II.
EFFECT AND APPLICATION OF LAWS
NCC 1 -18
Art. 1 This act shall be known as the Civil Code of the
Philippines.
Art. 2 Laws shall take effect after fifteen days following
the completion of their publication either in the Official
Gazette, or in a newspaper of general circulation in the
Philippines, unless it is otherwise provided. (As amended
by E.O. 200)
Art. 3 Ignorance of the law excuses no one from
compliance therewith.
Art. 4 Laws shall have no retroactive effect, unless the
contrary is provided.
Art. 5 Acts executed against mandatory or prohibitory
laws shall be void, except when the law itself authorizes
their validity.
Art. 6 Rights may be waived, unless the waiver is
contrary to law, public order, public policy, morals, or good
customs or prejudicial to a third person with a right
recognized by the law.
Art. 7 Laws are repealed only by subsequent ones, and
their violation or non-observance shall not be excused by
disuse, or custom or practice to the contrary.
When the courts declare a law to be inconsistent with the
Constitution, the former shall be void and the latter shall
govern.
Administrative or executive acts, orders and regulations
shall be valid only when they are not contrary to the laws
or the Constitution.
Art. 8 Judicial decisions shall applying or interpreting the
laws or the Constitution shall form a part of the legal
system of the Philippines.
Art. 9 No judge or court shall decline to render judgment
by reason of the silence, obscurity or insufficiency of the
laws.
Art. 10 In case of doubt in the interpretation or application
of laws, it is presumed that the lawmaking body intended
right and justice to prevail.
Art. 11 Customs which are contrary to law, public order
or public policy shall not be countenanced.
Art. 12 A custom must be proved as a fact, according to
the rules of evidence.
Art. 13 When laws speak of years, months, days or
nights, it shall be understood that years are of three
hundred sixty-five days each; months, of 30 days; days, of
twenty-four hours; and nights, from sunset to sunrise.
If months are designated by their name, they shall be
computed by the number of days which they respectively
have.
In computing a period, the first day shall be excluded, and
the last day, included.
Art. 14 Penal laws and those of public security and safety
shall be obligatory upon all who live or sojourn in Philippine
territory, subject to the principles of public international law
and to treaty stipulations.
Art. 15 Laws relating to family rights and duties, or to the
status, condition and legal capacity of persons are binding
upon citizens of the Philippines, even though living abroad.
Art. 16 Real property as well as personal property is
subject to the law of the country where it is situated.
However, intestate and testamentary successions, both
with respect to the order of succession and to the amount
of successional rights and to the intrinsic validity of
testamentary rights, shall be regulated by the national law
of the person whose succession is under consideration,
whatever may be the nature of the property and regardless
of the country wherein said property may be found.
Art. 17 The forms and solemnities of contracts, wills, and
other public instruments shall be governed by the laws of
the country in which they are executed.
When the acts referred to are executed before the
diplomatic or consular officials of the Republic of the
Philippines in a foreign country, the solemnities
established by Philippine laws shall be observed in their
execution.
Prohibitive laws concerning persons, their acts or property,
and those which have for their object public order, public
policy and good customs shall not be rendered ineffective
by laws or judgments promulgated, or by determinations
or conventions agreed upon in a foreign country.
Art. 18 In matters which are governed by the Code of
Commerce and special laws, their deficiency shall be
supplied the provisions of this Code.
A. When do laws take effect?
NCC 2
Art. 2 Laws shall take effect after fifteen days
following the completion of their publication either in
the Official Gazette, or in a newspaper of general
circulation in the Philippines, unless it is otherwise
provided. (As amended by E.O. 200)
Revised Administrative Code (RAC) Secs. 18-24
Sec. 18. When Laws Take Effect. - Laws shall take
effect after fifteen (15) days following the completion
of their publication in the Official Gazette or in a
newspaper of general circulation, unless it is
otherwise provided.
Sec. 19. Prospectivity. - Laws shall have prospective
effect unless the contrary is expressly provided.
 Sec. 20. Interpretation of Laws and Administrative
Issuances. - In the interpretation of a law or
administrative issuance promulgated in all the official
languages, the English text shall control, unless
otherwise specifically provided. In case of ambiguity,
omission or mistake, the other texts may be consulted.
