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Courts Duties of Vigilance for the Protection of the Weak

and the Ignorant

ANNOTATION
COURTS DUTIES OF VIGILANCE
PROTECTION
OF THE WEAK AND THE IGNORANT

FOR

THE

By
*
JORGE R. COQUIA
___________________________
1. Source of Article 24 of the Civil Code, p. 309
2. Legislative Intent of Article 24, p. 309
3. Facts that Justified the Application of Article
24 of the Civil Code in the Rongavilla Case, p.
310
4. Written Contracts as Law Between Parties
General Rule, p. 310
5. Exceptions to the General Rule, p. 312
6. Contracts of Adhesion, p. 314
____________________
Spouses Dolores and Narciso Rongavilla v. CA, G.R. No.
83974, August 17, 1998, involved the simple case of sale of
a 131 square meter parcel of land between aunts, nephews
and nieces. The decision of the Supreme Court however,
has far reaching effects on the responsibility of courts in
rendering substantial justice to protect the weak, the
ignorant and the disadvantaged persons. It was a simple
notarized document which ordinarily should have been
given full force and effect but was, nevertheless, declared
null and void by the Supreme Court applying Article 24 of
the Civil Code which reads:

In all contractual property or other relations, when one of the

parties is at a disadvantage on account of his moral dependence,
ignorance, indigence, mental weakness, tender age or other
handicap, the courts must be vigilant for his protection.
____________________
*

Member, Board of Editorial Consultants, Supreme Court Reports

Annotated (SCRA).
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1. Source of Article 24 of the Civil Code

The Report of the Code Commission that drafted the Civil
Code did not state the source although Arturo M.
Tolentino, in his Commentaries on the Civil Code referred
to a German, Mexican and Swiss Civil Codes which
contains similar provisions. (Vol. I, p. 84)
Article 138 of the German Code provides: In particular,
a juridical act is void whereby a person exploiting the
difficulties, indiscretion, or inexperience of another, causes
to be promised or granted to him or to a third person for a
consideration, pecuniary advantages which exceed the value
of the consideration to such an extent that, having regard to
the consideration, the disproportion is manifest.
Article 21 of the Swiss Code of Obligations provides: If
an obvious disproportion between performance and
counterperformance results from a contract which one
party has caused to be entered into by exploiting the
distress, lightmindedness or inexperience of the other, then
the victimized party may declare within a year from the
making of the contract that he is not bound by the
contract, and may demand restitution of any performance
already rendered.
Article 17 of the Mexican Code states: When a person,
exploiting the gross ignorance, notorious inexperience or
extreme distress of another, acquires an excessive advantage
which is evidently disproportionate to his own prestation,

the party prejudiced shall have the right to ask for the
rescission of the contract, and, if this is impossible, for an
equitable reduction of his obligation. (cited in Tolentino,
Civil Code Annotated, pp. 8485)
2. Legislative Intent of Article
The law is intended to protect both found weak and
uneducated who may have been taken advantage of by
unscrupulous persons or those who may have used undue
influence in entering into agreements. The German
Supreme Court held: A contractual exemption of carriers
from liability for damages occasioned to goods during
transit, obtained, not by free
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Courts Duties of Vigilance for the Protection of the Weak

and the Ignorant

agreements, but because a whole grip within a certain

district exploiting their own monopoly, force such exemption
upon those dependent upon their services, must be
considered void as violative of the moral standards of
people whose thinking is just and equitable. (Tolentino, op.
cit. p. 85) Articles 24 and 1332 are intended to protect the
laboring clan, many of whose members are in a
disadvantageous situation. (Report of the Code
Commission, p. 24)
3. Facts that Justified the Application of Article 24
of the Civil Code in the Rongavilla Case
The facts found by the Regional Trial Court and affirmed
by the Court of Appeals show that the private respondents
who were two aging spinsters, uneducated in English and
knew only Tagalog and earned their livelihood as
embroiderers (mambuburda) obtained a loan of P2,000.00
from the petitioner, who are their nephews and nieces for
the repair of the roof of their old house. The respondents
then were living in a house constructed on 1/2 parcel of
land consisting of 131 square meters.
A month later, petitioner Dolores Rongavilla, the

