College of Business Administration Education

Legal Management

Bolton Street, Davao City

Personal Law Notes

Jedi Bentillo

LAW ON PROPERTIES (Civil Code)

land, and forming a permanent part of it; the

animals in those places are included;
(7) Fertilizer actually used on a piece of land;
(8) Mines, quarries and slag dumps,
while the matter thereof forms part of the
bed, and waters either running or
stagnant;
(9) Docks and structures which, though
floating, are intended by their nature
and object to remain at a fixed place
on a river, lake or coast; and
(10) Contracts for public works, and
servitudes and other real rights over
immovable property

PROPERTY DEFINED
All things which are, or may be the object of
appropriation (Art. 414, CC)
Requisites: (USA)
1. Utility
2. Substantivity or individuality
3. Appropriability
CLASSIFICATION OF PROPERTIES

NATURE
A.

B.

Immovable
A.
B.
Properties
(Real Properties)
C.
Movable
Properties
(Personal
D.
Properties)

OWNERSHIP
Public Dominion
Patrimonial
Property
Property Of Local
Government
Units (LGUs)
Private
Ownership

I. BY NATURE
A. IMMOVABLE PROPERTIES
(Art. 415, by paragraphs)
(1) Land,
buildings,
roads
and
constructions of all kinds adhered to the
soil;
(2) Trees, plants and growing fruits, while they
are attached to the land or form an integral
part of an immovable;
(3) Everything attached to
an immovable
in a fixed manner in such a way that it
cannot be separated therefrom without
breaking the material or deterioration of the
object;
(4) Statues, reliefs, paintings or other objects for
use or ornamentation, placed in buildings or
on lands by the owner of the immovable in
such a manner that it reveals the intention
to attach them permanently to the
tenements;
(5) Machinery, receptacles, instruments or
implements intended by the owner of
the tenement for an industry or works which
may be carried on in a building or on a
piece of land, and which tend directly to
meet the needs of the said industry or
works;
Requisites:
a. made by owner
b. industry or works carried on building or
on land
c. machines, etc must tend directly to meet
needs of the industry or works
d. machines, etc. must be essential
and principal elements of the
industry.
(6) Animal houses, pigeon-houses, beehives,
fishponds
or
breeding places
of
similar nature, in case their owner has
placed or preserved them, with the intention
to have them permanently attached to the

Categories: (NIDA)
1. Real by nature it cannot be
carried from place to place (pars.
1 & 8, Art. 415, Civil Code)
2. Real by incorporation attached to an
immovable in a fixed manner to be an
integral part thereof (pars. 1-3 Art. 415,
Civil Code)
3. Real by destination placed in a n
immovable for the utility it gives to the
activity carried thereon (pars. 4-7 and
9 Art.
415, Civil Code)
4. By analogy it is so classified by express
provision of law (par. 10, Art. 415, Civil
Code)

B. MOVABLE PROPERTIES
(Art. 416, by paragraphs, SRFT )
1) Those
movables
susceptible
of
appropriation which are not included in
the preceding article;
2) Real property which by any special
provision of law is considered as
personalty;
3)
Forces of nature which are brought
under control of science;
4) In general, all things which can be
Transported from place to place
without impairment of the real property
to which they are fixed;
(Art. 417, by paragraphs)
1)

2)

Obligations and actions which have

for
their
object
movables
or
demandable sums; and
Shares of stock of agricultural,
commercial and industrial entities,
although they have real estate.
TESTS:
a) By e x c l u s i o n :
movables a r e
everything not included in Art. 415.
b) By description: an object is movable
if it possesses:
1) Ability to change location
2) Without substantial injury to the
immovable to which it is
attached.

College of Business Administration Education

Legal Management

Bolton Street, Davao City

Personal Law Notes

Jedi Bentillo

II. BY OWNERSHIP
Important
Doctrines/principles
on
immovable and movable properties:
a) A Building is an immovable even if not
erected by the owner of the land. The
only criterion is union or incorporation with
the soil. (Ladera vs. Hodges, 48 O.G.
4374).
b) Parties
to
a
contract
may
by
agreement treat as personal properties
that
which
by
nature would be real
property; and it is a familiar phenomenon
to see things classes as real property for
purposes of taxation which on general
principle might be considered personal
property (Standard Oil Co. vs. Jaranillo, 44
Phil 631).
c) For purposes of attachment and
execution and for purposes of the
Chattel Mortgage Law, ungathered products
have the nature of personal property. (Sibal
vs. Valdez, 50 Phil,
512).
d) The human body, whether alive or dead, is
neither real nor personal property, for it is
not even property at all, in that it generally
cannot be appropriated.
Under certain
conditions, the body of a person or parts
thereof may be subject matter of a
transaction. (See RA No. 349, RA No. 7170,
RA No. 7719).
e) What is the effect of temporary separation of
movables from the immovables to which
they have been attached?
2 Views:
1)

They continue to be regarded as

immovables.
2)
Fact of separation determines the
condition of the objects thus
recovering
their
condition
as
movables.
* the latter view is supported by Paras
and Tolentino who maintains that the failure
of the codifiers to reproduce the provision of
the partidas on the matter is an indication
that they did not intend the rule to continue.
f) A building that is to be sold or mortgaged
and which would be immediately demolished
may be considered personal property and the
sale or mortgage thereof would be a sale of
chattel, or a chattel mortgage respectively, for
the true object of the contract would be the
materials.

A. PROPERTY OF PUBLIC DOMINION

Concept: It is not owned by the
state but pertains to the state, which, as
territorial sovereign exercises certain
juridical prerogatives
over
such
property. The ownership of such properties
is in the social group, whether national,
provincial or municipal.
Purpose: To serve the citizens and
not the state as a juridical person.
Kinds:
1. Those intended for public use
2. Those which are not for public
use but intended for public service
3. Those
intended
for
the
development of the national wealth
CHARACTERISTICS:
1. Outside the commerce of man
2. Inalienable. But when no longer
needed for public use or service, may
be declared patrimonial property.
In
Laurel vs. Garcia (187 SCRA 797), the
Supreme Court held that whether or
not the Roppongi and related properties
will eventually be sold is a policy
determination where both the President
and Congress must concur.
3. Cannot
be
acquired
by
prescription
4. Not subject to attachment or execution
5. Cannot be burdened with
easements
NOTE: They cannot be registered under the
land registration law and be the subject of a
Torrens title. The character of public property
is not affected by possession or even a
Torrens Title in favor of private persons.
(Palanca vs. Commonwealth, 69 Phil. 449).
B. PATRIMONIAL PROPERTY OF THE STATE
Property of the State owned by it in its private
or proprietary capacity.
the state has the same rights over
this kind of property as a private individual
in relation to his own private property
C. PROPERTY
UNITS (LGUs)
1.

OF

LOCAL

GOVERNMENT

Property for public use consist of roads,

streets, squares, fountains, public waters,
promenades and public works for public
service paid for by the LGUs
2. Patrimonial Property all other property
possessed by LGUs without prejudice to
provisions of special laws

NOTE: In the case of Province of Zamboanga

Del Norte vs. City of Zamboanga, the Supreme
Court categorically stated that this court is
not inclined to hold that municipal property
held and devoted to public service is in the
same category as ordinary private property.
The classification of municipal property
devoted for distinctly governmental purposes
as public should prevail over the Civil Code
in this particular case. Here, the Law of
Municipal Corporations was considered as a
special law in the context of Article 424 of the
NCC.
D. PROPERTY OF PRIVATE OWNERSHIP
Refers to all property belonging
to private persons either individually
or collectively and those belonging
to

the State and any of its political

subdivisions which are patrimonial in
nature
Muebles or furniture generally has
for its principal object the furnishing or
ornamenting of a building. Note that there
are exceptions to this definition and are
generally not included as furniture unless
the law or the individuals declaration
include them.

OWNERSHIP
The right to enjoy, dispose, and recover a
thing without further limitations than those
established by law or the will of the owner.
Rights included:
1. Right to enjoy: (PUFA)
a) to possess (jus possidendi)
b) to use (jus utendi)
c) to the fruits (jus fruendi)
and accessions
d) to abuse (jus abutendi)
2. Right to dispose: (DATE)
a) to destroy b)
to alienate
c) to transform
d) to encumber
3. Right to vindicate: (RP)
a) pursuit
b) recovery
4. Right to exclude: (ER)
a) to enclose, fence and delimit b)
to repel intrusions even with
force
Characteristics: (EGEIP)
1. Ownership is Elastic power/s may be
reduced
and
thereafter
automatically
recovered
upon
the
cessation of the limiting rights.
2. General the right to make use of all
the possibilities or utility of the thing
owned, except those attached to other real
rights existing thereon.
3.
Exclusive there can only be one
ownership over a thing at a time. There
may be two or more owners but ONLY
ONE ownership.
4. Independence It exists without necessity
of any other right
5. Perpetuity ownership lasts as long

as the thing exists.