Sec. 21. No Implied Revival of Repealed Law.- When
a law which expressly repeals a prior law itself
repealed, the law first repealed shall not be thereby
revived unless expressly so provided.
Sec. 22. Revival of Law Impliedly Repealed. - When a
law which impliedly repeals a prior law is itself
repealed, the prior law shall thereby be revived, unless
the repealing law provides otherwise.
Sec. 23. Ignorance of the Law. - Ignorance of the law
excuses no one from compliance therewith.
Sec. 24. Contents. - There shall be published in the
Official Gazette all legislative acts and resolutions of a
public nature; all executive and administrative
issuances of general application; decisions or
abstracts of decisions of the Supreme Court and the
Court of Appeals, or other courts of similar rank, as
may be deemed by said courts of sufficient importance
to be so published; such documents or classes of
documents as may be required so to be published by
law; and such documents or classes of documents as
the President shall determine from time to time to have
general application or which he may authorize so to be
published.
The publication of any law, resolution or other official
documents in the Official Gazette shall be prima facie
evidence of its authority.
E.O. 200, Secs. 1 2
Sec. 1. Laws shall take effect after fifteen days
following the completion of their publication either in
the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general
circulation in the Philippines, unless it is otherwise
provided.
Sec. 2. Article 2 of Republic Act No. 386, otherwise
known as the "Civil Code of the Philippines," and all
other laws inconsistent with this Executive Order are
hereby repealed or modified accordingly.
B. Ignorance of the law
NCC 3
Art. 3 Ignorance of the law excuses no one from
compliance therewith.
C. Retroactivity
NCC 4, 5
Art. 4 Laws shall have no retroactive effect, unless
the contrary is provided.
Art. 5 Acts executed against mandatory or
prohibitory laws shall be void, except when the law
itself authorizes their validity.
cf. NCC 2252 2269
Art. 2252. Changes made and new provisions and
rules laid down by this Code which may prejudice or
impair vested or acquired rights in accordance with the
old legislation shall have no retroactive effect.
For the determination of the applicable law in cases
which are not specified elsewhere in this Code, the
following articles shall be observed: (Pars. 1 and 2,
Transitional Provisions).
Art. 2253. The Civil Code of 1889 and other previous
laws shall govern rights originating, under said laws,
from acts done or events which took place under their
regime, even though this Code may regulate them in
a different manner, or may not recognize them. But if
a right should be declared for the first time in this
Code, it shall be effective at once, even though the act
or event which gives rise thereto may have been done
or may have occurred under prior legislation, provided
said new right does not prejudice or impair any vested
or acquired right, of the same origin. (Rule 1)
Art. 2254. No vested or acquired right can arise from
acts or omissions which are against the law or which
infringe upon the rights of others. (n)
Art. 2255. The former laws shall regulate acts and
contracts with a condition or period, which were
executed or entered into before the effectivity of this
Code, even though the condition or period may still be
pending at the time this body of laws goes into effect.
(n)
Art. 2256. Acts and contracts under the regime of the
old laws, if they are valid in accordance therewith,
shall continue to be fully operative as provided in the
same, with the limitations established in these rules.
But the revocation or modification of these acts and
contracts after the beginning of the effectivity of this
Code, shall be subject to the provisions of this new
body of laws. (Rule 2a)
Art. 2257. Provisions of this Code which attach a civil
sanction or penalty or a deprivation of rights to acts or
omissions which were not penalized by the former
laws, are not applicable to those who, when said laws
were in force, may have executed the act or incurred
in the omission forbidden or condemned by this Code.
If the fault is also punished by the previous legislation,
the less severe sanction shall be applied.
If a continuous or repeated act or omission was
commenced before the beginning of the effectivity of
this Code, and the same subsists or is maintained or
repeated after this body of laws has become
operative, the sanction or penalty prescribed in this
Code shall be applied, even though the previous laws
may not have provided any sanction or penalty
therefor. (Rule 3a)
Art. 2258. Actions and rights which came into being
but were not exercised before the effectivity of this
Code, shall remain in full force in conformity with the
old legislation; but their exercise, duration and the
procedure to enforce them shall be regulated by this
Code and by the Rules of Court. If the exercise of the
right or of the action was commenced under the old
laws, but is pending on the date this Code takes effect,
and the procedure was different from that established
in this new body of laws, the parties concerned may
choose which method or course to pursue. (Rule 4)
Art. 2259. The capacity of a married woman to execute
acts and contracts is governed by this Code, even if
her marriage was celebrated under the former laws.
