PROPERTY

DISCUSSION GUIDE
ATTY. ERWIN L. TIAMSON
I. INTRODUCTION
A. What is Property?
1. In general term:
• Property concerns legal relations among people regarding control and disposition of valued
resources. Property is not about control of things; it is about relations of people with regard to
thing, and because the things we value are not confined to tangible objects, it makes more
sense to treat property in terms of valued resources.
• Property in the broadest sense is a set of claims that people have in resources that
correspond to duties of respect from others. Property delineates the rights people have to
control and derive value from resources in the world.
• Property is a general term for the rules that govern people's access to and control of things
like land, natural resources, the means of production, manufactured goods, including texts,
ideas, inventions, and other intellectual products.
• Ownership - For most people, property means the things we own. An owner has the power to
control the property that he owns. It may take various forms, including the right to exclude, to
use, to transfer. Ownership concerns a package of various entitlements and responsibilities.
Bundle of Rights.
• Property regulation as management of conflicting rights. A property system, through the
legislature and the courts - must adjudicate conflicts among property rights holder to reconcile
incompatible entitlements. Rule of law.

2. Property is a system of managing resources

a) Capitalism
• Preeminence of private ownership
• Citizens have private property
• Market forces decides what is best to do with resources
• Market economy.

b) Communism/Socialism
• Preeminence of state ownership;
• Citizens have limited property, the state owned most of the resources (Super Regalian
Doctrine)
• The state decides what is best to do with resources;
• Planned economy

c) Tragedy of the Commons1

• A situation where there is no property rights in the community
• There is only a shared resource system (common ownership) where individual users acting
independently according to their own self-interest behave contrary to the common good
and depleted the resource through their collective action.

3. Libertarians, Progressives, and Efficiency Theorist view of property

• Property presents us with a complex coordination problem.
• Property concerns scarce resources and because people want to use resources for their
various purposes, we need a way to allocate posers over those resources, especially use
rights. We need to manage the complexity of human interactions.

1Garret Hardin, Tragedy of the Commons, 162 Science 1243 (1968)

 • When resources are scarce, creating rules about property use is beneficial; however, such
rules are also costly to create, define, and enforce. Smith argues that the focus of property law
is to minimize the cost of information we need to figure out who gets to do what with what
thing.2
• Property as Exclusion Strategy - exclusion creates an architecture for the entire property
system. Property rights are not merely impediments to resources ending up in the hands of
those who value them most; they are one of the basic tools that allow markets to exist in the
first place. They are inherently valuable because they enable people to act, invest, to plan,
and to exchange goods and services. They establish bargaining power that protects
individuals form being force to comply with the will of others, they are significant part of what
makes free market “free”.
• Property is a system and not just an individual entitlement. Property rights and externalities
are born together. The assignment of rights to one person necessary affect others by
exclusion. Thus, they must be regulated.
• Focus on the basic structure of the property system. Property is the foundation upon which
markets rest. Property precedes liberty because we cannot decide how to live if we are not
given the general power to choose how to use things we own. Property precedes efficiency
because initial distribution of of property is required before exchange is possible (best use).
• Property comes in modules that enable us to know what we own and what we can do with it.
It gives us valuable information, free us from unwarranted restrictions and promote both
freedom and efficiency. They allow us to take things for granted. Property law places distinct
limits on our freedom to disaggregate property rights.

4. Legal Perspective
• Property is an entitlement to resources protected by legal institutions
• Lawyers, however, understand property as legal relations among persons with respect to
things. Some scholars deem property to be a natural right while others view it as a delegation
of covering poser or as a package of legal entitlement.3 (Citing Prof. Henry Smith [traditional
legal doctrines] and Prof. Wesley Hohfeld [bundle of rights]. Prof. Smith - conceptualized
property as a framework for “interaction of persons in society” as well as the foundation and
infrastructure of private law. 4
• Property laws delineate the rights people have to control and derive value from resources in
the world. Property laws tell us what is mine and what is not mine. Without rules about this,
the world will be a chaotic and probable quite violent place to live in.
• The concept of property is reserved for a legally protected entitlement. A thing is not property
in the legal sense unless its holder could vindicate his/her rights in the court of laws.
• Property as an institution embraces these many forms and different societies have various
mixtures of them.

B. Purpose of Property5
• Institution of property provides for an effective way of managing society’s resources. -
Decentralisation in the management of resources and permits owners-managers to specialise
in developing the knowledge and skill pertinent to their particular resources.
• Provides a powerful set of incentives for person to make investments in and engage in
effective management of resources they control. Reaping what you sow.

2 See Thomas W. Merril & Henry E. Smith, What Happened to Property in Law and Economics, 111 YALE L. J. 357, 380 (2001)
3 Joseph W. Singer, Property as the Law of Democracy, 63 Duke L. J. 1287 (2014)
4 Property as the Law of Things, 125 HARV. L. REV. 1691 (2012)
5 Thomas W. Merril and Henry E. Smith, The Oxford Introduction to U.S. Law: Property, Oxford University Press, 2010
 • Facilitates the making of contracts regarding the use and control of resources. - Exchange of
property rights, we know who use and control the resources.
• It is a source of individual autonomy - private individuals controls the direction of their lives
because they have the means; critical to personal identify or to the development of individual
personality
• It is important to the preservation of liberty and a source of countervailing power to the power
of the State. With private property, individuals can organized oppositions, if the government
controls all the resources, autocracy.

C. Issues and Concern

• Division of the world into separate parcels of lands and discrete object of personal property,
each with its individual owners. i.e. effects of externalities to other property owners
• Monopoly - confers monopoly of control on someone with respect to a particular resources
that was awarded to him/her.
• Commodification of values and social relations. The more we extend the sphere of of
property, the more we think about the world in terms of owner-object relation.
• It promotes inequality. Allows property owners to exclude others from using and enjoying
resources that he/she owns.

D. Theories of Property
• All five theories help form the foundation of property law.
• No one theory is accepted as the only justification for property

1. First Possession
• Rules of first possession are the regulation of a competitive process of acquiring unowned
resources.
• It is the allocation of property rights to the first possessor.
• Intended to reduced conflict and unnecessary competition;
• Much less wasteful of resources if a clear winner emerges early on in the process of
appropriation;
• Notice to others that a claim is being asserted is important for #2; the lack of notice might
lead others to compete with the original hunter;
• The end result of first possession is private property
• Rule on Discovery - the thing is awarded to those who first made a claim on the resources

2. Labor Theory
• John Locke resigned the each person is entitled to the property produced through his own
labor. Locked argued that when a person mixed his own labor with natural resources which
are unowned, he acquired property rights in the mixture. Before labor was added, the thing
had no value, once labor is mixed, the thing becomes private property.
• More applicable in areas where there is no established ownership, i.e. British colonization of
North America

3. Utilitarian / Economic Theory

a) Maximise Societal Happiness
• We recognized property in order to maximise the overall happiness of society; to best
promote the welfare of all citizens. (Jeremy Bentham)

b) Law and Economics Approach

 • An efficient method of allocating valuable resources in order to maximise one particular
face of social happiness, wealth, and measured in currency. Property exists to ensure that’d
owners use resources in an efficient manner - that is, in a manner which maximises
economic valued defined as a person’s willingness to pay.

c) Harold Demsetz Theory of Property Rights 6

• Property is an institution for “internalizing externalities” associated with the use of scarce
resources. An externality is some benefit or cost generated by one person’s activity that is
involuntarily bored by some other person.
• The Demsetz theory posits that another way of internalizing externalities associated with
the use of resources is by establishing property rights in the resources. Property rights, as
Demsetz understood them, are rights to exclude others from specific things or resources.
By creating such exclusion rights and converting them on an identified owner, man of the
benefits and costs associated with the use of the resource - which otherwise would be
experienced as externalities by the others - will instead be borne by the owner. By giving
the owner exclusive control over the resource, decisions that affect the value of the
resource in a positive or negative direction will be captured by the owner.
• The owner thus has a powerful incentive to take these benefits and costs into account in
deciding how to use the resource.
• Setting Up of Institutions to Protect Property Rights
• It is necessary to define resources subject to ownership, specify how owners are
identified, set up institutions to resolve disputes over ownership, and devise
mechanisms for enforcing ownership rights.
• If the costs of establishing and enforcing property rights exceed the benefits of
internalisation from establishing and enforcing property rights, resources will remain in
the unowned (open-access) state. Thus, for a thing to be governed by property regime,
the following should be present:
• There must be enough demand for the resource relative to its supply that
internalization of externalities associated with use of the resource will produce
significant benefit.
• If something is regarded as having no value, or negative value, it is also unlikely tat
the thing will be treated as property.
• Property in a given class of resource is unlikely to exist if there are “high costs of
establishing and enforcing” such right. Some assists are easier to delineate and
enforce as property than other assets.

d) Basic Features of Property System

In order for an economy to reach its full potential, there are three (3) basic features which its
system of property rights must have 7 :

(1) Universality
• all valuable, scarce resources must be owned by someone. An economy where certain
resources cannot be use by someone would be smaller than the same economy where
this resources could be used.

(2) Exclusivity
• If an owner is unable to exclude others from the use and enjoyment of the property, then
the owner has no incentive to improve the property.