It cannot be
extinguished by non-user but only by

adverse possession.
Limitations:
1. General limitations imposed by the
State for its benefit
2. Specific limitations imposed by law
3. Limitations imposed by the party transmitting
the property either by contract or by will
4. Limitations imposed by the owner himself
5. Inherent limitations arising from conflict with
other rights
De Facto case of Eminent Domain
expropriation resulting from the actions of
nature as in one case where land becomes
part of one sea. The owner loses his
property in favor of the state without any
compensation.
Principle of Self-Help

right
of
the
owner
or
lawful
possessor to exclude any person from the
enjoyment and disposal of the property by
the use of such force as may be necessary
to repel or prevent actual or threatened
unlawful physical invasion or usurpation of
his property.
Requisites: (RONA)
1. reasonable force
2. owner or lawful possessor is the
person who will exercise
3. no delay in ones exercise
4. actual or threatened physical invasion or
usurpation
GENERAL RULE: A person cannot interfere
with the right of ownership of another.
EXCEPTION: Doctrine of Incomplete
Privilege or State of Necessity (Article
432)
Requisites: (ID)
1. Interference necessary
2. Damage to another much greater than
damage to property
LEGAL
REMEDIES
TO
RECOVER
POSSESSION OF ONES PROPERTY
1. Personal property: Replevin
REPLEVIN - remedy when the complaint
prays for the recovery of the possession of
personal property.

2. Real Property:
a. ACCION INTERDICTAL
Nature:
summary
action
to
recover physical or material possession
only.
It consists of the summary
actions of:
1. Forcible entry
Action for recovery of
material
possession
of
real
property when a person originally
in
possession was deprived
thereof by force, intimidation,
strategy, threat or stealth
2. Unlawful Detainer
Action for recovery of
possession of any land or building by landlord,
vendor, vendee, or other person against whom
the possession of the same was unlawfully
withheld after the expiration or termination of the
right to hold possession, by virtue of any
contract.

Forcible Entry

Unlawful
Detainer

As to when possession became unlawful

Possession of the
Possession
is
defendant
is inceptively lawful but
unlawful from the becomes illegal from
beginning as he the time defendant
acquires
unlawfully
possession
by
withholds
Force, intimidation,
possession
after
strategy, threat or the expiration or
stealth
termination of his
right thereto.
As to the necessity of demand
No
previous
Demand
is
demand for the
jurisdictional if the
defendant
to
ground is nonvacate
is
payment of rentals
necessary
or failure to comply
with
the
lease
contract
As to necessity of proof of prior
physical possession
Plaintiff
must
prove that he was in
prior physical
possession of the
premises until he
was
deprived
thereof by the

Plaintiff need not

have been in prior
physical possession

3.
defendant
As to when the 1 year period is counted
from
1 year period is 1 year period is
generally counted counted from the
from the date of date
of
last
actual entry on demand
or
last
the land
letter of demand
b. ACCION PUBLICIANA
Nature:
Ordinary
civil
proceeding to recover the better right
of possession, except in cases of
forcible entry and unlawful detainer.
The involved is not possession de
facto but possession de jure.
c. ACCION REIVINDICATORIA

Nature:
action to recover real
property based on ownership. Here,
the object is the recovery of the
dominion
over
the property as
owner.
Requisites:
1. Identity of the Property
2. Plaintiffs title to the
property
Surface Rights
The owner of parcel of land is the
owner of its surface and everything
under it.
The economic utility which such space
or subsoil offers to the owner of the
surface sets the limit of the owners right
to the same.
HIDDEN TREASURE
Definition: any hidden or unknown
deposit of money, jewelry or other
precious objects, the lawful ownership of
which does not appear.
GENERAL RULE: It belongs to the
owner of the land, building or other
property on which it is found.
EXCEPTIONS: The finder is entitled to
provided:
1. Discovery was made on
the
property of another, or of the state or
any of its political subdivisions;
2. The finding was made by chance;

The finder is not a co-owner of the

property where it is found;
4. The finder is not a trespasser;

5.
6.

The finder is not an agent of the

landowner;
The finder is not married under the
absolute community or the conjugal
partnership system (otherwise his
share belongs to the community).

ACCESSION
The right by virtue of which the owner
of a thing becomes the owner of
everything that it may produce or which
may be inseparably united or incorporated
thereto, either naturally or artificially.
Classifications:
1. Accession Discreta the right pertaining to
the owner of a thing over everything produced
thereby
Kinds of Fruits
a. natural fruits spontaneous products
of the soil and the young and other
products of animals
b. industrial fruits those produced by
lands of any kind through cultivation
or labor

c.

civil fruits rents of buildings, price

of leases or lands and the amount of
perpetual or life annuities or other
similar income

GENERAL RULE: To the owner belongs

the natural, industrial, and civil fruits.
EXCEPTIONS: If the thing is: (PULA)
a) in possession of a possessor in
good faith;
b) subject to a usufruct;
c) leased or pledged; or
d) in possession of an antichretic
creditor
2. Accession Continua the right pertaining to
the owner of a thing over everything that is
incorporated or attached thereto either
naturally or artificially; by external forces.
a. With respect to real property
i. accession industrial
building, planting or sowing
ii. accession natural
alluvium, avulsion, change

of
river course, and
formation of islands
b. With respect to personal
property
i.
adjunction or conjuction ii.
commixtion or confusion iii
specification
Basic Principles: (GONE BAD)
1. He who is in good faith may be held
responsible but will not be penalized.
2.
To the owner of a thing belongs the
extension or increase of such thing.
3. Bad faith of one party neutralizes the
bad faith of the other.
4. There should be no unjust
enrichment at the expense of others.

5. Bad

faith involves liability for

damages.
6. Accessory follows the principal.
7. Accession exists only if the
incorporation is such that separation would
either seriously
damage the thing or
diminish its value.
Right of Accession with respect to
Immovable Property
NOTE: See TABLES
Important Doctrines/Principles:
a) Under Art 448, the landowner may
not refuse both to pay for the building and to
sell the land and instead seek to compel the
owner of the building to remove the building
from the land. He is entitled to such
removal ONLY when, after having chosen to
sell the land, the other party fails to pay for
said land. (Ignacio vs. Hilario, 76 Phil. 605)
b) Should no other arrangement be agreed
upon, the owner of the land does not
automatically become the owner of the
improvement. (Filipinas Colleges, Inc. vs.
Timbang,
106 Phil. 247)
c) Article 448 is not applicable where a person
constructs a house on his own land and
then sells the land, not the building.
(Coleongco vs. Regalado,
27 Phil 387)
d) Article 448 does not apply to cases
which are governed by other provisions of
law such as co- ownership, usufruct,
agency, lease.

e) The provision on indemnity in Art.