(n)
Art. 2260. The voluntary recognition of a natural child
shall take place according to this Code, even if the
child was born before the effectivity of this body of
laws. (n)
Art. 2261. The exemption prescribed in Article 302
shall also be applicable to any support, pension or
gratuity already existing or granted before this Code
becomes effective. (n)
Art. 2262. Guardians of the property of minors,
appointed by the courts before this Code goes into
effect, shall continue to act as such, notwithstanding
the provisions of Article 320. (n)
Art. 2263. Rights to the inheritance of a person who
died, with or without a will, before the effectivity of this
Code, shall be governed by the Civil Code of 1889, by
other previous laws, and by the Rules of Court. The
inheritance of those who, with or without a will, die
after the beginning of the effectivity of this Code, shall
be adjudicated and distributed in accordance with this
new body of laws and by the Rules of Court; but the
testamentary provisions shall be carried out insofar as
they may be permitted by this Code. Therefore,
legitimes, betterments, legacies and bequests shall be
respected; however, their amount shall be reduced if
in no other manner can every compulsory heir be
given his full share according to this Code. (Rule 12a)
Art. 2264. The status and rights of natural children by
legal fiction referred to in article 89 and illegitimate
children mentioned in Article 287, shall also be
acquired by children born before the effectivity of this
Code. (n)
Art. 2265. The right of retention of real or personal
property arising after this Code becomes effective,
includes those things which came into the creditor's
possession before said date. (n)
Art. 2266. The following shall have not only
prospective but also retroactive effect:
(1) Article 315, whereby a descendant cannot be
compelled, in a criminal case, to testify against his
parents and ascendants;
(2) Articles 101 and 88, providing against collusion in
cases of legal separation and annulment of marriage;
(3) Articles 283, 284, and 289, concerning the proof of
illegitimate filiation;
(4) Article 838, authorizing the probate of a will on
petition of the testator himself;
(5) Articles 1359 to 1369, relative to the reformation of
instruments;
(6) Articles 476 to 481, regulating actions to quiet title;
(7) Articles 2029 to 2031, which are designed to
promote compromise. (n)
Art. 2267. The following provisions shall apply not only
to future cases but also to those pending on the date
this Code becomes effective:
(1) Article 29, Relative to criminal prosecutions
wherein the accused is acquitted on the ground that
his guilt has not been proved beyond reasonable
doubt;
(2) Article 33, concerning cases of defamation, fraud,
and physical injuries. (n)
Art. 2268. Suits between members of the same family
which are pending at the time this Code goes into
effect shall be suspended, under such terms as the
court may determine, in order that compromise may
be earnestly sought, or, in case of legal separation
proceedings, for the purpose of effecting, if possible,
a reconciliation. (n)
Art. 2269. The principles upon which the preceding
transitional provisions are based shall, by analogy, be
applied to cases not specifically regulated by them.
(Rule 13a)
RPC 22
Art. 22. Retroactive effect of penal laws. Penal
Laws shall have a retroactive effect insofar as they
favor the persons guilty of a felony, who is not a
habitual criminal, as this term is defined in Rule 5 of
Article 62 of this Code, although at the time of the
publication of such laws a final sentence has been
pronounced and the convict is serving the same.
D. Waiver of Rights
NCC 6
Art. 6 Rights may be waived, unless the waiver is
contrary to law, public order, public policy, morals, or
good customs or prejudicial to a third person with a
right recognized by the law.
cf. NCC 301
Art. 301. The right to receive support cannot be
renounced; nor can it be transmitted to a third person.
Neither can it be compensated with what the recipient
owes the obligor.
E. Repeal of Laws
NCC 7
Art. 7 Laws are repealed only by subsequent ones,
and their violation or non-observance shall not be
excused by disuse, or custom or practice to the
contrary.
cf. 1987 Constitution, Art. XVIII, Sec 3.