6 Harold Demsetz, Toward a Theory of Property Rights, 57 AM. ECON. REV. PAPERS & PROC. 347 (1967)
7 Howard Gensler, Property Law as an Optimal Economic Foundation, 35 Washburn L.J. 50, 51-52 (1995)
 (3) Universality
• The more efficient person should be allowed to acquire the property of the less efficient one
for mutual benefit. The right to transfer is vital for efficiency in our market economy because
it helps ensure that property is devoted to its most valuable use. What is the extent of the
restrictions

4. Democracy
• In a state in which private property does not exist, citizens are dependent on the good will of
the government. They come to the state as beggars rather than right holders.
• Any challenge to the state may be stifled or driven underground by virtue of the fact that
serous haleness could result i the withdrawal of the goods that give people basic security.
• A right to private property, free from government interference, is in this sense a necessary
basis for a democracy.8

5. Personhood
• Georg Hegel - argues that property is necessary for an individual’s personal development.
Each person has a close emotional connection to certain tangible things, which virtually
become part of one’s self.
• Margaret Jane Radin - the gauge of the strength or significance of someone’s relationship
with an object by the kind of pain that should be occasioned by its loss; pain that cannot be
relieved by a simple object’s replacement; because of this connection to the property, the
owner should be accorded a broad liberty with respect to control of that thing.
• All things equal, a right to personhood priority should be given priority over a conflicting claim
by the owner of non-personhood property. 9

E. Legal Theories on Property

1. Natural Theory
• A philosophical system of legal and moral principles purportedly deriving from a universalised
conception of human nature or divine justice rather than from legislative or judicial action;
moral law, embodied in the principles of right and wrong.
• Thomas Aquinas concludes that, given certain detailed provision:
• it is natural for man to possess external things
• it is lawful for a man to possess a thing as his own
• the essence of theft consists in taking another's thing secretly
• theft and robbery are sins of different species, and robbery is a more grievous sin than theft
• theft is a sin; it is also a mortal sin
• it is, however, lawful to steal through stress of need: "in cases of need all things are
common property."

2. Legal Positivism
a) Property rights are defined by law.
• The theory that legal rules are valid only be cause they are enacted by existing political
authority or accepted as binding in a given society not because they are grounded in morality
or in natural law.
• Property rights are thus defined by the State

8 Cass R. Sunstein, On Property and Constitutionalism, 14 Cardozo L. Rev. 907 (1993)

9 Margaret Jane Radin, Property and and Personhood, 34 Stan. L. Rev. 957 (1982)
 b) Property rights are protected by formal institutions
• Property laws delineate the rights people have to control and derive value from resources
in the world. For legal scholars, we use property to refer to entitlements to resources
protected by formal legal institutions. 10
• Property laws tell us what is mine and what is not mine. It is reserved for a legally protected
entitlement.
• A thing is not property in the legal sense unless its holder could vindicate his/her rights in
the court of laws.
• Property is closely related to rule of law.

c) Property rights are not absolute

• Much of property law is devoted to reconciling disputes between different owners or
between an owner and the community.

d) Property rights evolve as law changes

• A core value of our property system is stability of title - the concept that property rights
should be certain and predictable. But the nature and scope of property do evolve slowly
over time, as chasing economic, technological and social conditions gradually reshape the
law. i.e. traditional notion that a land owner held title to all the airspace above her land - the
invention of airplane ended the traditional notion.

3. Property as Law of Things

a) In Rem
• The Latin expression for this is that property rights are “in rem”, which comes from the word
res or things, and indicated that property rights pertains directly to things rather than to
people. It is universally binding on all who encounter the object. In rem rights bind the
world, not just the particular pair of parties. Property in the broadest sense is a set of claims
that people have in resources that correspond to duties of respect in others generally.
• Property rights bind the world, not just a particular pair of parties. Property in the broadest
sense is a set of claims that people have in resources that correspond to duties of respect
in others. It is “in rem” because the right attaches to the object, rather than to particular
people, it is universally binding on all who encounter the object.

b) Distinguished from In Personam

• In Contracts for instance, rights are created by particular agreements between particular
persons which creates obligations binding on these persons with respect to each other and
no one else. These are personal rights that are binding only on the parties to the contracts.
• Personal rights do not exit automatically as a matter of law. They are only created when
persons engage in certain acts that creates obligations specified by the contract and
binding only on parties to the contract.

c) Property as Notice
• Property law comes in a standard set of forms and serves as notice to everyone,
depending on the physical nature and character, and location of the property on how to
behave. The in rem aspect of property gives information to large and indefinite audience on
how to interact with each other with regard to the thing.
• Property needs to be general, stable, and give proper notice on the widest possible
audience. Achieving generality, stability, and notice requires managing information:
 facilitating coordination on this scale requires simplicity and a degree of formalism precisely
because the audience is in rem.11
• The Duty to Keep Off - The other side of the owner’s right to exclude, use and transfer
properties, it is the duty of the other members of society to keep off, to respect such rights,
unless the owner has given permission to enter or use the thing. Property in the broadest
sense is a set of claims that people have in resources that correspond to duties of respect
in others generally.
• In rem proceeding and the jurisdiction of the court over a thing. In rem proceeding
allows a person to place some things under the authority of the court, which will, after
providing to all interested claimants the required notice and opportunity to be heard, make
a definitive adjudication of who owns the thing.

4. Right to Exclude
a) William Blackstone12
• According to Blackstone, property is “the sole and despotic dominion which one man claims
and exercises over the external things of the world, in total exclusion of the right of any
other individual in the universe.”
• Arguably one of the most significant and essential elements in defining our understanding
of what constitutes property. Historically, the right to exclude concerns the relationship
between people with respect to things, “such that the so-called owner can exclude others
from certain activities or permit others to engage in those activities and in either case
secure assistance of the law in carrying out this decision.” But, from a present-day
perspective, the right has evolved beyond the legal constructs of traditional property law to
also encompass legal entitlements and benefits possessed by one person over another
irrespective of the legal relationship between such person and the thing in which the right is
claimed.

b) Primacy of the Right to Exclude13

• Give someone the right to exclude others from a valued resource and you give them
property. Deny someone the exclusion right and they do not have property.
• If one starts with the right to exclude, it is possible to derive most of the other attributes
commonly associated with property through the addition of relatively minor clarifications
about the domain of the exclusion right. On the other hand, if one starts with any other
attribute of property, one cannot derive the right to exclude by extending the domain of that
other attribute; rather, one must add the right to exclude as an additional premise.
• The right to use is an important attribute of property closely associated with the right to
exclude. At its core, the gatekeeper right is the right to determine the use of resources, by
exercising the power of exclusion and inclusion. But the right to exclude cannot be derived
from the right to use.
• To determine whether or not someone who has the right to transfer resources also has a
general right to exclude others from the resources, we need to know additional information
about the scope of their powers, specifically, whether they are owners. The right to transfer,
by itself, cannot lead us to this further information about which incidents of property the
transferor enjoys.

c) Exception to the Right to Exclude

• Necessity

11 Henry E. Smith, The Language of Property: Form, Context, and Audience, 55 STAN. L. REV. 1105, 1148–57 (2003).
12 William Blackstone, Commentary on the Laws of England
13 Thomas W. Merrill, Property and the Right to Exclude, 77 Neb. L. Rev. (1998)
 • Custom
• Public Accommodation Laws
• Anti-discriminatory Laws

5. Bundle of Rights
• Property as Bundle of Rights
• This school of thought denies the existence of any essential core tot he concept of property.
Rather, property is jest a word denoting a bundle of rights or more metaphorically, a bundle
of stick - in which each individual stick (whether it be a right or privilege) can be added or
removed without necessarily changing the characterization of the bundle as property.
• The Legal Realist movement that started in the 1920 advance this alternative view in order
to debunk the notion of property as a natural high protected by the Constitution against
fundamental reform.
• Trinity of Rights - to exclude, to use and to transfer defines the core property.
• The law shifted from giving the owner dictatorial control over who and what to exclude or
include, and instead seeks to prescribe rules about permissible and impermissible uses
that constrain all relevantly situated owners. Exclusion shoes off into governance.
• Perspective and Analysis14 - “At least since Blackstone, property rights discourses has been
plagued by absolutism, the notion that the right of property should be defined as the “sole and
despotic dominion” over the res, to the “total exclusion of the right of any other individual in the
universe.” Property professors and courts generally refer to the collection of rights that private
property owners enjoy vis-a-vis other landowners and the public as a “bundle of sticks” in an
attempt to render rather abstract concepts more concrete. The prevailing metaphor, however,
lends itself to a formalistic, absolutist conception of these interests, implying that the stick,
such as the right to devise or the right to convey, are things… therefore the composition of the
bundle must be an immutable and essential state of affairs. In contrast, many scholars insist
that property rights are neither static nor absolute. The recognition of private property interest
involves tradeoffs with community values and egalitarian goals; therefore the exact
composition of the bundle of sticks must be recognized as a mediation between these
interests. Moreover, the palace struck is always tentative, subject to constant re-evaluation in
the light of current needs and norms.
• Countryside and Rights of Way Act (England and Wales) - Many landowners in the United
Kingdom have, in the past, strongly defended their property rights. Even uncultivated and
unenclosed land was formerly heavily protected in some areas, mostly to preserve the land
owner's hunting or fishing rights. This in turn left the general public with little access to natural
areas. The Act implements the so-called "right to roam" (also known as jus spatiandi) long
sought by the Ramblers' Association and its predecessors, on certain upland and uncultivated
areas of England and Wales. The act refers to areas of “mountain, moor, heath and down” in
addition to registered common land; not all uncultivated land is covered. The Ramblers'
Association works to increase the rights of walkers in the United Kingdom and has been a
driving force behind the recent legislation increasing the public's access to the wilderness.