448 may be applied by analogy considering
that the primary intent of the law is to
avoid a state of forced
co-ownership
especially where the parties in the main
agree that Articles 448 and 546 are
applicable
and
indemnity
for
the
improvements may be paid although they
differ as to the basis of the indemnity.
(Pecson vs. CA 244 SCRA
407).
ACCESSION NATURAL
1. Alluvion or alluvium increment which
lands abutting rivers gradually receive as a
result of the current of the waters.
Concept: it is the gradual deposit
of sediment by the natural action of a
current of fresh water (not sea water,
the original identity of the deposit
being lost.
Requisites:
a)
the
deposit
be
gradual
and
imperceptible
b) that it be made through the
effects of the current of the water
c) that the land where accretion takes
place is adjacent to the banks of the
river.
NOTES:
The owners of the lands adjoining the
banks of the river (riparian lands) shall
own the accretion which they gradually
receive.
Accretion operates ipso jure.
However, the additional area is not
covered by a Torrens title and the
riparian owner must register the additional
area.
Doctrines:
a) Where the deposit is by sea
water, it belongs to the state
b)
A gradual change of bed is also
governed by the rules of alluvium
(Canas vs. Tuason 5
Phil. 689)
2. Avulsion the transfer of a known portion
of land from one tenement to another
by the force of the

current.
The portion of land must be
such that it can be identified as coming
from a definite tenement.
Requisites:
a) The segregation and transfer must
be caused by the current of a river,
creek or torrent.
b) The segregation and transfer must
be sudden or abrupt
c) The portion of land transported must
be known or identified
NOTES:
The
owner
must
remove
the
transported portion within two years to
retain ownership
In case of uprooted trees, the owner
retains ownership if he makes a claim
within 6 months.
This refers only to
uprooted trees and does not include trees
which remain planted on a known portion
of land carried by the force of the waters.
In this latter case, the trees are
regarded as accessions of the land
through gradual changes in the course of
adjoining stream. (Payatas vs. Tuazon)
Registration under the Torrens system
does not protect the riparian owner
against diminution of the area of his land
through gradual changes in the course of
adjoining stream (Payatas vs. Tuazon).
Alluvium
1. gradual and
imperceptible
2. soil cannot be
identified
3. belongs to the
owner
of
the
property to which
it is attached
4.
merely
an
attach-ment

Avulsion
1.
sudden
or
abrupt process
2. identifiable and
verifiable
3. belongs to the
owner from whose
property it was
detached
4. detachment followed
by
attachment

3. Change of course of rivers

Requisites:
a) There must be a natural change in
the course of the waters of the
river
b) The change must be abrupt or sudden

NOTES:
Once
the
river
bed
has
been
abandoned, the owners of the invaded
land become owners of the abandoned
bed to the extent provided by this article.
No positive act is needed on their part, as
it is subject thereto ipso jure from the
moment the mode of acquisition becomes
evident.
It does not apply to cases where the river
simply dries up because there are no
persons whose lands are occupied by the
waters of the river.
4. Formation of Islands

RULES
ON
OWNERSHIP
a. If formed by the sea:
1) within territorial waters - State
2) outside territorial waters
to the first occupant
b. If formed in lakes, or navigable or
floatable rivers - State
c. If formed on non-navigable or nonfloatable rivers:
1) if nearer to one margin or bank
to the nearer reparian owner
2) if equidistant from both
banks- to the reparian
owners, by halves.
NOTE: There is no accession when
islands are formed by the branching of a river;
the owner retains ownership of the isolated
piece of land.
Right of Accession with respect to
movable property
Basic Principle: Accession exists only
if separation is not feasible. Otherwise,
separation may be demanded.

KINDS (accession continua as to

movables):
1. Adjunction
the union of two things belonging
to different owners, in such a manner
that they cannot be
separated
without
injury, thereby forming a
single object.
Requisites
a) the two things must belong to
different owners

b)

that they form a single object,

or that their separation would impair

their nature
Kinds:
a. inclusion or engraftment
b. soldadura or soldering c.
escritura or writing
d. pintura or painting e.
tejido or weaving
Tests to determine principal:
a. the rule of importance and
purpose
b. that of greater value
c. that of greater volume
d. that of greater merits
Rules:
a)
Adjunction in good faith by either owner:
: accessory follows
the principal.
if the accessory is
much more precious than the
principal, the owner of the accessory
may demand the separation even if the principal
suffers some injury

b)

Adjunction in bad faith by the

owner of the principal
option of the owner of the
accessory:
to recover the value
damages
ii) to demand separation
damages
Adjunction in bad faith
owner of the accessory
i) he loses the accessory
ii) he is liable for damages
i)

c)

plus
plus
by

the

When separation of things

allowed:
a. separation without injury
b. accessory is more precious
than the principal
c. owner of the principal acted in bad
faith
2. Mixture
Union of materials where the
components lose their identity.
Kinds:
a. Commixtion mixture of solids
b. Confusion mixture of liquids
Rules:
a. By the will of both owners or by accident:
each owner acquires

an interest in proportion to the value

of his material
b. By one owner in good faith:
apply rule(a)
c. By one owner in bad faith:
i) he loses all his rights to his own
material
ii) he is liable for damages
3. Specification
It is the transformation of anothers material
by the application of labor. The material
becomes a thing of different kind.
Labor is the principal
Rules:
a) Owner of the principal (worker)
in good faith:
i) maker acquires the new
thing
ii) he must indemnify the owner of the
material
: if the material is more
valuable than the resulting thing, the
owner of the material has the option:
1) to
acquire
the
work,
indemnifying for the labor, or
2)
to demand indemnity for the
material
b) owner of the principal (worker)
in bad faith: the owner of the
material has the option:
i)
to acquire the result without
indemnity
ii) to demand indemnity for the material
plus damages
c) Owner of the material in bad faith
i) he loses the material
ii) he is liable for damages

Adjunction

Mixture

1. Involves
at least 2
things

Involves at
least
2
things

Specification
May
involve
one thing (or
more)
but
form
is
changed

2. Accessory
follows the
principal

Coownership
results

Accessory
follows
the
principal

3.
Things
joined retain
their nature

The
new
object retains
or preserves
the nature of
the
original
object.

The action to quiet title does not

apply:
a) to
questions
involving
interpretation of documents
b) to mere written or oral
assertions of claims; EXCEPT:
i) if made in a legal proceeding ii) if
it is being asserted that

QUIETING OF TITLE

It is an equitable action in rem to

determine the condition of the ownership
or the rights to immovable property, and
remove doubts thereon.

the instrument or entry in plaintiffs favor is

not what it purports to be
c) to boundary disputes
d)
to deeds by strangers to the title
UNLESS purporting to convey the
property of the plaintiff
e) to instruments invalid on their
face
f) where
the
validity
of
the
instrument involves pure questions of
law

Things
mixed
or
confused
may either
retain
or
lose their
respective
natures

Requisites:
1.
plaintiff must
have
a
legal
or
equitable title to, or interest in the real
property which is the subject matter of
the action;
2. there must be a cloud in such title;
3.
such cloud must be due to some
instrument, record, claim, encumbrance or
proceeding which is apparently valid but is
in truth invalid, ineffective, voidable or
unenforceable, and is prejudicial to the
plaintiffs title; and
4. plaintiff must return to the defendant all
benefits he may have received from the
latter, or reimburse him for expenses that
may have redounded to his benefit.
Prescriptive Period:
1. plaintiff
in
possession

imprescriptible
2. plaintiff not in possession 10 (ordinary) or 30
years (extraordinary)

Action to quiet
title

Action to
remove a cloud
on title

PURPOSE
to put an end to to
remove
a
troublesome
possible foundation
litigation
in for a future hostile
respect
to
the claim
property involved
NATURE OF
remedial
action
involving a present
adverse claim

THE ACTION
Preventive action
to prevent a future
cloud on the title

Ruinous Buildings and Trees in Danger of

Falling:
As to buildings the owners is
obliged to demolish or execute necessary
work to prevent the building from falling.
Should he fail to do so, the authorities
shall order its demolition at the expense of
the owner, or take measures to insure
public safety.

The complainant must show that his

property is adjacent to the dangerous
construction, or must have to pass by
necessity in the immediate vicinity.
The owner is responsible for damages
to others due to lack of necessary repairs.
However, if the damage is caused by
defects in the construction, then the
builder is responsible for the damages.
CO-OWNERSHIP
Definition: the right of common
dominion which two or more persons have
in a spiritual part of a thing which is not
physically divided.
Concept: co-ownership exists where
the ownership of a thing physically
undivided pertains to more than one
person.