Section 3. All existing laws, decrees, executive orders,
proclamations, letters of instructions, and other
executive issuances not inconsistent with this
Constitution shall remain operative until amended,
repealed, or revoked.
F. Duty to Render Judgment
NCC 9
Art. 9 No judge or court shall decline to render
judgment by reason of the silence, obscurity or
insufficiency of the laws.
cf. RPC 5
Art. 5. Duty of the court in connection with acts which
should be repressed but which are not covered by the
law, and in cases of excessive penalties. Whenever a
court has knowledge of any act which it may deem
proper to repress and which is not punishable by law,
it shall render the proper decision, and shall report to
the Chief Executive, through the Department of
Justice, the reasons which induce the court to believe
that said act should be made the subject of legislation.
In the same way, the court shall submit to the Chief
Executive, through the Department of Justice, such
statement as may be deemed proper, without
suspending the execution of the sentence, when a
strict enforcement of the provisions of this Code would
result in the imposition of a clearly excessive penalty,
taking into consideration the degree of malice and the
injury caused by the offense.
G. Applicability of Custom
NCC 11, 12
Art. 11 Customs which are contrary to law, public
order or public policy shall not be countenanced.
Art. 12 A custom must be proved as a fact,
according to the rules of evidence.
cf. 1987 Constitution, Art. XII, Sec. 5
Section 5. The State, subject to the provisions of this
Constitution and national development policies and
programs, shall protect the rights of indigenous
cultural communities to their ancestral lands to ensure
their economic, social, and cultural well-being.
The Congress may provide for the applicability of
customary laws governing property rights or relations
in determining the ownership and extent of ancestral
domain.
Rules of Court Rule 129 (2) (3) What Need Not Be
Proved
Section 2. Judicial notice, when discretionary. A
court may take judicial notice of matters which are of
public knowledge, or are capable to unquestionable
demonstration, or ought to be known to judges
because of their judicial functions. (1a)
Section 3. Judicial notice, when hearing necessary.
During the trial, the court, on its own initiative, or on
request of a party, may announce its intention to take
judicial notice of any matter and allow the parties to be
heard thereon.
H. Legal Periods
NCC 13
Art. 13 When laws speak of years, months, days or
nights, it shall be understood that years are of three
hundred sixty-five days each; months, of 30 days;
days, of twenty-four hours; and nights, from sunset to
sunrise.
If months are designated by their name, they shall be
computed by the number of days which they
respectively have.
In computing a period, the first day shall be excluded,
and the last day, included.
Rules of Court, Rule 28
Physical and Mental Examination of Persons
Section 1. When examination may be ordered. In
an action in which the mental or physical condition of
a party is in controversy, the court in which the action
is pending may in its discretion order him to submit to
a physical or mental examination by a physician.
 RAC, Sec 1.
Sec. 31. Legal Periods. - "Year" shall be understood
to be twelve calendar months; "month" of thirty days,
unless it refers to a specific calendar month in which
case it shall be computed according to the number of
days the specific month contains; "day," to a day of
twenty-four hours; and "night," from sunset to sunrise.
B. Commencement and Termination of Personality
I. Binding Effect
NCC 15
Art. 15 Laws relating to family rights and duties, or
to the status, condition and legal capacity of persons
are binding upon citizens of the Philippines, even
though living abroad.
J. Human Relations
NCC 19 21
Art. 19. Every person must, in the exercise of his
rights and in the performance of his duties, act with
justice, give everyone his due, and observe honesty
and good faith.
Art. 20. Every person who, contrary to law, wilfully or
negligently causes damage to another, shall
indemnify the latter for the same.
Art. 21. Any person who wilfully causes loss or injury
to another in a manner that is contrary to morals,
good customs or public policy shall compensate the
latter for the damage.
III. CIVIL PERSONALITY
A. Persons and Personality
NCC 37 39
Art. 37. Juridical capacity, which is the fitness to be
the subject of legal relations, is inherent in every
natural person and is lost only through death.
Capacity to act, which is the power to do acts with
legal effect, is acquired and may be lost. (n)
Art. 38. Minority, insanity or imbecility, the state of
being a deaf-mute, prodigality and civil interdiction
are mere restrictions on capacity to act, and do not
exempt the incapacitated person from certain
obligations, as when the latter arise from his acts or
from property relations, such as easements. (32a)
Art. 39. The following circumstances, among others,
modify or limit capacity to act: age, insanity,
imbecility, the state of being a deaf-mute, penalty,
prodigality, family relations, alienage, absence,
insolvency and trusteeship. The consequences of
these circumstances are governed in this Code, other
codes, the Rules of Court, and in special laws.
