in the CIDG office at Camp Crame in Quezon City. She said many of the complaints were filed by policemen assigned to the National Capital Region.
Meanwhile, Macatangay said the incidence of violence against women and children has reached alarming proportions, noting that the latest statistics show that six out of 10 women and children are victims of violence inflicted by their husbands and parents, respectively.
She said the common complaints filed by wives and children include physical violence and rape.
The CIDG’s Women and Children’s Division, Macatangay told The STAR, has been conducting seminars on gender sensitivity among CIDG operatives to educate them on how to handle complaints lodged by victims of domestic violence.
The CIDG and the Department of Social Welfare and Development are mandated to implement Republic Act 9262, which penalizes those proven guilty of violence against women and children.
"We are doing this seminar pursuant to the mandate of RA 9262 to orient our operatives, what they should do in case there are complaints of violence against women and children in their respective areas of responsibility," Macatangay said.