 Characteristics:
a) plurality of subjects (the coowners)
b) there is a single object which is
not materially divided
c) there
is
no
mutual
representation by the co-owners
d) it exist for the common
enjoyment of the co-owners
e) it has no distinct legal
personality
f) it is governed first of all by the
contract of the parties; otherwise, by
special legal provisions, and in default
of such provisions, by the provisions of
Title III on co-ownership
Sources:
1. Law
2. Contract
3. Chance
4. Occupation
5. Succession
6. Testamentary disposition or
donation inter vivos

Co-ownership
1. Can be created
without
the
formalities
of
a
contract
2. Has no juridical or
legal personality
3.
Purpose
is
collective enjoyment
of the thing
4.
Co-owner
can
dispose of his shares
without the consent
of the others with
the
transferee
automatically
becoming a co-owner
5. There is no mutual
representation

Partnership
1. Can be created
only by contract,
express or implied
2.
Has
juridical
personality distinct
from the partners
3. Purpose is to
obtain profits
4. A partner, unless
authorized
cannot
dispose of his share
and
substitute
another as a partner
in his place

5. A partner can
generally bind the
partnership
6. Distribution of 6. Distribution of
profits
must
be profits is subject to
proportional to the the stipulation of the
respective interests parties
of the co-owners
7. A co-ownership is 7.
Death
or
not dissolved by the incapacity dissolves
death or incapacity the partnership
of a co-owner

8.
no
public
instrument
needed
even if real property is
the object of the
co-ownership
9. An agreement to
keep
the
thing
undivided
for
a
period of more than
10 years is void

8. May be made in
any
form except
when real property is
contributed
9. There may be
agreement as to a
definite term without
limit set by law

Rules:
1. Rights of each co-owner as to the thing
owned in common: USBRAP- LDP
a) To use
the
thing
owned in
common
Limitations:
i) use according to the purpose
for which it was intended
ii) interest of the co-ownership must
not be prejudiced
iii) other co-owners must not be
prevented from using it according
to their own rights
b) To share in the benefits and charges in
proportion to the interest of each.
NOTE: Any stipulation to the contrary is
void.
c) To the benefits of prescription:
prescription by one co-owner
benefits all.
d) Repairs and taxes: to compel the others
to share in the expenses of
preservation even if incurred without
prior notice.
NOTE: The co-owner being compelled
may exempt himself from the payment of
taxes and expenses by renouncing his
share equivalent to such taxes and
expenses. The value of the property at the
time of the renunciation will be the basis of
the portion to be renounced.
e) Alterations:
to oppose alterations
made without the consent of all, even if
beneficial.
NOTES:
Alteration is an act by virtue of which a
co-owner changes the thing from the
state in which the others believe it
should remain, or withdraws it from the
use to which they desire it to be
intended.

f)
g)

h)
i)

Expenses to
improve or
embellish are decided by the
majority
To protest against seriously
prejudicial decisions of the majority
Legal redemption: to be exercised
within 30 days from written notice of
sale of an undivided share of
another co- owner to a stranger
To defend the co-ownerships
interest in court
To demand partition at any time
Partition is the division between
2 or more persons of real or
personal property which they own in
common so that each may enjoy and
possess his sole estate to the
exclusion of and without interference
from others
GENERAL RULE: Partition is
demandable by any of the coowners as a matter of right at any
time.
EXCEPTIONS:
1) When there is a stipulation against
it; but not to exceed
10 years.
2) When the condition of indivision
is imposed by the donor or
testator; but not to exceed 20
years.
3)
When the legal nature of the
community prevents partition.
4) When partition would render the
thing unserviceable.
5) When partition is prohibited by law
6)
When another co-owner has
possessed the property as
exclusive owner for a period
sufficient to acquire it by
prescription.

2. The
following
questions
are
governed by the majority of interests:
a) Management

Minority may appeal to the court

against the majoritys decision if the
same is seriously prejudicial.
b) Enjoyment
c) Improvement or embellishment

3. Rights as to the ideal share of each coowner:

a) Each has full ownership of his part and of
his share of the fruits and benefits
b) Right to substitute another person its
enjoyment, EXCEPT when personal
rights are involved
c) Right to alienate, dispose or encumber
d) Right to renounce part of his
interest
to
reimburse
necessary
expenses incurred by
another coowner
e) Transactions entered into by each coowner only affect his ideal share.
EXTINGUISHMENT OF CO-OWNERSHIP
(CALSTEP)
1. consolidation or merger in one co- owner
2. acquisitive prescription in favor of a third
person or a co-owner who repudiates the
co-ownership
3. loss or destruction of property co- owned
4. sale of property co-owned
5. termination of period agreed upon
by the co-owners
6. expropriation
7. judicial or extra-judicial partition
CONDOMINIUM ACT (R.A. NO. 4726)
CONDOMINIUM
an interest in real property consisting of
a separate interest in a unit in a
residential, industrial or commercial
building and an undivided interest in
common, directly or indirectly, in the land
on which it is located and in other common
areas of the building.
Any transfer or conveyance of a unit or an
apartment, office or store or other space
therein,
shall
include
transfer
or
conveyance of the undivided interest in the
common areas or, in a proper case, the
membership or shareholdings in the
condominium
corporation:
provided,
however, that where the common areas in
the condominium project are held by the
owners of separate units as co-owners
thereof, no condominium unit therein
shall be

conveyed or transferred to persons other

than Filipino citizens or corporations at least
60% of the capital stock of which belong to
Filipino citizens, except in cases of
hereditary succession.
GENERAL RULE: Common areas shall remain
undivided, and there shall be no judicial partition
thereof:
EXCEPTIONS:
1. When the project has not been rebuilt or
repaired substantially to its state prior to its
damage or destruction 3 years after
damage or destruction which rendered a
material part thereof unfit for use;
2. When damage or destruction has rendered
or more of the units untenantable and that
the condominium owners holding more than
30% interest in the common areas are
opposed to restoration of the projects;
3. When
the
project
has
been
in
existence for more than 50 years, that it
is obsolete and uneconomic, and the
condominium owners holding in aggregate
more than 50% interest in the common
areas
are
opposed to
restoration,
remodeling or modernizing;
4. When the project or a material part thereof
has been condemned or expropriated and
the project is no longer viable, or that the
condominium owners holding in aggregate
more than 70% interest in the common
areas are opposed to the continuation of
the condominium regime;
5. When conditions for partition by sale set
forth in the declaration of restrictions duly
registered have been met.
WATERS
Classification
a) Waters public per se (water is the principal;
the bed follows the character of the
water (See Arts.
502 [1] and 502 [2])
b) Waters public or private according
to their bed (water is accessory to bed)

c) Waters public by special provision

POSSESSION
Concept: the material holding or
control of a thing or the enjoyment of a
right.

1.
2.
3.

Requisites:
occupancy, apprehension, or taking
deliberate intention to possess
by virtue of ones own right

Degrees:
1. possession
without
any
title
whatsoever
2. possession with juridical title
3. possession with just title sufficient to
transfer ownership
4. possession with a title in fee simple
Classes:
a) In ones own name where possessor
claims the thing for himself
b) In the name of another for whom the
thing is held by the possessor
c) In the concept of owner possessor of the
thing or right , by his actions,
is considered or is believed by other people
as the owner, regardless of
the
good
or
bad
faith
of
the
possessor
d) In the concept of holder possessor holds
it merely to keep or enjoy it,
the ownership pertaining to another person;
possessor acknowledges in another
a
superior right which he
believes to be ownership.
NOTE: None of these holders assert a claim of
ownership in himself over the thing but they may
be considered as possessors in the concept of
owner, or under claim of ownership, with
respect to the right they respectively exercise
over the thing.
e) In good faith possessor is not aware
that there is in his title or mode of
acquisition a defect that invalidates it
Requisites:
1. Ostensible title or mode of
acquisition
2. Vice or defect in the title
3. Possessor is ignorant of the vice or
defect and must have an honest
belief that the thing belongs to him

NOTE: Gross and inexcusable ignorance of

the law may not be the basis of good faith, but
possible, excusable ignorance may be such
basis. (Kasilag vs Roque, 69
PHIL 217)
f)
In bad faith possessor is aware of the
invalidating defect in his own title.
NOTES:
Only personal knowledge of the flaw in
ones title or mode of acquisition can make
him a possessor in bad faith. It is not
transmissible even to an heir.
Possession in good faith ceases from the
moment defects in his title are made
known to the possessor. This interruption
of good faith may take place at the date of
summons or that of the answer if the
date of summons does not appear.
However, there is a contrary view that
the date of summons may be
insufficient
to
convince
the
possessor that his title is defective.

1.
2.
3.

Presumptions in favor of possessor:

of good faith
of continuity of initial good faith
of enjoyment in the same character
in which possession was acquired until
the contrary is proved
4. of non-interruption in favor of the present
possessor
5. of continuous possession by the one who
recovers possession of which he was
wrongfully deprived
6. of extension of possession of real
property to all movables contained
therein
Object of possession:
All things and rights
susceptible of being appropriated
1.
2.
3.
4.

Res communes
Property of public dominion
Discontinuous servitudes
Non-apparent servitudes

Acquisition of possession:
Manner
1. Material occupancy of the thing
2. Subjection to the action of our will

3. Proper acts and legal formalities established

for acquiring such right.