Capacity to act is not limited on account of religious
belief or political opinion.
A married woman, twenty-one years of age or over,
is qualified for all acts of civil life, except in cases
specified by law. (n)
1. Natural Persons
NCC 40 41
Art. 40. Birth determines personality; but the
conceived child shall be considered born for all
purposes that are favorable to it, provided it be born
later with the conditions specified in the following
article. (29a)
Art. 41. For civil purposes, the fetus is considered
born if it is alive at the time it is completely delivered
from the mother's womb. However, if the fetus had an
intra-uterine life of less than seven months, it is not
deemed born if it dies within twenty-four hours after
its complete delivery from the maternal womb.(30a)
1987 Constitution, Art. II Sec. 12
Section 12. The State recognizes the sanctity of
family life and shall protect and strengthen the family
as a basic autonomous social institution. It shall
equally protect the life of the mother and the life of
the unborn from conception. The natural and primary
right and duty of parents in the rearing of the youth
for civic efficiency and the development of moral
character shall receive the support of the
Government.
P.D. 603, Art. 5
Article 5. Commencement of Civil Personality. - The
civil personality of the child shall commence from the
time of his conception, for all purposes favorable to
him, subject to the requirements of Article 41 of the
Civil Code.
RPC Arts. 256 259
Art. 256. Intentional abortion. Any person who
shall intentionally cause an abortion shall suffer:
1. The penalty of reclusion temporal, if he shall use
any violence upon the person of the pregnant
woman.chanrobles virtual law library
2. The penalty of prision mayor if, without using
violence, he shall act without the consent of the
woman.chanrobles virtual law library
3. The penalty of prision correccional in its medium
and maximum periods, if the woman shall have
consented.
Art. 257. Unintentional abortion. The penalty of
prision correccional in its minimum and medium
period shall be imposed upon any person who shall
cause an abortion by violence, but unintentionally.
Art. 258. Abortion practiced by the woman herself of
by her parents. The penalty of prision correccional
in its medium and maximum periods shall be
imposed upon a woman who shall practice abortion
upon herself or shall consent that any other person
should do so.
Any woman who shall commit this offense to conceal
her dishonor, shall suffer the penalty of prision
correccional in its minimum and medium periods.
If this crime be committed by the parents of the
pregnant woman or either of them, and they act with
the consent of said woman for the purpose of
concealing her dishonor, the offenders shall suffer
the penalty of prision correccional in its medium and
maximum periods.
Art. 259. Abortion practiced by a physician or midwife
and dispensing of abortives. The penalties
provided in Article 256 shall be imposed in its
maximum period, respectively, upon any physician or
midwife who, taking advantage of their scientific
knowledge or skill, shall cause an abortion or assist
in causing the same.
Any pharmacist who, without the proper prescription
from a physician, shall dispense any abortive shall
suffer arresto mayor and a fine not exceeding 1,000
pesos.
NCC 42, 43
Art. 42. Civil personality is extinguished by death.
The effect of death upon the rights and obligations of
the deceased is determined by law, by contract and
by will. (32a)
Art. 43. If there is a doubt, as between two or more
persons who are called to succeed each other, as to
which of them died first, whoever alleges the death of
one prior to the other, shall prove the same; in the
absence of proof, it is presumed that they died at the
same time and there shall be no transmission of
rights from one to the other. (33)
2. Insanity
FC 45 (2)
Art. 45. A marriage may be annulled for any of the
following causes, existing at the time of the
marriage:
(1) That the party in whose behalf it is sought to
have the marriage annulled was eighteen years of
age or over but below twenty-one, and the marriage
was solemnized without the consent of the parents,
guardian or person having substitute parental
authority over the party, in that order, unless after
attaining the age of twenty-one, such party freely
cohabited with the other and both lived together as
husband and wife;
(2) That either party was of unsound mind, unless
such party after coming to reason, freely cohabited
with the other as husband and wife;
(3) That the consent of either party was obtained by
fraud, unless such party afterwards, with full
knowledge of the facts constituting the fraud, freely
cohabited with the other as husband and wife;
(4) That the consent of either party was obtained by
force, intimidation or undue influence, unless the
same having disappeared or ceased, such party
thereafter freely cohabited with the other as
husband and wife;
(5) That either party was physically incapable of
consummating the marriage with the other, and
such incapacity continues and appears to be
incurable; or
(6) That either party was afflicted with a sexually-
transmissible disease found to be serious and
appears to be incurable. (85a)
NCC 1327, 1328
Art. 1327. The following cannot give consent to a
contract:
(1) Unemancipated minors;
(2) Insane or demented persons, and deaf-mutes
who do not know how to write. (1263a)
Art. 1328. Contracts entered into during a lucid
interval are valid. Contracts agreed to in a state of
drunkenness or during a hypnotic spell are voidable.
