I already had the incident blottered at the barangay or police. Does that mean a case has been filed?

Why

A barangay or police blotter is a record of what was reported, when, and by whom. It is useful: it shows you reported promptly, it can show a pattern of repeated incidents, and it can support your later complaint. But no one is summoned, charged, or ordered to do anything because of a blotter entry. Many people blotter an incident, wait, and later find the time to file has run out.

Crimes must be prosecuted within fixed periods. Under Article 90 of the Revised Penal Code, light offenses prescribe in two months, oral defamation and slander by deed in six months, offenses punishable by arresto mayor in five years, and other offenses with correctional penalties in ten years. Under Article 91, the period is interrupted by the filing of a complaint or information, not by a blotter entry. A complaint filed with the punong barangay also interrupts it, but under Section 410(c) of the Local Government Code (RA 7160) that interruption cannot exceed 60 days from the filing. Offenses under special laws have their own periods.

For many everyday disputes, the barangay comes first. Under Sections 408 and 412 of RA 7160, disputes between individuals actually residing in the same city or municipality must go through the Lupong Tagapamayapa before anyone can file in court or with the prosecutor. This covers offenses punishable by no more than one year of imprisonment and no more than a ₱5,000 fine, but not disputes where one party is the government, offenses with no private offended party, or, as a rule, parties living in different cities or municipalities. Under Section 412(b), you may go directly to court when the accused is detained, when habeas corpus is needed, when you need an urgent provisional remedy such as an injunction, or when the case would otherwise prescribe.

At the barangay, you complain orally or in writing to the punong barangay and pay the filing fee. The respondent is summoned by the next working day. If mediation fails within 15 days, a pangkat (conciliation panel) is formed, which has 15 days, extendible by another 15, to help the parties settle. Parties appear in person without lawyers (Section 415). A signed amicable settlement has the force of a final judgment after 10 days unless repudiated (Section 416). If there is no settlement, the barangay issues a certification that lets you file the case.

For more serious offenses, or once you have that certification, you file a sworn complaint-affidavit with the Office of the City or Provincial Prosecutor, together with your witnesses' affidavits and evidence such as a medical certificate, photos, or screenshots. The prosecutor evaluates it and, where required, conducts a preliminary investigation in which the respondent answers with a counter-affidavit, and then decides whether to file the case in court. Violence against women and their children is an exception to barangay conciliation: Section 33 of RA 9262 makes the Katarungang Pambarangay procedure inapplicable to those cases.