F. Property under the Civil Code

1. Part of Civil Law
• Family law; Contracts and obligations; Property Law; Succession, estate, probate, and
testamentary laws; Agency; Law of Torts

2. Rights Over Things

a) Things and Property Distinguish

14 Sparkling and Coletta, Property - A Contemporary Approach, 2nd Edition, West (2012), p. 65-66
 b) Rights as Property
(1) Real Rights
(2) Personal Rights
(3) Distinctions

3. Kinds of Property
a) As to Ownership
(1) Common/Res Nullious
(2) Public Dominion
(a) Property intended for public use (Art. 420, par. 1, NCC)
(b) Property for public service (Art. 420, par. 2, NCC)
(c) Property for the development of national wealth (Art. 420, par. 2, NCC)
(d) Patrimonial property (Article 421, NCC)

(3) Private Dominion

(a) All properties belonging to private persons either individually or collectively (Art. 425,
NCC)
i) Sole ownership
ii) Co-ownership (Simple, Partnerships, Corporations, and other forms of multiple
ownership)

b) As to Physical Characteristics
(1) Immovable Property (Real Property)
(a) Enumeration of Immovable Property (Art. 415, NCC)
(b) Classes of Immovable Property
i) Immovable by nature - paragraphs 1 and 8
ii) Immovable by incorporation - paragraphs 2,3,4, and 6
iii) Immovable by destination - paragraphs 4,5,6,7 and 9
iv) Immovable by analogy or by law - paragraph 10
(c) Extent of Ownership (Art. 437, NCC)
i) Includes the surface and everything under it and he can construct thereon any works
or make any plantations and exceptions which he may deem proper, without
detriment to servitudes and subject to special laws and ordinances. He cannot
complain of the reasonable requirement of aerial navigation.
ii) Minerals are not included; Article XII of the Constitution
iii) Republic Act No. 7942 (Philippine Mining Act of 1991)
(1) Section 76. Entry into Private Lands and Concession Areas. - Subject to prior
notification, holders of mining rights shall not be prevented from entry into private
lands and concession areas by surface owners, occupants, or concessionaires
when conduction mining operations therein: provided, that any damage done to
the property of the surface owner, occupant, or concessionaire as a consequence
of such operations shall be properly compensated as may be provided for in the
implementing rules and regulations: provided further, that to guarantee such
compensation, the person authorized to conduct mining operation shall, prior
thereto, post a bond with the regional director used on the the of properties, the
 prevailing rices in and around the area where the mining operations are to be
conducted, with surety or sureties satisfactory to the regional director.
iv) Commonwealth Act No. 141 (Public Land Act)
(1) Section 110. Patents or certificates issued under the provision of this Act shall not
include nor convey the title to any gold, silver, copper, iron, or other metals or
minerals or other substances containing minerals, guano, gum, precious stones,
coal, or coal oil contained in lands granted thereunder. These shall remain to be
property of the State.
(2) The prohibition applies also to lease of public lands under Section 41. The lease
of agricultural lands may be cancelled after notice if the said lands is more
valuable for mineral extraction.
(d) Hidden Treasures (Art. 438/439, NCC)
i) Hidden and unknown deposit of money, jewelry or other precious objects (Personal
Property) the lawful ownership of which does not appear (Art. 439, NCC)
ii) Belongs to the owner of the land/building (Principle of Accession)
iii) If by chance 1/2 belongs to the finder but not when he is a trespasser
iv) The State ay acquire hidden treasure at their just price; Ground: Science/Art

(2) Movable Property (Personal Property)

(a) Enumeration under Art. 416 and 417, NCC
(b) Consumables or Non-Consumables under Art. 418, NCC
(c) Fungible or Non-Fungible

(3) Importance of Distinguishing Movable from Immovable

(a) Ownership Rights
i) Statute of Limitations
ii) Registration of ownership and interest in Property Registries
(b) Taxation
i) Real property Taxation
ii) Taxation of Certain Movable Property

II. OWNERSHIP
• The delineation of ownership is as old as human written records.

A. In General
• Ownership signifies that dominion or indefinite right of use, control and disposition (constituent
elements) which one may lawfully exercise over particular things or objects.
• The delineation of ownership is as old as human written records.
• Ownership is a Biblical Concept: The Mosaic laws as described in the Ten Commandments or the
laws on takings in Exodus 22:1-15, as well as the host of other Levitical laws throughout the first
five books of the Old Testament, are all attempts to legally define ownership.
• From the Hammurabi code to the English common law the notion of legal ownership, or legal
rights, to property is well defined.
• In the words of William Blackstone (English Jurist): “The third absolute right; inherent in every
Englishman, is that of property: which consists in the free use, enjoyment and disposal of all his
acquisitions, without any control or diminution, save only by the laws of the land”.
 1. Definition
a) In its strict sense
(1) Property signifies that dominion or indefinite right of user, control and disposition which one
may lawfully exercise over particular things or objects (63 Am Jur 2d).
(2) Property is composed of certain constituent elements, namely, the unrestricted right of use,
enjoyment and disposal of the particular subject of property.

b) Exercise of Rights of Ownership under Art. 427 of the Civil Code

(1) Over Things
(2) Over Rights

c) Meaning of Title
(1) Refers to that which is the subject of ownership, and is that which is the foundation of
ownership.
(2) It is the evidence of a person’s right or of the extent of his interest; the means whereby the
owner is enable to maintain or assert his possession and enjoyment.
(3) Colour of title is that which gives a semblance or appearance of title, but is not the title in
fact. It is anything which shows the extent of the occupant’s claim

B. Incidents of Ownership
1. Right to Exclude
a) Right to Exclude under the Civil Code (Art. 429, NCC)
• The owner or lawful possessor of a thing has the right to exclude any person from the
enjoyment and disposal of the thing.

b) Right of Enclosure and Fences (Art. 430)

• Subject to servitudes and easements

c) Self-Help
d) Exception
• Lawful Interference in cases of acts of necessities Art. 432, NCC
• Compensate affected owner for damages

e) Resort to judicial process if possession is loss

• Article 428 (Par. 2) - The owner has a right of action against the holder and possessor of
the ting in order to recover it.
• Article 433. Actual possession under a claim of ownership raises a disputable presumption
of ownership. Th true owner must resort to judicial process in order to recover it.

2. Right to Use
a) General Statement under Art. 428 of the Civil Code
(1) Par. (1) The owner has the right to enjoy things without other limitations

b) Exceptions:
• Limitation by law
• Injurious Use - The owner of the thing cannot make use it in such a manner as to injure the
rights of a third person (Article 431, NCC)
 • An owner may put his property to any use not unlawful, however absolute and unqualified
may be his title, an owner holds the property under the implied liablitiy that his use of it
shall not be injurious to the equal enjoyment of others having an equal right to the
enjoyment of their property of others nor injurious to the rights of the community. a claim of
restrictions and limitation in the use of such property must be clearly and indubitable
established
• Governmental control and regulate properties to secure the general safety, the public
welfare and the peace, good order and morals of the community. This does not confer
power to control rights which are purely and exclusively private, but it does authorise
• The establishment of laws requiring each citizen so to conduct himself and use his own
property as not unnecessarily to injure another. The state may provide regulations as to the
acquisition, enjoyment and disposition of property and may even take private property for a
public purpose, subject to the right of the individual to just compensation.
• Property is subject to certain burdens which it must bear in common with other property of
a like kind.

c) 1987 Constitution, Article XII, National Economy and Patrimony

(1) Use of Property Has a Social Function
• The use of property bears a social function, and all economic agents shall contribute to
the common good. Individuals and private groups, including corporations, cooperatives
and similar collected organisations, shall have the right to own, establish and operate
economic enterprises

(2) Distributive Justice

• The use of property is subject to the duty of the state to promote distributive justice and
can State intervene when the common good so demands.

3. Right to Transfer
a) In General.
• It includes the right of alienation or disposition in any lawful manner which the owner deems
fit. The transfer must comply with the mode appropriate to the kind of property in order to be
effectual.

b) Art. 428 of the Civil Code

• The owner has the right to dispose property subject to limitations established by law

c) Kinds of Transfers
(1) Assignment of ownership
(2) Assignment of rights only

4. Right to Vindicate
a) In General
• Includes the right to protect and defend such possession against the intrusion or trespass of
others through judicial relief but in certain instances may include self-help; and

b) Presumptions
• The law favour actual possessors (Article 433 of the Civil Code)

III. CO-OWNERSHIP
A. In General
 The ownership of an undivided thing or rights belongs to different person (Art. 484)

B. Incidents of Co-ownership
1. General Rule
a) Presumption is equal shares (Art. 485, NCC)
b) Full ownership of his share (Art. 493, NCC)
c) On Share - the share of the co-owners in the benefits as well as in the charges are
proportional to their interest and any stipulation altering this proportion is void . (Art. 485,
NCC)

2. On Right to Use
a) Any co-owner may use the thing in accordance with its purpose (Art. 486, NCC)
b) Cannot use it in such a way as to injure the interest of the co-owners or prevents them from
using it according to their rights
c) Co-owner may not alter the thing in common even though it will benefit all co-owners; judicial
relief if the withholding of consent is prejudicial (Art. 491) or if the resolution of the majority is
prejudicial (Art. 492)

3. On Right to Exclude
a) May not exclude co-owners (Art. 486)
b) Prescription does not run against co-owner as long as he recognises the co-ownership (Art.
494, par. 5)

4. On Right to Transfer
a) Any co-owner may alienate, assign or mortgage his right (Art. 493)
b) Any co-owner may substitute another person in the enjoyment of the use except if personal
rights are involved (Art. 493)
c) Creditors and Assignees may take part in the division but cannot impugn any partition that has
been executed (Art. 497)

5. On Right to Vindicate
a) Any co-owner may bring an action for Ejectment (Art. 487)

C. Obligations of Co-Owners
a) Contribute to the expenses for preservation and to taxes. (Art. 488)
b) Contribute to the expenses for improvement upon majority decision (Art. 489). Majority
decision must include co-owners representing controlling interest (Art. 492)
c) As far a practicable, other co-owners must be notified before a co-owner incur expenses for
preservation.

D. Right to Partition
1. Incidents
a) Any co-owner may demand partition any time in so far as his share is concern (Art. 492 and
496);
b) Mutual accounting for benefits receive and reimbursement (Art. 500);
c) Creditors or assignees of a co-owner may take part in the division and object to its being
effected without their concurrence (Art. 497).
d) Kinds of Partition (Art. 496)
(1) Private Partition (Art. 496)
 (2) Judicial Partition (Art. 496)

2. Exception to Right of Partition

a) By agreement for a period not more than ten years. Extension is allowed by a new agreement.
(Art. 494, par. 2)
b) Donor and Testator may prohibit partition but it shall not exceed 20 years (Art. 494, par. 3)
c) If the partition will render the thing unserviceable for the use for which it was intended (Art.
495).
(1) Indemnification of other co-owners by the acquiring co-owner but if there is no agreement,
the thing shall be sold and the proceeds distributed (Art. 497)

3. Effect of Partition to Third Persons (Art. 499)

a) Does not prejudice third person who has a right of mortgage, servitude or any other real right
before the division.
b) Does not prejudice personal rights

4. Warranty
a) Every co-owner shall be liable for defects of title and quality of the portion assigned to each of
he other co-owners. (Art. 501)

E. Renunciation of Shares
a) A co-owner may renounce his share share as may be equivalent to this share of the expenses
and taxes but not when it is detrimental to the interest of the co-ownership (Art. 488)

F. Special rules on co-ownership of buildings with different Stories

a) Art. 490, NCC

IV. POSSESSION
A. Definitions
1. Possession in General
• Possession is the holding of a thing or the enjoyment of a right (Art. 523). Only things and
rights which are susceptible of being appropriated may be the object of possession (Art. 430)
• Possession is the fact of having or holding property in one’s power; the exercise of dominion
over property; the right under which on may exercise control over something to the exclusion
of all others;
• Any of the usual outward marks of ownership may suffice as possession in the absence of
manifest power in someone else.