(n)
RPC 12 (1)
Art. 12. Circumstances which exempt from criminal
liability. the following are exempt from criminal
liability:
1. An imbecile or an insane person, unless the latter
has acted during a lucid interval.
When the imbecile or an insane person has
committed an act which the law defines as a felony
(delito), the court shall order his confinement in one
of the hospitals or asylums established for persons
thus afflicted, which he shall not be permitted to
leave without first obtaining the permission of the
same court.
2. A person under nine years of age.
3. A person over nine years of age and under fifteen,
unless he has acted with discernment, in which
case, such minor shall be proceeded against in
accordance with the provisions of Art. 80 of this
Code.
When such minor is adjudged to be criminally
irresponsible, the court, in conformably with the
provisions of this and the preceding paragraph, shall
commit him to the care and custody of his family
who shall be charged with his surveillance and
education otherwise, he shall be committed to the
care of some institution or person mentioned in said
Art. 80.
4. Any person who, while performing a lawful act
with due care, causes an injury by mere accident
without fault or intention of causing it.
5. Any person who act under the compulsion of
irresistible force.
6. Any person who acts under the impulse of an
uncontrollable fear of an equal or greater injury.
7. Any person who fails to perform an act required
by law, when prevented by some lawful insuperable
cause.
ROC, Rule 101 Proceedings for Hospitalization
of Insane Persons
Section 1. Venue, Petition for commitment.
A petition for the commitment of a person to a
hospital or other place for the insane may be filed
with the Court of First Instance of the province
where the person alleged to be insane is found. The
petition shall be filed by the Director of Health in all
cases where, in his opinion, such commitment is for
the public welfare, or for the welfare of said person
who, in his judgment, is insane and such person or
the one having charge of him is opposed to his being
taken to a hospital or other place for the insane.
Section 2. Order for hearing. If the petition
filed is sufficient in form and substance, the court,
by an order reciting the purpose of the petition, shall
fix a date for the hearing thereof, and copy of such
order shall be served on the person alleged to be
insane, and to the one having charge him, or on
such of his relatives residing in the province or city
as the judge may deem proper. The court shall
furthermore order the sheriff to produce the alleged
insane person, if possible, on the date of the
hearing.
Section 3. Hearing and judgment. Upon
satisfactory proof, in open court on the date fixed in
the order, that the commitment applied for is for the
public welfare or for the welfare of the insane
person, and that his relatives are unable for any
reason to take proper custody and care of him, the
court shall order his commitment to such hospital or
other place for the insane as may be recommended
by the Director of Health. The court shall make
proper provisions for the custody of property or
money belonging to the insane until a guardian be
properly appointed.
Section 4. Discharge of insane. When, in
the opinion of the Director of Health, the person
ordered to be committed to a hospital or other place
for the insane is temporarily or permanently cured,
or may be released without danger he may file the
proper petition with the Court of First Instance which
ordered the commitment.
Section 5. Assistance of fiscal in the
proceeding. It shall be the duty of the provincial
fiscal or in the City of Manila the fiscal of the city, to
prepare the petition for the Director of Health and
represent him in court in all proceedings arising
under the provisions of this rule.