Conflicts between several claimants:

Possession cannot be
recognized in two different personalities except
in case of co-possession when there is no
conflict
Criteria in case of dispute:
1. present/actual possessor shall be
preferred

2. if there are two possessors, the one

longer in possession
3. if the dates of possession are the
same, the one with a title
4. if all the above are equal, the fact of
possession shall
be
judicially
determined, and in the meantime, the
thing shall be placed in judicial
deposit

Subject

Possessor in
good faith

Possessor
in bad
faith

a.
Fruits
gathered
b.
Cultivation
Expenses of
gathered
fruits
c.
Fruits
pending
and
charges
d.
Production
expenses of
pending
fruits

a. to possessor

a. to owner

b.
not
reimbursed to
possessor

b.
reimbursed
to
possessor

c.
prorated
according to
time

c. to owner

d. indemnity
pro rata to
possessor
(owners
option)
i. in money,
or
ii.
by
allowing full
cultivation
and
gathering of
all fruits

d.
no
indemnity

e.
Necessary
expenses

e. reimbursed
to possessor;
retention

f.. Useful
expenses

f. reimbursed
to
possessor
(owners
option)
i. initial cost
ii. plus value
may remove
if
no

e.
reimbursed
to
possessor;
no
retention
f.
no
reimbursem
ent

a)

g.
Ornamental
expenses

h.
Taxes
and
charges
i.
on
capital
ii.
fruits

on

iii.
i. Improvements no
longer
existing
j. Liability
for
accidental
loss
or
deteriorati
on
k.

reimbursement, and no
damage
is
caused to the
principal
by
the
removal
g. reimbursement
at
owners
option:
i. removal if
no injury, or
ii.
cost
without
h.
taxes and
removal
charges
i. charged to
owner
ii. charged to
possessor
iii. prorated

b)
g. owners
option:
i.
removal, or
ii. value at
time of
recovery
h.
taxes
and charges
i. charged
to owner
ii.
charged to
owner
iii.
to
owner

i.
no
reimbursement

i.
no
reimbursement

j.
only
if
acting
with
fraudulent
intent
or
negligence,
after
k. tosummons
owner

j. liable in
every case

Improveor
lawful
ments due possessor
to time or
nature

k.
to
owner or
lawful
possessor

Possession of movables
Possession of movables in good faith is
equivalent to title.
Requisites:
a) possession is in good faith
b) the owner has voluntarily parted with
the possession of the thing
c) possessor is in the concept of owner
One who has lost or has been
unlawfully deprived of it , may recover it
from whomsoever possesses
it,
ordinarily, without
reimbursement.

Doctrines:

c)

owner of the thing must prove (1)

ownership of the thing and (2) loss or
unlawful deprivation; or bad faith of the
possessor
Where the owner acts negligently or
voluntarily parts with the thing owned, he
cannot recover it from the possessor
The owner may recover the movable in
case of loss or involuntary deprivation; but
must reimburse the price paid if possessor
acquired the thing in good faith and at a
public sale.

Loss of possession:
1. By the will of the possessor a)
Abandonment
b) Transfer or conveyance
2. Against the will of the possessor
a) Eminent domain
b) Acquisitive prescription
c) Judicial decree in favor of better right
d) Possession of another for more
than one year
NOTE: this refers to possession de facto
where the possessor loses the right to a
summary action; but he may still bring
action publiciana or reivindicatoria
e) By reason of the object
i. destruction or total loss of
the things
ii. withdrawal from commerce
USUFRUCT
gives a right to enjoy the property of another
with the obligation of preserving its form
and substance, unless the title constituting
it or the law otherwise provides.
Characteristics:
a. Real right
b. Of temporary duration
c. To derive all advantages from the
thing
due
to
normal
exploitation
d.
may be constituted on real or
personal property, consumable or
non-consumable,
tangible
or
intangible, the ownership of which is
vested in another
e. transmissible

Usufructuary is bound to
preserve the form and substance of the
thing in usufruct.
Abnormal usufruct whereby
the law or the will of the parties may allow the
modification of the substance of the thing.
Usufruct
1. Always a real
right
2. Person creating
the usufruct should
be the owner or his
duly
authorized
agent
3. May be created
by law, by contract,
by will of the testator,
or by prescription

Lease
1.Generally
a
personal right
2. Lessor may not
be the owner

3.Generally created
by contract

4. As a rule,
4.Lease generally
usufruct covers all refers to uses only
the fruits and all
the
uses
and
benefits of
the
entire
property
5. Involves a more 5. Lease involves a
or
less
passive more active owner
owner who allows or lessor who makes
the usufructuary to the lessee to enjoy
enjoy the object
given
in usufruct
6.
Pays
for ordinary 6.Lessee is not
repairs and taxes on
the fruits

generally
under
obligation
to
undertake
repairs
or pay taxes

Special Usufructs
a) of pension or income (Art 570)
b) of property owned in common (Art.
582)
c) of cattle (livestock) (Art. 591)
d) on vineyards and woodlands (Art.
575-576)
e) on a right of action (Art. 578)
f) on mortgaged property (Art. 600)
g) over the entire patrimony (Art.
598)
h) over things which gradually
deteriorate (Art. 573)
i) of consumable property (Art 574)
Rights of the Usufructuary
1. As to the thing and its fruits

a. To receive and benefit from the

fruits

b.

To enjoy any increase through

accessions and servitudes
c. To the
half
of
the
hidden
treasure he accidentally finds
d. To lease the thing, generally, for the
same or shorter period as the
usufruct.
e. To improve the thing without
altering its form and substance
f. Right
to
set-off
the
improvements he may have made
on the property against any damage
to the same
g.
To retain the thing until he is
reimbursed
for
advances
for
extraordinary expenses and taxes on
the capital
h. To collect reimbursements from the
owner
for
indispensable
extraordinary repairs, taxes on the
capital he advanced, and damages
caused to him.
i. To remove improvements made by
him if the same will not injure the
property
2. As to the usufruct itself

a. To mortgage the right

except parental usufruct
b. To alienate the usufruct

of usufruct

Obligations of the usufructuary:

1. Before exercising the usufruct:
a. To make an inventory of the property
b. To give a bond, EXCEPT
1) when no prejudice would
result
2) when
the
usufruct
is
reserved by the
donor or
parents
3)
in cases of caucion juratoria
where the usufructuary, being
unable to file the required bond or
security, files a verified petition
in the proper court asking for the
delivery of the house and
furniture necessary for himself
and his family without any
bond or security.
takes an oath to take care
of the things and restore
them
property
cannot
be

alienated or encumbered or
leased because this would
mean that the usufructuary
does not need it.
NOTE: Effects of failure to post
bond:
1.
owner shall have the
following
options:
a. receivership of realty, sale of
movables, deposit of
securities, or investment of
money; OR
b. retention of the property as
administrator
2. the net product shall be delivered to
the usufructuary
3. usufructuary cannot collect credits due
or make investments
of the capital without the consent
of the owner or of the court until the
bond is given.
2. During the usufruct:
a. To take care of the property
b. To replace with the young thereof
animals that die or are lost in certain
cases
when
the usufruct is
constituted on flock or herd of
livestock
c. To make ordinary repairs
d. To notify the owner of urgent
extra-ordinary repairs
e. To
permit
works
and
improvements by the naked owner
not prejudicial to the usufruct
f. To pay annual taxes and charges on the
fruits
g. To pay interest on taxes on
capital paid by the naked owner
h.
To pay debts when the usufruct is
constituted on the whole patrimony
i.
To secure the naked owners or courts
approval to collect credits in certain
cases
j. To notify the owner of any prejudicial act
committed by third persons
k. To pay for court expenses and costs
regarding usufruct.
3. At the termination of the usufruct:
a. To return the thing in usufruct to

the owner unless there is a right of

retention
b. To pay legal interest on the amount spent
by the owner for extraordinary repairs
or taxes on the capital
c. To indemnify the owner for any losses
due to his negligence or of his
transferees
Extinguishment of Usufruct: (PT2DERM)
1. Prescription
2.
Termination of right of the person
constituting the usufruct
3. Total loss of the thing
4. Death of the usufructuary, unless contrary
intention appears
5. Expiration of the period or fulfillment of
the resolutory condition
6. Renunciation of the usufructuary
7. Merger of the usufruct and ownership in
the same person
EASEMENT OR SERVITUDE
Encumbrance imposed upon an immovable
for the benefit of a community or one or
more persons or for the benefit of another
immovable belonging to a different owner.