2. Actual Possession
• Physical occupancy or control over property

3. Acquisitive Prescription
• The acquisition of a title to a thing by open, continues, exclusive, notorious and hostile
possession over a statutory period.

4. Adverse Possession
• The enjoyment of property with a claim of right when the enjoyment is opposed to another
person’s claim and is continuous, exclusive, hostile, open and notorious.

5. Bonafide Possession
 • Possession of property by a person who in good faith does not know that the property’s
ownership is disputed.

6. Constructive Possession
• Control or dominion over a property without actual possession or custody of it. Thus, when a
possessor holds title to a property and physically possesses part of it, the law will deem the
possessor hold constructive possession of the rest of the property described in the title.

7. Exclusive Possession
• The exercise of exclusive dominion over property including the use and benefit of the property.

8. Hostile Possession
• Possession asserted against the claims of all others especially the true or record owner

9. Notorious Possession
• Possession or control that is evident to others;
• Possession of property that, because it is generally known by people in the area where the
property is located, gives rise to a presumption that the actual owner has notice of it.

10. Prescription
• The extinction of a title or right by failure to claim or exercise it over a long period of time.

11. Peaceable Possession

• Possession not disturbed by another’s hostile or legal attempts to recover possession
especially wrongful possession that the rightful possessor has appeared to tolerate.

B. How is Possession Exercise

a) Possession can be exercise in one’s own name or in that of another (Art. 524)
b) Possession of a thing as an owner
c) Possession of a thing by reason of a right to hold, keep or enjoy without being an owner; See
Art. 559

C. Acquisition of Possession
1. How possession is acquired (Art. 531)
a) Material Occupation
b) Exercise of a Right
c) Control over thing/right that are subject to the action of our will (Art. 560)

2. Who can acquire possession

a) By the same person who is to enjoy it (Art. 532)
b) By his legal representatives, agent or any other person if ratified; in case of minors/
incapacitated persons, they need the assistance of their legal representatives
c) By operations of law (Art. 534) as in the case of hereditary title - transmission from the
moment of death
d) Possession cannot be acquire through force or intimidation as long as there is a possessor
who objects to it (Art. 536; but see the doctrine of Self-Help)
e) Acts merely tolerated and those executed clandestinely and without knowledge or by violence
do not affect possession (Art. 537)
 f) Possession of movables in good faith is equivalent to a title, however, the person who was
unlawfully deprive may recover it (Art. 559); there must be reimbursement in case of
acquisition in public sale.
g) Possession as a fact cannot be recognized at the same time in two different personalities
except in co-possession (Art. 538)
(1) Present possessor is preferred
(2) The one longer in possession is preferred in case there are two possessors
(3) The one who presents a title is preferred in case of the date of possess are the same.

D. Loss of Possession
1. General Rule (Art. 554)
a) By abandonment of the thing
b) By assignment made to another either by onerous or gratuitous title
c) By destruction or total loss of the thing or because it goes out of commerce
d) By the possession of another
(1) One year
(2) Ten years - real right of possession is lost
(3) Prescription on immovables is subject to land registration laws

2. Presumptions
• Movables are not deemed lost as long as they remain under the control of the possessor even
thought the time being he ay not know its whereabout.

E. Effects of Possession
1. Possession is respected and will be restored if disturbed, writ of ejectment may be issued (Art.
539, NCC)
2. Presumptions of Ownership in favor of Actual Possessors
a) Just title - if possession is in the concept of an owner; possessor cannot be obliged to show or
prove it. (Art. 541, NCC)
b) A possessor who shows possession at some previous time is presumed to have held
possession also during the intermediate period in the absence of proof to the contrary. (Art.
459, NCC)
c) Possession of real properties presumes possession of movables (Art. 542, NCC)
3. Rules in common possession (Art. 534, NCC)
a) Allocation after division is presumed to have been possessed during the entire duration of co-
possession
b) Interruption of possession prejudices all the possessors
c) In case of Civil Interruption, the Rules of Court applies
d) Tacking of Possession

F. Adverse Possession
1. Concept
• Possession without authority and adverse to the interest of the lawful possessor;

2. Rule upon Recovery of Possession by the Lawful Possessor

a) Possession in Good Faith
 (1) Definition
• A Possessor in good faith is a possessor who is not aware that there exists in his title or
mode of acquisition any flaw which invalidates it;
• Mistakes as to question of law may be a basis of good faith (Art. 526); Good faith is
presumed and bad faith has to be proved (Art. 527);
• Good faith is lost upon knowledge of the facts (Art. 528)

(2) Effects of Possession in Good Faith

(a) On the Fruits
i) Entitled to the fruits before possession is legally interrupted
ii) Right to his proportional share in case of natural and industrial fruits in case of
interruption

(b) Refund
i) For necessary expenses with right of retention until reimbursement (Art. 546, par. 1)
ii) For useful expenses with right of retention - owner has the option to refund or to pay
increase in value (Art. 546 par. 2)
iii) For expenses for pure luxury or mere pleasure (Art. 548)

(c) Removal
i) Of useful improvements if it can be done without damage or refund (Art. 547)
ii) Of ornaments for embellishment if it suffers no injury and if owner does not prefer to
refund (Art. 548)

(d) Liability
i) Not liable for the deterioration or loss except if there is fraudulent intent or negligence
after judicial summons

b) Possession in Bad Faith

(1) Definition
• A possessor in bad faith is a possessor who is is aware, has knowledge or has actual
notice of any flaw in his title

(2) Effects of Possession in Bad Faith

(a) On the Fruits
• Obligation to reimburse the owner/legitimate possessor the fruits received

(b) Refund
• For necessary expenses only without right of retention (Art. 546 and 549)

(c) Removal
• Of improvement for pure luxury or please if no injury is cause and the lawful
possessor does not prefer to retina the by paying its value (Art. 549)

(d) Liability
• Liable for losses including fortuitous events

3. Acquisitive and Extinctive Prescription

a) Adverse Possession
 Possession acquired and enjoyed in the concept of owner. Such possession can serve as a
title for acquiring dominion (Art. 540, NCC and Art. 1118, NCC)

b) Prescription
By prescription, one acquires ownership and other real rights through the lapse of time in
theater and under the conditions laid down by law. In the same way, rights and conditions are
lost by prescription (Art. 1106, NCC). Possession has to be in the concept of an owner, public,
peaceful and uninterrupted (Art. 1118, NCC). However, lands registered under the Torrens
System of land registration is not subject to prescription (Section 47, PD No. 1529 or the
Property Registration Decree, “Section 47. Certificate not subject to prescription. No title to
registered land in derogation of the title of the registered owner shall be acquired by
prescription or adverse possession.”

c) Kinds of Acquisitive Prescription

(1) Ordinary Acquisitive Prescription
• Requires possession of things in good faith and with just title for the time fixed by law
(Art. 1117, NCC). The good faith of the possession consists in the reasonable belief that
the person from whom he received the thing was the owner and could transmit
ownership (Art. 1127). There is just title when the adverse claimant came into possession
of the property through one of the modes recognized by law for the acquisition of
ownership or other real rights, but the grantor was not the owner or could not transmit
any right (Art. 1129, NCC). Just title has to be proved and is never presumed (Art. 1131,
NCC).

(2) Extraordinary Acquisitive Prescription

• Acquisition of ownership and other real rights over things through uninterrupted
possession without need of title or of good faith (Art. 1137, NCC).

d) Period of possession required

(1) Ordinary Prescription
(a) Ownership and other real rights over immovable property are acquired by ordinary
prescription through possession of ten years (Art. 1134, NCC).
(b) Ownership of movables prescribed through uninterrupted possession of four years in
good faith (Art. 1132, par. 1, NCC)

(2) Extra-ordinary Prescription

(a) Ownership and other real rights over immovable prescribe through uninterrupted
adverse possession for thirty years (Art. 1137, NCC).
(b) Ownership of movables prescribes through uninterrupted possession for eight years,
without need of any condition (Art. 1132, par. 2, NCC)

e) Rule on Prescriptions
(1) All things which are within the commerce of men are susceptible of prescription, unless
otherwise provided. Property of the State or any of its subdivision not patrimonial in
character shall not be the object of prescription. (Art. 1113, NCC)
(2) Movables possessed through a brie can never be acquired through prescription by the
offender (Art. 1133, NCC)
(3) Tacking of possession
(4) Interruptions
(a) Acts of possession by mere tolerance of the owner is not adverse possession for
purposes of prescription (Art. 1119, NCC)
 (b) Possession is interrupted naturally or civilly (Art. 1120, NCC).
i) Natural - when through any cause it should cease for more than one year and the old
possession is not revived if a new possession should be exercise by the same
adverse claimant (Art. 1121, NCC).
ii) Civil - by judicial summons to the possessor (Art. 1122). Possession in wartime when
the civil courts are not open, shall not be counted in favor of adverse claimant (Art.
1136, NCC)
(c) Adverse possessor makes express or tacit recognition of owner’s right (Art. 1125, NCC)

f) Rule on Computing time (Art. 1138, NCC)

(1) Tacking of possession - the present possessor may complete the period necessary for
prescription by tacking his possession to that of his grantor or predecessor in interest.
(2) It is presumed that the present possessor who has also the possessor at a previous time,
has continued to be in possession during the intervening time, unless there is proof to the
contrary.
(3) The first day shall be excluded and the las day included.