petitioner who granted the loan visited their aunts asking

them to sign a document written in English. Respondents
inquired what the document was all about and the
petitioner replied that it was just a document admitting
their debt of P2,000.00, hence, the respondents signed it.
Four years later, petitioners asked the private
respondents to vacate the land as they were already the
owners of the land. In fact, the property was already
registered in the names of the petitioners. It was only then
that the poor spinsters learned that what they signed four
years ago was a deed of sale of their property to the
petitioners.
4. Written Contracts as Law Between Parties
General Rule
A contract has the force of law between the parties. (Lazo
v. Republic Society Insurance Co., Inc., 31 SCRA 329
[1970]).
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The mere oral unsupported testimony of an interested

party is not sufficient to overcome the legal presumption on
the regularity of the mortgage deed, a contract celebrated
with all the legal requirements under a safeguard of
notarial certificate. (Ponce de Leon vs. Rehabilitation
Finance Corporation, 36 SCRA 289 [1970])
Obligations arising from contracts have the force of law
between the contracting parties and should be complied
with in good faith. (Intestate Estate of the Late Ricardo P.
Presbitero, Sr. vs. Court of Appeals, 217 SCRA 372 [1973])
In the interpretation of contracts it is the general rule
that if the terms thereof are clear as to the intention of the
intention of the contracting parties, the literal meaning of
the stipulations shall control. (Intestate Estate of the Late
Ricardo P. Presbitero, Sr. vs. Court of Appeals, 217 SCRA
372 [1973])
Contracts are the law between the contracting parties.
(Reta vs. National Labor Relations Commission, 232 SCRA

613 [1994])
Though the notarization of a deed of sale rests in its
favor the presumption of regularity, it is not the intention
nor the function of the notary public to validate and make
binding an instrument never, in the first place, intended to
have any binding legal effect upon the parties thereto.
(Suntay vs. Court of Appeals, 251 SCRA 430 [1995])
It is a cardinal rule in the interpretation of contracts
that if the terms of a contract are clear and leave no
doubt upon the intention of the contracting parties, the
literal meaning of its stipulations shall control. (Abella vs.
Court of Appeals, 257 SCRA 482 [1996])
Weakness of mind caused by insanity is not a ground for
avoiding a contract. (Cui vs. Cui, 100 Phil. 913)
Contracts which are the private laws of the contracting
parties, should be fulfilled according to the literal sense of
their stipulations, if their terms are clear and leave no
room for doubt as to the intention of the contracting
parties. (Salvatiera vs. Court of Appeals, 261 SCRA 45
[1996])
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and the Ignorant

Singing a contract without really knowing its contents,

stipulations does not vitiate consent. (Manila Surety and
Fidelity Co., Inc. vs. Villarama, 107 Phil. 891)
5. Exceptions to the General Rule
Articles 24 and 1332 of the Civil Code and the principles
on contracts of adhesion are exceptions to the general
rule. Article 1332 which supplements Article 24 of the Civil
Code reads: When one of the parties is unable to read, or if
the contract is in a language not understood by him and
mistake or fraud is alleged, the person enforcing the
contract must show that the terms thereof have been fully
explained to the former.
While the law or the courts cannot legally extend relief
to bad bargains to contractual relations unless there is
actionable wrong as when consent is obtained by

intimidation (Art. 1335, Civil Code) or fraud (Art. 1338,

Civil Code), courts should nevertheless be vigilant in
safeguarding the rights of those who through no fault of
their own need judicial protection as provided in Articles 24
and 1332 of the Civil Code. (Padilla, Civil Law, Vol. V, p.
105)
According to Article 1327 of the Civil Code,
unemancipated minors cannot give consent to a contract
and, in Article 24 and in all contractual, property or other
relations, when one of the parties is at a disadvantage on
account of x x x tender age x x x the courts must be vigilant
for his protection. (Ferrer, Jr. vs. Harvier, 5 CAR [20] 867)
This rule is necessary because unfortunately, there is
still a fairly large number of illiterates in this country, and
the documents are usually drawn up in English or Spanish.
(Report of the Code Commission, p. 136)
Thus, where the insurer sought to avoid payment of a
life insurance policy on the ground that the insured
concealed or misrepresented her state of health, said
insurer is not obliged to show that the English terms of the
contract were read and explained to the insured, a
Chinese, since that duty devolves
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on the ones, the beneficiaries who would like to enforce the