Concept:
it
is
a
real
right,
constituted on the corporeal immovable
property of another, by virtue of which the
owner of the latter has to refrain from doing
or must allow something to be done on his
property, for the benefit of another person or
tenement.

Characteristics:
a) It is a real right but will affect third persons
only when duly registered
b) It is enjoyed over another immovable,
never on ones own property
c) It involves two neighboring estates
(in case of real easements)
d) It is inseparable from the estate to which it is
attached, and, therefore, cannot
be
alienated independently of the estate
e) It is indivisible for it is not affected by the
division of the estate between two or
more persons

f)

It is a right limited by the needs of the

dominant
owner
or
estate,
without possession
g) It cannot consist in the doing of an
act unless the act is accessory in
relation to a real easement
h) It is a limitation on the servient owners
rights of ownership for the benefit of the
dominant owner; and, therefore, it is not
presumed
Classification:
1. As to its exercise:
a)Continuous Easements those the use
of which is, or may be, incessant
without the intervention of any act of
man
b) Discontinuous Easements those
which are used at intervals and
depend upon the acts of man
2. As to the indication of their
existence:
a) Apparent
Easements

those
which are made known and are
continually kept in view by external
signs that reveal the use and
enjoyment of the same
b) Non-apparent Easements those
which
show
no
external
indication of their existence
3. As to duty of servient owner
a)
Positive the servient owner
must allow something to be done in
his property or do it himself. These
are called servitudes of intrusion and
or/service
b)
Negative the servient owner
must refrain
from
doing something
which
he
could lawfully do if the
easement did not exist

Easement

Lease

1.
Real
right,
whether registered
or not

Real right only when

it is registered, or
when its subject
matter
is
real
property and the
duration
exceeds
one year
May involve either
real or personal

2. Imposed only on
real property

3. There is a limited
right to the use of
real
property
of
another but without
the
right
of
possession

Limited right to both

the possession and
use
of
anothers
property

Easement

Usufruct

1. Imposed only on
real property

May involve either

real or personal
property
Includes all the uses
and the fruits of the
property

2.
Limited
to
particular
or
specific use of the
servient estate
3. A non-possessory
right
over
an
immovable
4. Not extinguished
by the death of the
dominant owner

Involves a right of
possession in an
immovable
or
immovable
Extinguished by the
death
of
the
usufructuary

Modes of Acquisition: (PDFAT)

1. by prescription of 10 years (continuous
and apparent easements)
2. by deed of recognition
3. by final judgment
4. by apparent sign established by
the owner of two adjoining
estates
5. by title
Dominant Owner
Rights
1. To exercise all the rights necessary
for the use of the easement
2. To make on the servient estate all
the works necessary for the use and
preservation of the servitude
3.
To renounce the easement if he
desires to exempt himself from
contribution to necessary expenses
4. To ask for mandatory injunction to
prevent impairment of his use of the
easement
Obligations:
1.
Cannot
render the easement or
render it more burdensome
2. Notify the servient owner of
works necessary for the use and
preservation of the servitude

3. Choose the most convenient time

and manner in making the necessary
works as to cause the least
inconvenience to the servient owner
4. Contribute to the necessary expenses if
there are several dominant estates
Servient Owner
Rights:
1. To
retain
ownership
and
possession of the servient estate
2. To make use of the easement, unless
there is agreement to the contrary
3. To change the place or manner of the
easement, provided it be equally
convenient
Obligations:
1. Cannot impair the use of the easement
2. Contribute to the necessary expenses
in case he uses the easement, unless
there is an agreement to the contrary
Extinguishment of Easements:
(REMAIN BREW)
1. Redemption agreed upon
2. Expiration of the term or fulfillment of
the resolutory condition
3. Merger of ownership of the dominant
and servient estate
4. Annulment of the title to the
servitude
5. Permanent Impossibility to use the
easement
6. Non-user for 10 years
a.
discontinuous: counted from
the day they ceased to be used
b.
continuous:
counted
from the day an act adverse to
the exercise takes place
7. Bad condition - when either or both
estates fall into such a condition that
the easement could not be used
8. Resolution of the right to create the
servitude, i.e. in case of pacto de
retro,
when
the property is
redeemed
9. Expropriation of the servient

estate
10. Waiver by the dominant owner
EASEMENT FOR WATERING CATTLE
This is really a combined easement for
drawing of water and right of way
Requisites:
a) must be imposed for reasons of
public use
b) must be in favor of a town or village
c) indemnity must be paid
EASEMENT OF AQUEDUCT
The right arising from a forced easement by
virtue of which the owner of an estate who
desires to avail himself of water for the use
of said estate may make such waters pass
through the intermediate estate with the
obligation of indemnifying the owner of the
same and also the owner of the estate to
which the water may filter or flow.
Character: apparent and continuous
Requisites:
a) dominant owner must prove that he has
the capacity to dispose of the water
b) that the water is sufficient for the
intended use
c) that the course is most convenient,
and least onerous to the 3rd person
d) payment of indemnity
RIGHT OF WAY
The right granted to the owner of an estate
which is surrounded by other estates
belonging to other persons and without an
adequate outlet to a public highway to
demand that he be allowed a passageway
throughout such neighboring estates after
payment of proper indemnity
Requisites:
1. Claimant must be an owner of enclosed
immovable or one with real right
2. There must be no adequate
outlet to a public highway
3.
Right of way must be absolutely
necessary
4. Isolation must not be due to the
claimants own act
5. Easement must be established at

the point least prejudicial to the

servient estate
6. Payment of proper indemnity
it is the needs of the dominant
property which ultimately determine the
width of the passage, and these needs
may vary from time to time (Encarnacion
vs. CA, 195 SCRA 72).
Special cause of extinction: the opening of
a public road, or joining the dominant
tenement to another with exit on a public
road.
NOTE: the extinction in NOT automatic.
There must be a demand for extinction
coupled with tender of indemnity by the
servient owner.
PARTY WALL
a common wall which separates 2 estates
built by common agreement at the dividing
line such that it occupies a portion of both
estates on equal parts.
Party Wall
1. Shares of parties
cannot
be
physically
segregated but they
can be physically
identified

Co-ownership
Shares of the coowners can
be
divided
and
separated
physically
but
before
such
division, a co-owner
cannot point to any
definite portion of
the
property
as
2. No limitation as
None of the coto use of the party owners may use the
wall for exclusive community
benefit of a party
property for his
exclusive benefit
3. Owner may free Partial renunciation
himself
from
is allowed
contributing to the
cost of repairs and
construction of a
party
wall
by
renouncing all his
rights thereto
Presumptions of existence (juris
tantum):
1. in adjoining walls of buildings, up to
common elevation

2. in dividing walls of gardens and

yards (urban)
3. in dividing fences, walls and live
hedges of rural tenements

4. in ditches or drains between tenements

Rebuttal of presumption:
1. title
2. by contrary proof:
3. by signs contrary to the existence
of the servitude (Arts.
660 & 661)
NOTE: if the signs are contradictory,
they cancel each other
Rights of part owners:
1. to make use of the wall in proportion to
their respective interests, resting
buildings on it or inserting beams up
to one-half of the walls thickness
2. to increase the height of the
wall
a. at his expense
b. upon payment of proper
indemnity
c. to acquire half interest in
any increase of thickness or
height, paying a proportionate
share in the cost of the work and

of the land covered by the

increase
Obligations of each part-owners:
1. to contribute proportionately to
the repair and maintenance unless he
renounces his part- ownership
2. if one part owner raises the
height of the wall, he must:
a. bear
the
cost
of
maintenance of the additions
b. bear the increased expenses
of preservation
c. bear the cost of construction d.
give additional land, if
necessary, to thicken the
wall
LIGHT AND VIEW
1. Easement of Light (jus luminum) - right to
admit light from the neighboring estate by
virtue of the opening of a window or the
making of certain openings.
Requisites:
a. opening must not be greater than
30 centimeters squared,

made on the ceiling or on the wall;

and
b. there must be an iron grating
2. Easement of view (jus prospectus)
the right to make openings or windows, to
enjoy the view through the estate of another
and the power to prevent all constructions
or work which would obstruct such view or
make the same difficult. It necessarily
includes easement of light
Restrictions on openings in ones own wall
when contiguous (less than 2m) to anothers
tenement:
1. it cannot exceed 1 foot sq. (30 cm each side)
2. openings must be at the height of the
joists, near the ceiling (Choco vs.
Santamaria, 21 Phil 132)
3. the abutting owner may:
a. close the openings if the wall
becomes a party wall
b. block the light by building or
erecting his own wall unless a
servitude is acquired by title or
prescription
c. ask for the reduction of the
opening to the proper size
Restrictions as to views
1. Direct views: the distance of 2
METERS between the wall and the
boundary must be observed
2. Oblique views: (walls perpendicular or at
an angle to the boundary line) must not be
less than 60cm from the boundary line to
the nearest edge of the window
NOTE: Any stipulation permitting lesser
distances is void.
Modes of acquisition
1. by title
2. by prescription
a. positive counted from the time of the
opening of the window, if it is through a
party wall
b. negative counted from the
formal prohibition on the
servient owner.
NOTE: mere non-observance of distances
prescribed by
Art. 670
without formal
prohibition, does not give rise to prescription