V. ACCESSION
A. General rule:
1. The law assigned ownership of things produced to the owner of the principal (Art. 440, 441 and
422, NCC)
a) Natural - spontaneous products of the soil, and the your and other products of animals;
b) Industrial - produced by lands of any kind through cultivation or labor; and
c) Civil - rents of building, the price of leases of lands and other property and the amount of
perpetual or life annuities or there similar income.
2. The owner has the obligation to pay for the expenses made by third persons in their production,
gathering, and preservation (Art. 443, NCC)
a) Base on the principle of unjust enrichment;
b) Expenses that are required by the condition of the work on the property;
c) A possessor in bad faith is considered as a third person if he turned over the produce of the
land that are already separated from the immovable (Tolentino saying that this is the general
rule, Art. 449 is the exception; Tacas vs. Tabon)
3. The law presumed that the accessory thing belongs to owner of the principal
a) The possession of real property presumes that of the movables therein, soloing as it is not
shown that they should be excluded (Art. 542, NCC)
b) The possession of movable is not deemed lost so long as hey remain under he control of the
possessor even though for the time being he may not know their whereabouts (Art. 556, NCC)

B. Types of Accession
1. Accession discreta
• Right of the owner pertaining to the fruits
2. Accession continua
• Right of the owner pertaining to things attached or incorporated

C. Accession in Immovable Property

1. General rule
 a) All that is built, planted or sown on the land is presumed to belongs to the land owner (Art.
445, NCC) unless the contrary is proved (Art. 446, NCC)
b) Drift woods belongs to the owner of the land unless claimed with payment for expenses in the
gathering and preservation
c) Accretion on river banks under Art. 457, NCC belongs to the owner but does not include
accretion on lakes
d) Rule on avulsion under Art. 459, NCC
e) Rule on changes is the course of rivers Art. 46, Art. 462 and Art. 465, NCC
f) Rule on Islands

2. Rule on Builder, Planter and Sower on Lands of Another

a) Builder, Planter, and Sower in good faith (Art. 448, NCC)
(1) Owner appropriate the property with payment of indemnity
(2) BPS may be compelled to pay for the land or to pay rent
b) Builder, Planter and Sower in bad faith (Art. 449/450, NCC)
(1) Owners acquires the BPS without payment of indemnity
(2) or/Owner demands demolition with restoration
(3) or/Owner pays the land/rent
(4) BPS is entitled to reimbursement for the preservation of the land (Art. 452, NCC)
(5) BPS in bad faith is entitled to reimbursement for the necessary expenses for preservation
(6) BPS is bad faith is always liable for and with damages (Art. 451, NCC)
c) Both owner and BPS is in bad faith (Art. 453, NCC)
(1) Treated as if both acted in good faith
(2) Cancels out the bad faith of each
(3) There is bad faith on the part of the owner if he has knowledge and did not oppose the BPS
on his land? If the owner acted on bad faith while the TP acted on goodbye faith, the BPS
has the right of a material man under Art. 447

3. Rule on Persons Providing Materials to Owners

a) Rights of material men
b) Payment, removal if it will cause no injury and removal with injury if the owner acted on bad
faith (Art. 447, NCC)

D. Rules on Accession in Movable Property

1. General Rule
(1) Owner of the principal acquires the accessory with indemnity (Art. 466, NCC)

2. Definition of Principal
(1) Not the ornament (Art. 467, NCC)
(2) The one with greater value (Art. 468, NCC)
(3) The one with greater volume (Art. 468, NCC)

3. Rule on Separation
a) The Principal does not acquire the Accessory if the two objects can be separated without
injury. (Art. 469, 2nd par., NCC)
b) When the accessory is more valuable than the principal, the owner may demand separation
even if there would be injury.
 c) If the things are mixed (no principal/accessory), proportional division bearing in mind the value
of the things mixed. (Art. 472, NCC)

4. Rule on Acquisition if there is Bad Faith (Art. 470, NCC)

(1) Owner of Accessory in Bad Faith - owner of the accessory loose the thing without indemnity
(2) Owner of Principal in Bad Faith - owner of accessory may choose reimbursement with
damages or separation with damages.
(3) If both are in Bad Faith, rule is Art. 466, NCC
(4) In case of Bad Faith in mixture/confusion
(5) Owner in BF loosed his property with indemnity (Art. 473, NCC)

5. Rule on owners of materials

a) The maker in Bad Faith, owner of the material shall have the right to appropriate the work
without payment or demand value of the material with damages
b) Ownership of Materials Used
(1) In consensual contracts, payment of the materials
(2) If the material was use without consent, indemnity and delivery of a thing equal in kind or
value or price according to expert appraisal. (Art. 471, NCC)
(3) Labor/Craft in good faith - craftsman acquires the materials with with indemnity for the value
of the materials, if the material is more valuable than the finish goods, owner pays for the
value of the work or demand indemnity for the material (Art. 476, NCC)

6. Rules on Third Persons

a) Reimbursement under Art. 443 - if the owner receives a fruit, he should pay third persons who
incur expenses in its production, gathering and preservation.

VI. TRESPASS, INTERFERENCE, NUISANCE AND THE RIGHT TO VINDICATE

A. Distinguish Trespass from Nuisance
• Nuisance there is injury to property or interference with its use or enjoyment without entry or
physical invasion of the property.
• Injury - immediate in trespass but consequential only in nuisance/infringement.
• In nuissance, the "interference" was not the result of a neighbor stealing land or trespassing on
the land. Instead, it arose from activities taking place on another person's land that affected the
enjoyment of that land.

B. Trespass
1. Concept
• Trespass to land is the most commonly associated with the term trespass; it takes the form of
an unlawful physical invasion or usurpation of rights in real property”. In acts of trespass, the
trespasser should have no legal right on the property
• Generally, it is not necessary to prove harm to a possessor's legally protected interest; and
• Liability for unintentional intrusions; see good faith and bad faith.
• Trespass to chattels, also known as trespass to goods or trespass to personal property, is
defined as "an intentional interference with the possession of personal property by another.
• The lessor is not obliged to answer for a mere act of trespass which a person may cause on
the use of the thing leased; but the lessee shall have a direct action against the intruder (Art.
1664, NCC)
 • Mere acts of trespass does not suspend payment in sale (Art. 1590)

2. Cause of Action
a) The owner has the right of action against the holder and possessor of the thing in order to
recover it. (Art. 428, Par. 2, NCC)
b) Presumption of ownership is given to actual possessor (Art. 433, NCC)
c) In an action to recover, plaintiff must rely on the strength of his title and not on the weakness
of the defendant’s claim (Art. 434, NCC)

3. Remedies in Trespass in Real Properties

a) Self Help (Art. 429, NCC)
(1) The owner or lawful possessor of a thing has the right to exclude any person from the
enjoyment and disposal thereof. For this purpose, he may use force as may be reasonable
necessary to repel or prevent an actual or threatened unlawful physical invasion or
usurpation of his property.

b) Criminal Prosecution
(1) Usurpation of Real Rights under Article 312 of the RPC
(a) By means of violence against or intimidation of persons takes possession of any real
property
(b) Usurp any real rights in property belonging to another
(2) Other Form of Swindling under Article 316 of the RPC
(a) Any person who pretending to be the owner of any real property shall convey, sell,
encumber of mortgage the same
(b) Any Person who knowing that the property is encumbered shall dispose the same
although such encumbrance is not recorded
(c) Any person who sell, mortgage or encumber real property use as surety in a bond

c) Civil Action for recovery of Possession

(1) Forceable Entry and Unlawful Detainer
(a) An action instituted by a person deprived of the possession of any land or building by
force, intimidation, threat, strategy, or stealth (Forceable Entry) or a landlord, vendor,
vendee or other person against whom the possession of any land or building is
unlawfully withheld after the expiration of any contract, express or implied (Unlawful
Detainer).
(b) Action is instituted with the Municipal/City Trial Court
(c) Action must be instituted within one year
i) From time of unlawful deprivation
ii) Demand to vacate
(d) Relief is restitution of possession with damages and costs
(e) Procedure is covered by Rule 70 of the Rules of Court on Forceable Entry and Unlawful
Detainer
i) Summary Procedure
ii) Immediate Execution on Judgement
iii) A possessor deprived of his possession may within ten days from filing of the
complaint present a motion to secure from the court a writ of preliminary injection to
restore him in his possession. Court must decide the motion whiting thirty (30) days.
(Art. 539)
 d) Acción Publiciana
(1) If cause of dispossession is not FEUD or upon expiration of one year to commence an
action for FEUD

e) Recovery of Ownership and Possession

(1) Accion Reivindicatoria
(2) The action is for recovery of ownership and not just possession
(3) The defendant claims ownership over the land such as when there is adverse possession

f) Writ of Possession
(1) A separate action for recovery of possession is not necessary, the court may issue a writ of
possession to eject the occupant of the land in the following instances:
(2) Land Registration Proceedings
(3) Extra-judicial Foreclosure of Mortgage as against the mortgagor
(4) Judicial Foreclosure as against the mortgagor
(5) Execution Sale

g) Eviction and Demolition under Republic Act No. 7279 (Urban Development and
Housing Act of 1992)
(1) Section 28. Eviction and Demolition - Eviction and demolition shall be discourage. Eviction
and demolition, however, may be allowed under the following situations:
(a) When persons or entities occupy danger areas such as esteros, railroad tracks, garbage
dumps, riverbanks, shorelines, waterways, and other public places such as sidewalks,
roads, parks and playgrounds;
(b) When government infrastructure projects with available ending are about to be
implemented; or
(c) When there is a tour order for eviction and demolition.
In the execution of eviction and demolition orders involving underprivileged and homeless citizens,
the following shall be mandatory:
(a) Notice upon the affected person at least thirty (30) days prior to the date of eviction or
demolition;
(b) Adequate consultations on the matter of settlement with the duly designated
representatives of the families to be resettled and the affected communities int he areas
where they are to be relocated;
(c) Presence of local government officials or their representatives during eviction or
demotion;
(d) Proper identification of all persons taking part in the demolition;
(e) Execution of eviction or demolition only during regular office hour from Mondays to
Fridays and during good weather unless the affected families consent otherwise;
(f) No use of heavy equipment for demotion except for structures that are permanent and of
concrete materials;
(g) Proper Uniform for members of the PNP who shall occupy the first line of law
enforcement and observe proper disturbance control procedure; and
(h) Adequate relocation, whether temporary or permanent, provided, however that incases
of eviction and demolition pursuant to a court order involving underprivileged and
homeless citizens, relocation shall be undertaken by the local government unit
concerned and the National Housing Authority with the assistance of other government
agencies within forth-five (45) days form service of notice of final judgement by the court,
 after which period the said order shall be executed: provided, further, that should
relocation no be impossible with the said period, financial assistance in the amount
equivalent to the prevailing minimum wage multiplied by sixty (60) days shall be
extended to the affected families by the local government unit concerned.