insurance agreement. (Tang vs. CA, 90 SCRA 236 [1979])
A contract may be annulled when the consent of one of
the parties was procured by fraud, intimidation, violence or
undue influence. (Theis vs. Court of Appeals, 268 SCRA
167 [1997])
In Tang vs. CA, 90 SCRA 236, a 61year old illiterate
widow, who spoke only Chinese, was insured on October
23, 1965 for P60,000.00, after answering that her state of
health was good, and for an additional P40,000.00 on
November 28, 1965. She died on April 20, 1965 or less than
six months later, of lung cancer. The claim for insurance
was denied because of concealment. Arts. 24 and 1335
were cited.
The trend not to consider the delay in filing a claim for
workmens compensation as nonjurisdictional defect is

justified by Art. 24. The employees inferiority visavis the

employer has always been a marked disadvantage. (Central
Azucarrera vs. WCC, 133 Phil. 539)
A 70year old widow who could not read nor write
English and who was misled into signing a promissory note
for P3,000, aside from another note for P3,000 which she
intended to borrow from the bank, should be relieved of her
obligation under the former note pursuant to Arts. 24 and
1332. (Rural Bank of Caloocan, Inc. vs. Castro, 104 SCRA
151 [1981])
When one of the parties is unable to read, or if the
contract is in a language not understood by him, and
mistake or fraud is alleged, the person enforcing the
contract must show that the terms thereof have been fully
explained to the former. (Lim vs. Court of Appeals, 229
SCRA 616 [1994])
There is a need of protecting the workman whose
inferiority is marked by his disadvantage. (Central
Azucarrera Don Pedro v. WCC, 24 SCRA 484 [1968])
Where a party to a contract is illiterate, or cannot read
nor understand the language in which the contract is
written, the burden is on the party interested in enforcing
the contract to prove that the terms thereof are fully
explained to the former in a language understood by him.
(Cayabyab vs. Intermediate
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Courts Duties of Vigilance for the Protection of the Weak

and the Ignorant

Appellate Court, 232 SCRA 1 [1994] Sales vs. Court of

Appeals, 211 SCRA 888 [1992] Heirs of Enrique Zambales
vs. Court of Appeals, 120 SCRA 897 [1983] Bunyi vs.
Reyes, 39 SCRA 504 [1971] BPI Credit Corp. vs. Court of
Appeals, 204 SCRA 601 [1991])
The fact that a deed of sale is a notarized document does
not necessarily justify the conclusion that the said sale is
undoubtedly a true conveyance to which the parties thereto
are irrevocably and undeniably bound. Conduct, to be given
jural effects, must be jural in its subject. (Suntay vs. Court
of Appeals, 251 SCRA 430 [1995])
Though the notarization of a deed of sale rests in its
favor the presumption of regularity, it is not the intention

nor the function of the notary public to validate and make

binding an instrument never, in the first place, intended to
have any binding legal effect upon the parties thereto.
(Suntay vs. Court of Appeals, 251 SCRA 430 [1995])
In situations like these, when a party imposes upon
another a readymade form of contract and the other is
reduced to the alternative of taking it or leaving it, giving
no room for negotiation and depriving the latter of the
opportunity to bargain on equal footing, a contract of
adhesion results. While it is true that an adhesion
contract is not necessarily void, it must nevertheless be
construed strictly against the one who drafted the same.
(Ong Yiu vs. Court of Appeals, 91 SCRA 223 [1979] Saludo
vs. Court of Appeals, 207 SCRA 498 [1992])
The important task in contract interpretation is always
considered as a perfect contract to sell. (Adelfa Properties,
Inc. vs. Court of Appeals, 240 SCRA 565 [1995])
In determining the real character of a contract, the
title given to it by the parties is not as much significant as
its substance. (Romero vs. Court of Appeals, 250 SCRA 223
[1995])
6. Contracts of Adhesion
An adhesion contract is one wherein almost all the
provisions have been drafted only by one party, usually a
corporation. It is called contract of adhesion because the
only partici
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pation of the other party is the affixing of his signature or