3. Deaf
NCC 1327, 807, 820
Art. 1327. The following cannot give consent to a
contract:
(1) Unemancipated minors;
(2) Insane or demented persons, and deaf-mutes
who do not know how to write. (1263a)
Art. 807. If the testator be deaf, or a deaf-mute, he
must personally read the will, if able to do so;
otherwise, he shall designate two persons to read it
and communicate to him, in some practicable
manner, the contents thereof. (n)
Art. 820. Any person of sound mind and of the age of
eighteen years or more, and not bind, deaf or dumb,
and able to read and write, may be a witness to the
execution of a will mentioned in Article 805 of this
Code. (n)
4. Prodigality
ROC, Rule 92, Sec. 2
Section 2. Meaning of word "incompetent."
Under this rule, the word "incompetent" includes
persons suffering the penalty of civil interdiction or
who are hospitalized lepers, prodigals, deaf and
dumb who are unable to read and write, those who
are of unsound mind, even though they have lucid
intervals, and persons not being of unsound mind,
but by reason of age, disease, weak mind, and other
similar causes, cannot, without outside aid, take care
of themselves and manage their property, becoming
thereby an easy prey for deceit and exploitation.
5. Civil Interdiction
RPC 34, 41
Art. 34. Civil interdiction. Civil interdiction shall
deprive the offender during the time of his sentence
of the rights of parental authority, or guardianship,
either as to the person or property of any ward, of
marital authority, of the right to manage his property
and of the right to dispose of such property by any
act or any conveyance inter vivos.
Art. 41. Reclusion perpetua and reclusion temporal;
Their accessory penalties. The penalties of
reclusion perpetua and reclusion temporal shall carry
with them that of civil interdiction for life or during the
period of the sentence as the case may be, and that
of perpetual absolute disqualification which the
offender shall suffer even though pardoned as to the
principal penalty, unless the same shall have been
expressly remitted in the pardon.
6. Family Relations
FC 150, 87
Art. 50. Family relations include those:
(1) Between husband and wife;
(2) Between parents and children;
(3) Among brothers and sisters, whether of the full or
half-blood.
Art. 87. Every donation or grant of gratuitous
advantage, direct or indirect, between the spouses
during the marriage shall be void, except moderate
gifts which the spouses may give each other on the
occasion of any family rejoicing. The prohibition shall
also apply to persons living together as husband and
wife without a valid marriage. (133a)
7. Alien age
8. Absence
NCC 381 396
Art. 381. When a person disappears from his
domicile, his whereabouts being unknown, and
without leaving an agent to administer his property,
the judge, at the instance of an interested party, a
relative, or a friend, may appoint a person to
represent him in all that may be necessary.
This same rule shall be observed when under similar
circumstances the power conferred by the absentee
has expired. (181a)
Art. 382. The appointment referred to in the
preceding article having been made, the judge shall
take the necessary measures to safeguard the rights
and interests of the absentee and shall specify the
powers, obligations and remuneration of his
representative, regulating them, according to the
circumstances, by the rules concerning guardians.
(182)
Art. 383. In the appointment of a representative, the
spouse present shall be preferred when there is no
legal separation.
If the absentee left no spouse, or if the spouse
present is a minor, any competent person may be
appointed by the court. (183a)
Art. 384. Two years having elapsed without any news
about the absentee or since the receipt of the last
news, and five years in case the absentee has left a
person in charge of the administration of his property,
his absence may be declared. (184)
Art. 385. The following may ask for the declaration of
absence:
(1) The spouse present;
(2) The heirs instituted in a will, who may present an
authentic copy of the same;
(3) The relatives who may succeed by the law of
intestacy;
(4) Those who may have over the property of the
absentee some right subordinated to the condition of
his death. (185)
Art. 386. The judicial declaration of absence shall not
take effect until six months after its publication in a
newspaper of general circulation. (186a)
Art. 387. An administrator of the absentee's property
shall be appointed in accordance with Article 383.
(187a)
Art. 388. The wife who is appointed as an
administratrix of the husband's property cannot
alienate or encumber the husband's property, or that
of the conjugal partnership, without judicial authority.
(188a)
Art. 389. The administration shall cease in any of the
following cases:
(1) When the absentee appears personally or by
means of an agent;
(2) When the death of the absentee is proved and his
testate or intestate heirs appear;
(3) When a third person appears, showing by a
proper document that he has acquired the absentee's
property by purchase or other title.