4. In Personal Property
a) Self Help (Art. 429, NCC)
(1) The owner or lawful possessor of a thin has the right to exclude any person from the
enjoyment and disposal thereof. For this purpose, he may use force as may be reasonable
necessary to repel or prevent an actual or threatened unlawful physical invasion or
usurpation of his property.

b) Criminal Prosecution
(1) Revised Penal Code Book II, Title 10 "Crime against Property"
(a) Robbery
(b) Brigandage
(c) Theft
(d) Arson
(e) Malicious Mischief

c) Replevin
(1) Is a lawsuit that enables a person to get back personal property taken wrongfully or
unlawfully and get compensation for resulting losses
(2) From medieval times, there has also come down to us a summary process, known as
replevin, by which a man out of whose possession goods have been taken may obtain their
return until the right to the goods can be determined by a court of law. Replevin arose out of
the need of a turbulent society to discourage resort to self help and although for a long time
primarily used in disputes about distress between landlord and tenant, it was gradually
expanded to cover all cases of allegedly wrongful dispossession. If the plaintiff wanted
return of his chattel in specie, replevin was a more appropriate remedy than either trespass
or trover in which only damages could be recovered. Restoration of the property is, of
course, only provisional, pending determination of title.
(3) Rule 60 of the Rules of Court (Recovery of possess of personal property)
(a) A party praying for the recovery of possession of personal property ay, at the
commencement of the action or at any time before answer, apply for an order for the
delivery of such property to him.
(b) The applicant must give bond, executed to the adverse party in boodle the value of the
property, for the return of the property to the adverse party if such return be adjudged
and for the payment to the adverse party of such sum as he may recover from the
applicant in the action.
(c) The adverse party may file a counter bond double the value of the property

C. Nuisance and Interference to Property Rights

1. Concept
a) Definition: A condition, activity, or situation that interferes with the use or enjoyment of property
especially a non-transitory condition or persistent activity that either injures the physical
condition of adjacent land or interferes with the use or with the enjoyment of another of his
property.
 b) Persons in possession of real property (land owners, lessors, etc.) are entitled to the quiet
enjoyment of their lands. If a neighbour interferes with that quiet enjoyment, either by creating
smells, sounds, pollution or any other hazard that extends past the boundaries of the property,
the affected party may make a claim in nuisance.
c) Competing property uses often posed a nuisance to each other and as a result, the cost of
litigation to settle the conflict became prohibitive. As a response, local governments started to
adopt zoning ordinances or a system of land use planning that allows only certain activities in
a given location. Zoning generally overrules nuisance.
d) Modern legislations on the environment is an adaptation of the doctrine of nuisance to the
more modern complex societies. In this new context, a person's use of his properties may be
regulated although the harmfully affect of his actions on his neighbour is far from the traditional
nuisance activities.
e) Tort arising from such acts, conditions, or failures to act when they occur unreasonably, the
main feature of which is the interest invaded is the use or enjoyment of property rights. The tort
emphasizes the harm to the plaintiff rather than the conduct of the defendant.
f) Legally, the term nuisance is traditionally used in three ways:
(1) Describes an activity or condition that is harmful or annoying to others
(2) Describe the harm caused by the before-mentioned activity or condition
(3) Describe a legal liability that arises from the combination of the two.

2. Under the Civil Code:

• An act, omission, establishment, business, condition of property or anything which injures,
annoys, offends, shocks, defies decency, morality, obstructs or interferes with free passage or
hinders or impairs the use of property (Art. 694, NCC)

3. Nuisance according to the object or objects that it affects (Art. 695, NCC) - Public
and Private Nuisance (Art. 695, NCC)
a) Public Nuisance or Common Nuisance affects a community or neighborhood or any
considerable number of persons although the extent of annoyance or range or damage is
unequal
b) Private nuisance affects only specific individuals and not the whole community; violates only
private rights

4. Nature
a) Per Se
(1) Nuisance at all times and under any circumstances, regardless of location or surroundings

b) Per Incidens
(1) Nuisance by reason of the circumstance and surroundings
c) A nuisance per se when it affects the immediate safety of persons and property may be
summarily abated under the law of necessity.
d) A nuisance per incidens, which depend upon certain conditions and circumstance, and its
existence being a question of fact, cannot be abated without due hearing or judicial
intervention.

5. Easement against nuisance

a) Every building or piece of land is subject to easement which prohibits the proprietor or
possessor from committing nuisance through noise, jarring, offensive odor, smoke, heat, dust,
water glare and other causes (Art. 682, NCC)
 b) Subject to zoning, health, police and other laws and emulations, factories and shops may be
maintained provided the least possible annoyance is cause to the neighbourhood (Art. 683,
NCC)
c) Condemnation of Property by reason of health, safety or security (Art. 436, NCC)
(1) The owner of a property is not entitled to compensation when it is condemned by the State
by reason of health, safety or security
(2) Unless such action is unjustified

6. Remedies
a) Prosecution under the Penal Code
(1) Limited to public nuisance

b) Civil Action
(1) If public nuisance - action shall be commence by the city (Art. 701)
(2) Exception - it may be filed by a private person if it is specially injurious to him

c) Abatement without judicial proceeding

(1) Public Nuisance by Officers of the Law(Art. 700-703)
(a) Exercise of police power by the State - the State may authorise its officers to abate
public nuisance without resort to legal proceedings and without notice or hearing;
(b) Limitation - it must be reasonable and effectively exercise; not unduly oppressive to
individuals; the injury must be done to the property is necessary to accomplish the
abatement (Art. 707 provides that person performing extra-judicial abatement may be
liable for damages if he causes unnecessary injury or the the alleged nuisance is
declared by the court as not a real nuisance.
(c) Owner of the property not entitled to compensation

(2) Public Nuisance by Private Persons (Art. 704)

(a) Private persons may abate a public nuisance that are injurious to him by removing or if
necessary destroying the thing; in extreme necessity; timeliness
(b) Must not breech the peace
(c) Demand must be made to abate and owner refused
(d) Must be made with the approval of the district health officer and with assistance of the
local police
(e) The value of the property must not exceed three thousand pesos

(3) Private Nuisance by Private Persons (Art. 706)

• Procedure is similar to abatement of public nuisance by private person

D. Torts and Damages

1. A private nuisance is a civil wrong
a) It is the unreasonable, unwarranted, or unlawful use of one's property in a manner that
substantially interferes with the enjoyment or use of another individual's property, without an
actual Trespass or physical invasion to the land.

2. A public nuisance is a criminal wrong

a) it is an act or omission that obstructs, damages, or inconveniences the rights of the
community. A public nuisance interferes with the public as a class, not merely one person or a
group of citizens. However, if the individual suffers harm that is different from that suffered by
 the general public, the individual may maintain a tort action for damages. For example, if
dynamiting has thrown a large boulder onto a public highway, those who use the highway
cannot maintain a nuisance action for the inconvenience. However, a motorist who is injured
from colliding with the boulder may bring a tort action for personal injuries.

3. Private Nuisance as Tort

a) To determine accountability for an alleged private nuisance, a court will examine three factors:
(1) The defendant's fault - the intention or the negligence of the defendant that interfered with
the plaintiff's use and enjoyment;
(2) The degree of interference with the plaintiff's interest - The law is not intended to remedy
trifles or redress petty annoyances. The interference with the plaintiff's interest must be
substantial.
(3) The reasonableness of the defendant's conduct - The law recognizes that the activities of
others must be accommodated to a certain extent, particularly in matters of industry,
commerce, or trade. The nature and gravity of the harm is balanced against the burden of
preventing the harm and the usefulness of the conduct.
(4) The following are factors to be considered:
(a) Extent and duration of the disturbance;
(b) Nature of the harm;
(c) Social value of the plaintiff's use of his or her property or other interest;
(d) Burden to the plaintiff in preventing the harm;
(e) Value of the defendant's conduct, in general and to the particular community;
(f) Motivation of the defendant;
(g) Feasibility of the defendant's mitigating or preventing the harm;
(h) Locality and suitability of the uses of the land by both parties.

E. Quieting of Title
1. An action brought to remove a cloud on title to real property by reason of any instrument, record,
claim, encumbrance or proceedings which is apparently valid or effective but is in truth and in
fact invalid, ineffective or unenforceable, and may be prejudicial to said title. (Art. 476)
2. Legal or equitable title to or interest to real property
3. Return of all the benefits acquired by the plaintiff to the defendant (Art. 479)
`

VII. LIMITATIONS OF OWNERSHIP

A. Injurious Use
1. General Rule
• An owner cannot make use of the property in such manner as to injure the rights of a third
person.