VOLUNTARY EASEMENTS
Constituted by the will of the parties or of a
testator.
The owner possessing capacity to
encumber property may constitute voluntary
servitude.
If there are various owners,
ALL must consent; but consent once given
is not revocable

Voluntary easements are established in

favor of:
1. predial servitudes:
a. for the owner of the dominant
estate
b. for any other person having any
juridical
relation with the
dominant estate, if the
owner ratifies it.
2.
personal servitudes: for anyone
capacitated to accept.
NUISANCE
Any act, omission, establishment, business or
condition of property or anything else which:
(ISAHO)
1. Injures/endangers the health or safety of
others;
2. Shocks, defies or disregards decency or
morality;
3. Annoys or offends the senses;
4. Hinders or impairs the use of property; or
5. Obstructs or interferes with the
free passage to any public highway or
street, or body of water.
Classes:
1. Per se nuisance at all times and under
all circumstances regardless of location
and surrounding.
2. Per accidens nuisance by reason
of
circumstances, location, or
surroundings.
3. Public affects the community or a
considerable number of persons.
4. Private affects only a person or a
small number of persons.
Doctrine of Attractive Nuisance:

One who maintains on his premises

dangerous instrumentalities or appliances of
a character likely to attract children in play
and who fails

to exercise ordinary care to prevent

children from
playing therewith or
resorting thereto is liable to a child of
tender years who is injured thereby, even
if the child is technically a trespasser in
the premises.
Remedies against public nuisance:
(PCE)
1. Prosecution under the RPC or
local ordinance
2. Civil Action
3. Extrajudicial Abatement
Remedies against private nuisance:
(CE)
1. Civil Action
2. Extrajudicial Abatement
Extrajudicial Abatement
Requisites:
1. nuisance must be specially injurious
to the person affected;
2. no breach of peace or
unnecessary injury must be
committed;
3. prior demand;
4. prior demand has been rejected;
5. approval by district health officer and
assistance of local police; and
6. value of destruction does not
exceed P3,000.
THEORY OF MODE AND TITLE
MODE is the specific cause which gives
rise to them, as the result of the presence
of a special condition of things, of the
aptitude and intent of persons, and of
compliance with the conditions established
by law. This is the proximate cause of the
acquisition.

TITLE is the juridical justification for the

acquisition or a transfer of ownership or
other real right. This is the remote cause
of the acquisition.

DIFFERENT MODES (and TITLES) of

ACQUIRING OWNERSHIP

Modes of
acquiring
ownership

Titles of
acquiring
ownership

A. Original Modes
1. Occupation
1. Condition of
being
without
known owner
2. Work which 2.
Creation,
includes
discovery
or
invention
Intellectual
creation
B. Derivative modes
3. Law
3. Existence of
required
conditions
4. Tradition
4. Contract of the
parties
5. Donation
5. Contract of the
parties
6. Prescription
6. Possession in
the concept of
owner
7. Succession
7. Death
OCCUPATION
a mode of acquiring ownership by the
seizure of things corporeal which have no
owner, with the intention of acquiring
them, and according the rules laid down
by law.
Requisites:
1. there must be seizure of a thing
2. the thing seized must be
corporeal personal property
3. the thing must be susceptible of
appropriation by nature
4. the thing must be without an owner
5. there must be an intention to
appropriate
Specific instances:
1. hunting and fishing
2. finding of movables which do not
have an owner
3. finding of abandoned movables
4. finding of hidden treasure

5.

catching of swarm of bees that has

escaped from its owner, under certain
conditions
6. catching
of
domesticated
animals that have escaped from their
owners, under certain conditions
7. catching of pigeons without
fraud or artifice
8. transfer of fish to another breeding
place without fraud or artifice
TRADITION/DELIVERY

a mode of acquiring ownership as a

consequence of certain contracts, by virtue
of which, the object is placed in the control
and possession of the transferee, actually
or constructively.
Kinds:
1. Real Tradition - actual delivery
2. Constructive Tradition
a.
traditio symbolica
parties make use of a token or
symbol to represent the thing
delivered
b.
traditio longa manu by
mere consent of the parties if the
thing sold cannot be transferred to
the possession of the vendee at
the time of the sale
c.
traditio brevi manu when
the
vendee
already
has
possession of the thing sold by
virtue of another title
d.
traditio
constitutum
possessorium when the vendor
continues in possession of the
thing sold not as owner but in
some other capacity
3. Quasi-tradition exercise of the
right of the grantee with the consent of
the grantor
4. Tradicion por ministerio de la ley
delivery by operation of law
6. Tradition by public instrument
Requisites:
1. right transmitted should have previously
existed in the patrimony of the grantor

2. transmission should be by just title

3.
grantor and grantee should have
intention and capacity to transmit and
acquire
4. transmission
should
be
manifested by some act which
should be physical, symbolical or legal
DONATION
an act of liberality whereby a person
disposes gratuitously of a thing or right in
favor of another who accepts it
Requisites: CIDA
1. donor must have capacity to make the
donation
2. he must have donative intent
(animus donandi)
3. there must be delivery
4. donee must accept or consent to the
donation
Essential features/elements of a true
donation:
a) Alienation of property by the donor
during his lifetime, which is accepted
b) Irrevocability by the donor
c) Intention to benefit the donee
(animus donandi)
d) Consequent impoverishment of the
donor (diminution of his assets)
Classification:
1. As to effectivity:
a. inter vivos
b. mortis causa
c. propter nuptias
2. As to perfection/extinguishment:
a. pure
b. with a condition
c. with a term
3. As to consideration:
a. simple - gratuitous
b. remuneratory or compensatory made
on account of donees merits
c.
modal imposes upon the donee a
burden which is less than the value of
the thing donated

Donation Inter
Donation Mortis
Vivos
Causa
1.
Takes
effect Takes effect upon
independently of the the death of the
donors death
donor
2. Title conveyed
to
the
donee
before the donors
death
3. Valid if donor
survives donee
4. Generally irrevocable
during
donors lifetime
5. Must comply
with
the
formalities
required by Arts.
748 and 749 of the
Code

Title conveyed upon

donors death
Void if donor survives
donee
Always revocable
Must comply with the
formalities required by
law for the execution
Of wills

Donations prohibited by law:

1.
Made by persons guilty of adultery or
concubinage at the time of donation;
2. Made between persons found guilty of
the same criminal offense in consideration
thereof;
3. Made to a public officer or his/her spouse,
descendants
or
ascendants
in
consideration of his/her office;
4.
Made to the priest who heard the
confession of the donor during the latters
last illness, or the minister of the gospel
who extended spiritual aid to him during
the same period;
5. Made to relatives of such priest, etc. within
the 4th degree, or to the church to
which such priest belongs;
6. Made by a ward to the guardian
before the approval of accounts;
7.
Made to an attesting witness to the
execution of donation, if there is any, or
to the spouse, parents, or children, or
anyone claiming under them.
8.
Made to a physician, surgeon, nurse,
health officer or druggist who took care of
the donor during his/her last illness;
9.
Made by individuals, associations or
corporations not permitted by law to make
donations; and

10. Made by spouses to each other

during the marriage or to persons of whom
the other spouse is a presumptive heir.