his adhesion thereto. Insurance contracts, bills of
lading, contracts of sale of lots on installment plan, airline
tickets fall under this category. Contracts of adherence
which the parties bargaining are not on equal footing, the
weaker partys participation being reduced to the
alternative to take it or leave it. (Qua vs. Law Union and
Rock Insurance Co., Inc., 98 Phil. 95)
Art. 24 has been applied to the socalled contracts of

adhesion which are printed agreement, like insurance

policies and bills of lading, cunningly prepared by
corporations and which the other party may not change one
whit. He has no alternative but to take it or leave it. They
differ from contracts entered into by parties who bargain
on an equal footing. They call for greater strictness and
vigilance on the part of the courts with a view to protecting
the weaker party from abuses and imposition and
preventing them from becoming traps for the unwary. (Que
Chee Gan v. Law Union and Rock Insurance Co., 98 Phil.
95 Fieldmans Insurance Co., Inc. v. Vargas Vda. De
Songco, 134 Phil. 90) A contract of insurance being a
contract of adhesion, par excellence, any ambiguity
therein should be resolved against the insurer. (Malayan
Insurance Corp. vs. Court of Appeals, 270 SCRA 242)
When a party imposes upon another a ready made form,
and the other is reduced to the alternative of taking it or
bearing it, giving no room for negotiation and depriving the
latter of the opportunity to bargain on equal footing, a
contract of adhesion results. (Geraldez v. CA, 230 SCRA
320 [1994])
The Supreme Court can take judicial notice of the
pernicious practice involving contracts of adhesion
entrapping innocent buyers through default clauses
guaranteeing huge monetary windfalls for the developer in
the event their buyers fail to come up with certain
requirements. (Realty Exchange Ventures Corp. vs.
Sendino, 233 SCRA 665 [1994])
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and the Ignorant

Any contract which appears to be heavily weighed in favor

of one of the parties so as to lead to an unconscionable
result is void. (Almeda vs. Court of Appeals, 256 SCRA 292
[1996])
In construing a written agreement, the reason behind
and the circumstances surrounding its execution are of
paramount importance to place the interpreter in the
situation occupied by the parties concerned at the time the
writing was executed. (Cuizon vs. Court of Appeals, 260
SCRA 645 [1996])

Elements of fraud vitiating consent for purposes of

annulling a contract are: (a) It was employed by a
contracting party upon the other (b) It induced the other
party to enter into the contract (c) It was serious and (d)
It resulted in damages and injury to the party seeking
annulment. (Constantino vs. Court of Appeals, 264 SCRA
59 [1996])
Article 1332 supplements Article 24 of the Civil Code
which provides that In all contractual, property or other
relations, when one of the parties is at a disadvantage on
account of his moral dependence, ignorance, indigence,
mental weakness, tender age or other handicap, the court
must be vigilant for his protection.
Considered in the light of the foregoing norms and in
the context of circumstances prevailing in the interisland
shipping industry in the country today, We find and hold
that Condition No. 14 printed at the back of the passage
tickets should be held as void and unenforceable for the
following reasonsfirst, under circumstances obtaining in
the interisland shipping industry, it is not just and fair to
bind passengers to the terms of the conditions printed at
the back of the passage tickets, on which Condition No. 14
is printed in fine letters, and second, Condition No. 14
subverts the public policy on transfer of venue of
proceedings of this nature, since the same will prejudice
rights and interests of innumerable passengers in different
parts of the country who, under Condition No. 14, will have
to file suits against petitioner only in the City of Cebu.
(Sweet Lines vs. Teves, 83 SCRA 361 [1978])
o0o
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