2. On Ruinous Buildings and Trees in Danger of Falling

a) Chapter 4, Sections 482-483, NCC
b) Owner has the obligation to demolish or to execute necessary work
c) Administrative authority may order its demolition or to take measures to insure public safety

B. Easements and Servitudes in General

1. Definitions
 a) In General:
• An interest in land owned by another person, consisting in the right to use or control the
land, or an area above or below it, for specific limited purpose such as to cross it for access
to a public road. Unlike lease, an easement may last forever, but it does not give the holder
the right to possess, take from, improve or sell the land.
• An easement or servitude is an encumbrance imposed upon an immovable for the benefit
of another immovable belonging to a different owner. Servitudes may also be established
for the benefit of a community, or of one or more persons to whom the encumbered estate
does not belong (Articles 613, 614, 617 and 618, NCC).
• Easements are inseparable from the estate to which they actively or passively belong.
• If the servient estate is divided between two or more persons, the easement is not
modified, and each of them must bear it on the part which corresponds to him.

b) Dominant Estate
• The land benefitting from the estate is called the dominant estate

c) Servient Estate
• The land burdens by an easement is called servient estate

2. Kinds of Easements
a) Continuous or Discontinuous
b) Apparent or Non-apparent
c) Positive or Negative
d) Legal and Voluntary
e) Legal and Private Easements
(1) Legal Easements:
• Imposed by law for public use - governed by special laws

(2) Private Easements:

• Governed by the provisions of the Civil Code; without prejudice to the provisions of
general or local laws and ordinances for the general welfare. These easements may be
modified by agreement of the interested parties, whenever the law does not prohibit it or
no injury is suffered by a third person.

3. Modes of Acquiring Easements

a) By Prescription
• Continuous and apparent easements - by title or prescription of 10 years

b) By Title
• Continuous non-apparent and discontinuous easements - by title

4. Rights and Obligations (Article 627-630)

a) Dominant Estate
• The owner of the dominant estate may, upon notice to the owner of the servant estate,
make at his own expense any works necessary for the use and preservation of the
servitude, but without altering it or rendering it more burdensome.
• Rules
 1. Most convenient time;
2. Most convenient manner; and
3. Least inconvenience

b) Servient Estate
• The owner of the servient estate cannot impair, in any manner whatsoever, the use of the
servitude. The owner of the servient estate retains the ownership of the portion on which
the easement is established, and may use the same in such a manner as not to affect the
exercise of the easement.
• Exception - should the easement become very inconvenient to the owner of the servient
estate, it may be changed at his expense, provided he offers another place or manner
equally convenient without injuring the dominant estates.

5. Extinguishment of Easements
a) By merger;
b) By prescription or non-user (form and manner) for ten years, however, If the dominant estate
belongs to several persons in common, the use of the easement by any one of them prevents
prescription with respect to the others;
c) By its condition making the easement unusable unless revived prior to prescription;
d) By the contract (term, condition, redemption) as agreed by the owners of the dominant and
servient estate; and
e) By the renunciation of the owner of the dominant estate

6. Special Law: Presidential Decree No. 1096 (National Building Code of the
Philippines)
a) Repealed Republic Act No. 6541 (An Act to Ordain and Institute a National Building Code of
the Philippines
b) Section 301. Building Permits. - No person, firm or corporation, including any agency or
instrumentality of the government shall erect, construct, alter, repair, move, convert or
demolish any building or structure or cause the same to be done without first obtaining a
building permit therefor from the Building Official assigned in the place where the subject
building is located or the building work is to be done.
c) Chapter 2: Administration and Enforcement (related to nuisance)
d) Chapter 6: Fire Resistive Requirements in Construction (related to party walls)
e) Chapter 8: Light and Ventilation (related to party walls, light and view)
f) Chapter 9: Sanitation (related to waters, drainage of buildings)
g) Chapter 10: Building Projection Over Public Streets (related to right of way, light and view,
distances)
h) Chapter 12: General Design and Construction Requirements (related to lateral and subjacent
supports)
i) Chapter 20: Signs (related to light and view)

7. Easement of Right of Way

a) Articles 649 to 657 of the Civil Code
b) Definition - The right to pass through property owned by another. ROW can be established by
contract, by longstanding use or by law.
c) Dominant and Subservient Estate -
 d) Compulsory Right of Way - A person may demand ROW if his property is enclosed by other
properties under the following conditions.
(1) That the dominant estate is surrounded by other immovables and has no adequate outlet
to a public highway (Art. 649, par. 1);
(2) After payment of proper indemnity (Art. 649, par. 1, end);
(3) That the isolation was not due to acts of the proprietor of the dominant estate (Art. 649, par.
4); and
(4) That the right of way claimed is at the point least prejudicial to the servient estate; and
insofar as consistent with this rule, where the distance from the dominant estate to a public
highway may be the shortest. (Art. 650)
e) Executive Order No. 621, s. 1980 (Amended EO 113, s. 1955)
(1) National roads shall have a right of way of not less than twenty (20) meters, provided that
such minimum width may be reduced at the discretion of the Minister of Public Highways to
fifteen (15) meters in highly urbanized areas, and that a right of way of at least sixty (60)
meters shall be reserved for roads constructed through unpatented public land and at least
one hundred twenty (120) meters reserved through naturally forested areas of aesthetic or
scientific value.
(2) What is a setback
(a) Setback – an offset applied and enforced over a real property, in the form of negative
easement, from property line to building line, measured perpendicularly.
(b) Front setback provides “breathing air” for streets, and provisions for future government
constructions

8. Easement of Party Wall

a) Covered by Articles 658-666 of the Civil Code
b) The easement of party wall shall be governed by the provisions of this Title, by the local
ordinances and customs insofar as they do not conflict with the same, and by the rules of co-
ownership (Art. 658, NCC).
c) Presumption
• The existence of an easement of party wall is presumed, unless there is a title, or exterior
sign, or proof to the contrary in dividing walls of adjoining buildings up to the point of
common elevation; In dividing walls of gardens or yards situated in cities, towns, or in rural
communities; and in fences, walls and live hedges dividing rural lands.
d) Renunciation
• If the owner of a building, supported by a party wall desires to demolish the building, he
may also renounce his part-ownership of the wall, but the cost of all repairs and work
necessary to prevent any damage which the demolition may cause to the party wall, on this
occasion only, shall be borne by him (Art. 663, NCC). See also repairs on party walls.
e) Repairs
• The cost of repairs and construction of party walls and the maintenance of fences, live
hedges, ditches, and drains owned in common, shall be borne by all the owners of the
lands or tenements having the party wall in their favor, in proportion to the right of each.
Nevertheless, any owner may exempt himself from contributing to this charge by
renouncing his part-ownership, except when the party wall supports a building belonging to
him (Art. 662, NCC)
f) Use
 • Every part-owner of a party wall may use it in proportion to the right he may have in the co-
ownership, without interfering with the common and respective uses by the other co-owners
(Art. 666, NCC).

9. Easement of Light and View

a) Right to Light:
• Right to light is a form of easement that gives an owner of a building with windows a right
to maintain the level of illumination necessary for use in the building.
• Generally a right to light refers to the right to receive sufficient light through an opening
(such as a window), allowing ‘ordinary’ comfortable use and enjoyment of a dwelling, or
‘ordinary’ beneficial use and occupation of other buildings.15
• The levels of acceptable light have not been objectively quantified and are instead
assessed on a case by case basis by the courts. However, “sufficient light according to the
ordinary notions of mankind” and “tangible deprivation to a building” are arguable
expressions that have earned substantial fees to the legal and surveying professions and
given rise to specialists and expert witnesses in this field.
• Rights to light can be the result of 'easements', or can be ‘nuisance’ issues. It is a
nuisance issue if there is interference with a persons right to enjoy his property, such
interference must be ‘unreasonable’ to constitute nuisance.
b) Covered by Articles 667-673 of the NCC
(1) General Rule (Art. 667, NCC)
• No part-owner may, without the consent of the others, open through the party wall any
window or aperture of any kind.
(2) Two Meter Rule
• No windows, apertures, balconies, or other similar projections which afford a direct view
upon or towards an adjoining land or tenement can be made, without leaving a distance
of two (2) meters between the wall in which they are made and such contiguous
property. Neither can side or oblique views upon or towards such conterminous property
be had, unless there be a distance of sixty centimeters. The non-observance of these
distances does not give rise to prescription (Article 670, NCC).
• Whenever by any title a right has been acquired to have direct views, balconies or
belvederes overlooking an adjoining property, the owner of the servient estate cannot
build thereon at less than a distance of three meters to be measured in the manner
provided in article 671. Any stipulation permitting distances less than those prescribed in
article 670 is void. (Articles 673, NCC)
(3) Exception to the Two Meter Rule
• When the distances in Article 670 are not observed, the owner of a wall which is not
party wall, adjoining a tenement or piece of land belonging to another, can make in it
openings to admit light at the height of the ceiling joints or immediately under the ceiling,
and of the size of thirty centimeters square, and, in every case, with an iron grating
imbedded in the wall and with a wire screen (Article 667, NCC).
• Separated by public highway or alley - not applicable to buildings separated by a public
way or alley, which is not less than three meters wide, subject to special regulations and
local ordinances (Art. 672, NCC).
(4) How distance is measured:
• The distance referred to in the preceding article shall be measured in cases of direct
views from the outer line of the wall when the openings do not project, from the outer

15 http://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/wiki/Rights_to_light
 line of the latter when they do, and in cases of oblique view from the dividing line
between the two properties (Article 671, NCC).
c) Covered by Chapter VII (Light and Ventilation) of the National Building Code of the Philippines
(Presidential Decree No. 1096)
(1) Section 808. Window Openings (P.D. 1096) - Every room intended for any use, not
provided with artificial ventilation system as herein specified in this Code, shall be provided
with a window or windows with a total free area of openings equal to at least ten percent of
the floor area of room, and such window shall open directly to a court, yard, public street or
alley, or open water courses.
(2) Section 804 (P.D. 1096) - Size and Dimension of Courts.
(a) Minimum size of courts and their least dimensions 

shall be governed by the use, type of construction, and height of the building as
provided in the rules and regulations promulgated by the Secretary, provided that the
minimum horizontal dimension of court shall be not less than 2.00 meters.
(b) All inner courts shall be connected to a street or yard, either by a passageway with a
minimum width of 1.20 meters or by a door through a room or rooms.
(c) Every court shall have a width of not less than 2.00 meters for one (1) or two (2) storey
buildings. However, if the court is treated as a yard or vice versa, this may be reduced to
not less than 1.50 meters in cluster living units such as quadruplexes, rowhouses and
the like, with adjacent courts with an area of not less than 3.00 sq. meters. Provided
further, that the separation walls or fences, if any, shall not be higher than 2.00 meters.