In these cases the administrator shall cease in the
performance of his office, and the property shall be
at the disposal of those who may have a right thereto.
(190)
Art. 390. After an absence of seven years, it being
unknown whether or not the absentee still lives, he
shall be presumed dead for all purposes, except for
those of succession.
The absentee shall not be presumed dead for the
purpose of opening his succession till after an
absence of ten years. If he disappeared after the age
of seventy-five years, an absence of five years shall
be sufficient in order that his succession may be
opened. (n)
Art. 391. The following shall be presumed dead for all
purposes, including the division of the estate among
the heirs:
(1) A person on board a vessel lost during a sea
voyage, or an aeroplane which is missing, who has
not been heard of for four years since the loss of the
vessel or aeroplane;
(2) A person in the armed forces who has taken part
in war, and has been missing for four years;
(3) A person who has been in danger of death under
other circumstances and his existence has not been
known for four years. (n)
Art. 392. If the absentee appears, or without
appearing his existence is proved, he shall recover
his property in the condition in which it may be found,
and the price of any property that may have been
alienated or the property acquired therewith; but he
cannot claim either fruits or rents. (194)
Art. 393. Whoever claims a right pertaining to a
person whose existence is not recognized must
prove that he was living at the time his existence was
necessary in order to acquire said right. (195)
Art. 394. Without prejudice to the provision of the
preceding article, upon the opening of a succession
to which an absentee is called, his share shall accrue
to his co-heirs, unless he has heirs, assigns, or a
representative. They shall all, as the case may be,
make an inventory of the property. (196a)
Art. 395. The provisions of the preceding article are
understood to be without prejudice to the action of
petition for inheritance or other rights which are
vested in the absentee, his representatives or
successors in interest. These rights shall not be
extinguished save by lapse of time fixed for
prescription. In the record that is made in the Registry
of the real estate which accrues to the coheirs, the
circumstance of its being subject to the provisions of
this article shall be stated. (197)
Art. 396. Those who may have entered upon the
inheritance shall appropriate the fruits received in
good faith so long as the absentee does not appear,
or while his representatives or successors in interest
do not bring the proper actions. (198)
9. Insolvency Trusteeship
NCC 1491, 1381
Art. 1491. The following persons cannot acquire by
purchase, even at a public or judicial auction, either
in person or through the mediation of another:
(1) The guardian, the property of the person or
persons who may be under his guardianship;
(2) Agents, the property whose administration or sale
may have been entrusted to them, unless the
consent of the principal has been given;
(3) Executors and administrators, the property of the
estate under administration;
(4) Public officers and employees, the property of the
State or of any subdivision thereof, or of any
government-owned or controlled corporation, or
institution, the administration of which has been
intrusted to them; this provision shall apply to judges
and government experts who, in any manner
whatsoever, take part in the sale;
(5) Justices, judges, prosecuting attorneys, clerks of
superior and inferior courts, and other officers and
employees connected with the administration of
justice, the property and rights in litigation or levied
upon an execution before the court within whose
jurisdiction or territory they exercise their respective
functions; this prohibition includes the act of acquiring
by assignment and shall apply to lawyers, with
respect to the property and rights which may be the
object of any litigation in which they may take part by
virtue of their profession.0
(6) Any others specially disqualified by law. (1459a)
V. DOMICILE AND RESIDENCE
Juridical Person - NCC 51
Art. 51. When the law creating or recognizing them, or any
other provision does not fix the domicile of juridical
persons, the same shall be understood to be the place
where their legal representation is established or where
they exercise their principal functions. (41a)
Natural Persons NCC 50, FC 68 & 69
Art. 50. For the exercise of civil rights and the fulfillment of
civil obligations, the domicile of natural persons is the
place of their habitual residence. (40a)
FC 68, 69
Art. 68. The husband and wife are obliged to live together,
observe mutual love, respect and fidelity, and render
mutual help and support. (109a)
Art. 69. The husband and wife shall fix the family domicile.
In case of disagreement, the court shall decide.
The court may exempt one spouse from living with the
other if the latter should live abroad or there are other valid
and compelling reasons for the exemption. However, such
exemption shall not apply if the same is not compatible
with the solidarity of the family. (110a)