Forms of donations:
1. Donations of movable property:
a. With simultaneous delivery of property
donated:
i.it may be oral/written P5,000 or
less;
ii.if value exceeds P5,000 written in
public or private document
b. Without simultaneous delivery:

the donation and acceptance

must be written in a public or
private instrument, regardless of
value
2. Donation of immovable property:
a. must be in a public instrument
specifying the property donated and
the burdens assumed by donee,
regardless of value
b. acceptance must be either:
i.
in the same instrument; or
ii.
in another public instrument,
notified to the donor in authentic
form, and noted in both deeds

NOTE: Expression of gratitude to the donor

without express acceptance was held a
sufficient acceptance (Cuevas vs Cuevas)
LIMITATIONS
ON
DONATION
OF
PROPERTY
1. Future property cannot be donated.
2. Present property that can be donated:
a)
if the donor has forced heirs: he
cannot give or receive by donation
more than he can give
of receive by will
b)
if the donor has no forced heirs:
donation may include all present
property provided he reserves in full
ownership or in usufruct:
1) the amount necessary to support
him, and
2) those relatives entitled to support
from him
3) property sufficient to pay
the donors debt contracted
prior to the donation.
3. Donation should not prejudice creditors
4. Donee must reserve sufficient means
for his support and for his

relatives which are entitled to be

supported by him.
EFFECTS OF DONATION
1. donee may demand the delivery of the
thing donated
2. donee is subrogated to the rights of the
donor in the property
3. in donations propter nuptias, the donor
must
release
the
property from
encumbrances,
except
servitudes
4. donors warranty exists if
a. expressed
b. donation is propter nuptias c.
donation is onerous
d. donor is in bad faith
5. when the donation is made to several
donees jointly, they are entitled to equal
portions, without accretion, unless the
contrary is stipulated
Payment of the donors debt by the
donee
1. If there is express stipulation: the donee
is to pay only debts contracted before
the donation, if not otherwise specified; but
the donee answers only up to the value of
the property donated, if no stipulation is
made to the contrary
2. If there is no stipulation: the donee
is answerable for the debts of the donor
only in case of fraud against creditors.
ACTS OF INGRATITUDE
1. If the donee should commit some offense
against the person, honor or property of the
donor, or of his wife or children under his
parental authority
2. If the donee imputes to the donor any
criminal offense, or any act involving moral
turpitude, even though he should prove it,
unless the crime or act has been committed
against the donee himself, his wife or
children under his authority
3. Refusal to support the donor
PRESCRIPTION
Kinds:
1. Acquisitive prescription ownership and other real

one acquires

rights through the lapse of time in the

manner and under the conditions laid down
by law.
a. Ordinary
acquisitive
prescription: requires possession of
things in good faith and with just title
for the time fixed by law
b. Extraordinary
acquisitive
prescription: acquisition of ownership
and other real rights without need of
title or of good faith or any other
condition
Requisites:
1) capacity to acquire by prescription
2)
a thing capable of acquisition by
prescription
3)
possession of thing under certain
conditions
4) lapse of time provided by law
2. Extinctive Prescription rights and actions
are lost through the lapse of time in the
manner and under the conditions laid down
by law.

Acquisitive
prescription

Extinctive
prescription

1.
relationship
between
the
occupant and the
land in terms of
possession is capable
of producing legal
consequences; it is
the possessor who is
the actor

1. one does not look

to the act of the
possessor but to the
neglect
of
the
owner

2. requires possession
by a claimant who is
not the owner

2. requires inaction
of the owner or
neglect of one with
a right to bring his
action
3. applies to all
kinds
of
rights,
whether real or
personal
4. produces the
extinction of rights
or bars a right of
action
5. results in the loss
of a real or personal
right, or bars the
cause of action to
enforce said right

3.
applicable
to
ownership and other
real rights
4. vests ownership or
other real rights in
the occupant
5. results in the
acquisition
of
ownership or other
real rights in a person
as well as the loss of
said ownership or real
rights in another

6. can be proven
under the general
issue
without its
being
affirmatively
pleaded

Period of Prescription
Movables

6.
should
be
affirmatively
pleaded and proved
to bar the action or
claim of the adverse
party

Immovables

4 years

1. Good Faith
10 years

8 years

2. Bad Faith
30 years

Rules on Computation of Period:

1. The present possessor may complete the
period necessary for prescription by
tacking his possession to that of his
grantor or predecessor
2.

It is presumed that the present possessor

who was also the possessor at a previous
time, has continued to be
in
possession
during
the intervening
time, unless there is proof to the
contrary

Prescriptive
period

Actions

3. The first day shall be excluded and the

last day included
Persons Against Whom Prescription
runs:
1. Minors and other incapacitated
persons who have parents, guardians or
other legal representatives
2. Absentees who have administrators
3. Persons living abroad who have managers
or administrators
4. Juridical persons, except the state
and its subdivision
Persons against whom prescription
does NOT run:
1. Between husband and wife, even though
there be separation of property
agreed
upon in the
marriage settlements or by judicial
decree.
2. Between parents and children, during
the minority or insanity of the latter
3. Between guardian and ward during
the continuance of the guardianship

Prescriptive period

Actions

a) Imprescriptible

to declare an
inexistent or void
contract
to quiet title
to demand a
right of way
to bring an
action for
abatement of
public nuisance
to demand
partition in coownership
to enforce a
trust
probate of a
will
to recover
possession of a
registered land
under the Land
Registration Act
by the registered
owner

g) 4 YEARS

action to revoke
donations due to
non-compliance of
conditions
action to
rescind partition of
deceaseds estate
on account of
lesion
action to claim
rescission of
contracts
annulment of
contracts for vice
of consent
actions upon a
quasi-delict
action to revoke
or reduce
donations based on
birth, appearance
or adoption of a
child
actions upon an
injury to the rights

b) 30 YEARS

real actions
over immovables
(but not
foreclosure)
without prejudice
to the acquisition
of ownership or
real rights by
acquisitive
prescription

h) 3 YEARS

actions under
the eight hour
labor law
actions to
recover losses in
gambling
money claims as
a consequence of
employeremployee
relationship
action to
impugn legitimacy
of a child if the

c) 10 YEARS

actions upon a
written contract
actions upon
an obligation
created by law
actions upon a
judgment from
the time
judgment
becomes final
actions among
co-heirs to
enforce warranty
against eviction in
partition

i) 2 YEARS

action to
impugn legitimacy
of a child if the
husband or his
heirs are not
residing in the city
or municipality of
birth

d) 8 YEARS

action to
recover movables
without prejudice
to acquisition of
title for a shorter
period or to the
possessors title
under Arts. 559,
1505 and 1133

j) 1 YEAR

action to
impugn legitimacy
of a child if the
husband or his
heirs are residing
in the city or
municipality of
birth
forcible entry
and unlawful
detainer
Defamation
Revocation of
donation on the
ground of
ingratitude
Rescission or for
damages if
immovable is sold
with an apparent
burdens or

 action for
warranty of
solvency in
assignment of
credits
actions for loss
or damage to
goods under the
e) 6 YEARS

actions upon
an oral (verbal)
contract
actions upon a
quasi-contract

k) 6 MONTHS

actions for
warranty against
hidden defects or
encumbrances over
the thing sold

f) 5 YEARS

action for
annulment of
marriages (except
on the ground of
insanity) and for
legal separation
counted from the
occurrence of the
cause
actions against
the co-heirs for
warranty of
solvency the
debtor in credits
assigned in
partition
action for the
declaration of the
incapacity of an
heir (devisee or
legatee) to
succeed)
all other
actions whose
periods are not
fixed by law,

l) 40 DAYS

redhibitory
action based on
faults or defects of
animals

2005 CENTRALIZED BAR OPERATIONS EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE AND

SUBJECT CHAIRPERSONS Maricel Abarentos (Over-all Chairperson), Ronald Jalmanzar (Over-all
Vice Chair), Yolanda Tolentino(VC-Acads), Jennifer
Ang(VC- Secretariat), Joy Inductivo (VC-Finance), Elaine Masukat (VC-EDP), Anna Margarita Eres
(VC-Logistics). Jonathan Mangundayao (Political Law), Francis Benedict Reotutar (Labor Law), Romuald
Padilla (Civil Law), Charmaine Torres (Taxation Law), Mark David Martinez (Criminal Law), Garny Luisa
Alegre (Commercial Law), Jinky Ann Uy (Remedial Law), Jackie Lou Bautista (Legal Ethics)