80 Rights and Empowerment PNP’s annual recruitment for women. It also provides under section 59 the formulation of gender sensitivity training. These provisions have been further strengthened under the Magna Carta of Women in its provisions on protection against violence. The MCW requires that within the next five years from its passage in 2009, there shall be an “incremental increase in the recruitment and training of women in the police force, forensics and medicolegal, legal services, and social work services availed of by women who are victims of gender-related offenses until fifty percent (50%) of the personnel thereof shall be women.”86 All government personnel involved in the defense of women are also required to undergo human rights and gender sensitivity training87. The MCW also reiterates the directive under the AntiViolence Against Women and Children (RA 9262) on the creation of Barangay VAW Desks.88 Also in relation to protection against violence, the Anti-Violence Against Women and their Children Act of 2004 (RA 9262) specifies the duties of the PNP in cases of domestic violence, whether in a marriage or in an intimate relationship. It provides: “Barangay officials and law enforcers shall have the following duties: a. respond immediately to a call for help or request for assistance or protection of the victim by entering the dwelling if necessary whether or not protection order has been issued, and ensure the safety of the victim/s; b. confiscate any deadly weapon in the possession of the perpetrator or within plain view; c. transport or escort the victim/s to a safe place of their choice or to a clinic or hospital; d. assist the victim in removing personal belongings from the house; e. assist barangay officials and other government officers and employees who respond to a call for help; 86 Id. 87 Id. 88 Sec. 12. f. ensure the enforcement of the Protection Orders issued by the Punong Barangay or the courts; g. arrest the suspected perpetrator even without a warrant when any of the acts of violence defined by this Act is occurring, or when he/she has personal knowledge that any act of abuse has just been committed, and there is imminent danger to the life or limb of the victim as defined in this Act; and e. immediately report the call for assessment or assistance of the DSWD, Social Welfare Department of LGUs or accredited non-government organizations (NGOs).” Any barangay official or law enforcer who fails to report the incident shall be liable for a fine not exceeding P10,000, or criminal, civil or administrative liability whenever applicable.89 Section 48, Rule VIII of the IRR for RA 9262 underscores the role of the PNP-Women and Children Protection Desks (PNPWCPD): “For the purposes of investigation of VAWC cases, the PNP-WCPD shall have the following duties and functions: a. Upon receipt of the complaint, the WCPD officer shall conduct appropriate investigation which includes, but is not limited to, taking the formal statement of the victim-survivor and collecting other evidence necessary for the filing of the case under the Act; b. Immediately after taking the essential elements of information during the course of investigation, the WCPD officer shall refer the victim-survivor to the nearest PNP Crime Laboratory and/or hospital or any medical facilities for appropriate medico-legal examination. It shall be the WCPD officer’s duty to ensure that as far as possible, the examining physician must be of the same gender as the victim-survivor, especially in sexual violence cases; c. Except in the case of a child who is a victimsurvivor of the Act, by which other existing laws require immediate presence of the unoffending parent 89 Sec. 30, RA 9262. CHR Gender Ombud Guidelines