10. Easement of Drainage of Buildings (Arts. 674-676)

a) General Rule: Owner should collect water falling on his land so as not to cause damage
• The owner shall be obliged to collect the water in such a way as not to cause damage to
the adjacent land or tenement (Art. 674, NCC).
• The owner of a building shall be obliged to construct its roof or covering in such manner
that the rain water shall fall on his own land or on a street or public place.
b) Easement of Drainage
• Whenever the yard or court of a house is surrounded by other houses, and it is not possible
to give an outlet through the house itself to the rain water collected thereon, the
establishment of an easement of drainage can be demanded, giving an outlet to the water
at the point of the contiguous lands or tenements where its egress may be easiest, and
establishing a conduit for the drainage in such manner as to cause the least damage to the
servient estate, after payment of the property indemnity (Art. 676, NCC).
• The owner a piece of land, subject to the easement of receiving water falling from roofs,
may build in such manner as to receive the water upon his own roof or give it another outlet
in accordance with local ordinances or customs, and in such a way as not to cause any
nuisance or damage whatever to the dominant estate (Art. 675, NCC).
• Local ordinances: simply adopts the letters of the National Building Code.
c) Section 904. Storm Drainage System (P.D. No.1096)
(1) Rainwater drainage shall not discharge to the sanitary sewer system.
(2) Adequate provisions shall be made to drain rainwater from low areas in buildings and their
premises.
(3) The drainage pipe installation and sewerage system of any premises and/or connection
with any public disposal or any acceptable terminal shall conform to the Revised National
Plumbing Code of the Philippines
d) Revised National Plumbing Code of the Philippines.
11. Easement on Distances (Articles 677-681)
a) Meaning
• Permanent and prohibitory easements and may run to the land in perpetuity as long as the
conditions that causes the easement exists;
• May or may not be compensable
b) Construction near fortresses
• No constructions can be built or plantings made near fortified places or fortresses without
compliance with the conditions required in special laws, ordinances, and regulations
relating thereto (Article 677, NCC).
c) Building of improvements and structures that may do damage to neighbouring estates
• No person shall build any aqueduct, well, sewer, furnace, forge, chimney, stable, depository
of corrosive substances, machinery, or factory which by reason of its nature or products is
dangerous or noxious, without observing the distances prescribed by the regulations and
customs of the place, and without making the necessary protective works, subject, in
regard to the manner thereof, to the conditions prescribed by such regulations. These
prohibitions cannot be altered or renounced by stipulation on the part of the adjoining
proprietors. In the absence of regulations, such precautions shall be taken as may be
considered necessary, in order to avoid any damage to the neighbouring lands or
tenements (Article 678, NCC).
d) Branches of trees extending and fruits falling over neighbouring estates
• If the branches of any tree should extend over a neighbouring estate, tenement, garden or
yard, the owner of the latter shall have the right to demand that they be cut off insofar as
they may spread over his property, and, if it be the roots of a neighbouring tree which
should penetrate into the land of another, the latter may cut them off himself within his
property (Article 680, NCC).
• Fruits naturally falling upon adjacent land belong to the owner of said land (Article 681,
NCC).

12. Easement on Nuisance (Arts. 682-683)

a) Meaning
• Every building or piece of land is subject to the easement which prohibits the proprietor or
possessor from committing nuisance through noise, jarring, offensive odour, smoke, heat,
dust, water, glare and other causes (Article 682, NCC).
b) Least possible annoyance to the neighbourhood
• Subject to zoning, health, police and other laws and regulations, factories and shops may
be maintained provided the least possible annoyance is caused to the neighbourhood
(Article 683, NCC)
c) Dangerous and ruinous buildings are also nuisances under P.D. 1096
• Section 216. Abatement of Dangerous Buildings – When any building or structure is found
or declared to be dangerous or ruinous, the Building Official shall order its repair, vacation
or demolition depending upon the degree of danger to life, health, or safety. This is without
prejudice to further action that may be taken under the provisions of Articles 482 and 694 to
707 of the Civil Code of the Philippines.

13. Easement of Lateral and Subjacent support (Arts. 684-687)

a) Meaning in law
(1) Lateral and subjacent support, in the law of property, describes the right a landowner has
to have that land physically supported in its natural state by both adjoining land and
underground structures.
 b) Subsidence
• Any downward movement of the solid from its natural position; sinking of the soil.
c) Example
• If a neighbour's excavation or excessive extraction of underground liquid deposits (i.e.
crude oil or aquifers) causes subsidence (e.g. causing the landowner's land to cave in), the
neighbour will be subject to strict liability in a tort action. The neighbour will also be strictly
liable for damage to buildings on the landowner's property if the landowner can show that
the weight of the buildings did not contribute to the collapse of the land. If the landowner is
unable to make such a showing, the neighbour must be shown to have been negligent in
order for the landowner to recover damages.
d) Excavations under the Civil Code
• No proprietor shall make such excavations upon his land as to deprive any adjacent land or
building of sufficient lateral or subjacent support. Any stipulation or testamentary provision
allowing excavations that cause danger to an adjacent land or building shall be void. Article
686. The legal easement of lateral and subjacent support is not only for buildings standing at
the time the excavations are made but also for constructions that may be erected. Article 687.
Any proprietor intending to make any excavation contemplated in the three preceding articles
shall notify all owners of adjacent lands (Article 684 - 687, NCC).
e) Excavation under PD No. 1096
• Section 1202, P.D. 1096 - Excavation, Foundation, and Retaining Walls (a) Subject to the
provisions of Articles 684 to 686 of the Civil Code of the Philippines on lateral and
subjacent support, the design and quality of materials used structurally in excavation,
footings, and in foundations shall conform to accepted engineering practice.

14. Easement relating to waters

a) Characterization of Water
(1) Diffuse surface water
(a) Common enemy rule - water is common enemy to all so everyone has a right to get rid
of it in any manner they see fit. The shortcoming of this approach is the failure to
consider the consequences when neighboring land owners are looking out for their
personal interest to the detriment of the others.
(b) Civil law rule - adopted by Civil Law countries; an individual can get rid of the water in a
manner that is in accord with the natural flow of the water. This approach favors the
upstream land owners at the expense of the downstream.
(c) Reasonable use - determines where the water should go based upon what would be
reasonable for the ordinary person under the circumstance. The approach, while
providing the greatest flexibility, provides the greatest uncertainty.
(2) Naturally flowing water
(a) Prior appropriation theory - Whoever takes the water first has superior rights to the
water.
(b) Natural flow theory - rights to the water are dependent on the water’s natural flow not
being disturbed. Favors the upstart owners in a potential unfair manner.
(c) Reasonable use - determined on a case to case basis looking at what is reasonable
under the circumstance.
(3) Percolating water
(a) Definition - Percolating waters are those which ooze, seep, or filter through the soil
beneath the surface, without a defined channel, or in a course that is unknown and not
discoverable from surface indications without excavation for that purpose.
 (b) Absolute theory - property owner has an absolute ownership of any water that
percolates through their land. May be unduly prejudicial to neighboring landowners.
(c) Co-relative rights theory - rights to percolating water are based on the amount of surface
water owned. This does not consider the need or reward the effort and ingenuity it may
take to remove the water.
(d) Reasonable use theory - uses the reasonable person standard to determine the rights of
the rival claimants to the percolating water.
b) Articles 637-648 of the NCC
c) General Rule
• Lower estates are obliged to receive the waters which naturally and without the intervention
of man descend from the higher estates, as well as the stones or earth which they carry
with them. The owner of the lower estate cannot construct works which will impede this
easement; neither can the owner of the higher estate make works which will increase the
burden.
d) Easement of Aqueduct
(1) Any person who may wish to use upon his own estate any water of which he can dispose
shall have the right to make it flow through the intervening estates, with the obligation to
indemnify their owners, as well as the owners of the lower estates upon which the waters
may filter or descend. (Article 642, NCC)
(2) For legal purposes, the easement of aqueduct shall be considered as continuous and
apparent, even though the flow of the water may not be continuous, or its use depends
upon the needs of the dominant estate, or upon a schedule of alternate days or hours,
(Article 646, NCC)
(3) One who for the purpose of irrigating or improving his estate, has to construct a stop lock
or sluice gate in the bed of the stream from which the water is to be taken, may demand
that the owners of the banks permit its construction, after payment of damages, including
those caused by the new easement to such owners and to the other irrigators, (Article 647)
(4) Conditions: One desiring to make use of Easement of Aqueduct is obliged:
(a) To prove that he can dispose of the water and that it is sufficient for the use for which it
is intended;
(b) To show that the proposed right of way is the most convenient and the least onerous to
third persons;
(c) To indemnify the owner of the servient estate in the manner determined by the laws and
regulations. (Article 643, NCC)
(5) Limitations:
(a) Article 644. The easement of aqueduct for private interest cannot be imposed on
buildings, courtyards, annexes, or outhouses, or on orchards or gardens already
existing. (559)
(b) Article 645. The easement of aqueduct does not prevent the owner of the servient
estate from closing or fencing it, or from building over the aqueduct in such manner as
not to cause the latter any damage, or render necessary repairs and cleanings
impossible. (560)
(c) Article 648. The establishment, extent, form and conditions of the servitudes of waters,
to which this section refers, shall be governed by the special laws relating thereto
insofar as no provision therefor is made in this Code. (563a)
e) Three (3) meter Easement for Navigation
• The banks of rivers and streams, even in case they are of private ownership, are subject
throughout their entire length and within a zone of three meters along their margins, to the
 easement of public use in the general interest of navigation, floatage, fishing and salvage.
Estates adjoining the banks of navigable or floatable rivers are, furthermore, subject to the
easement of towpath for the exclusive service of river navigation and floatage. Indemnity
for the private owner is necessary only if there is occupation of land for that purpose.
f) Building of Dam for Diversion of Water
• Whenever for the diversion or taking of water from a river or brook, or for the use of any
other continuous or discontinuous stream, it should be necessary to build a dam, and the
person who is to construct it is not the owner of the banks, or lands which must support it,
he may establish the easement of abutment of a dam, after payment of the proper
indemnity. (554)
g) Building of Dam for Diversion of Water
• Article 640. Compulsory easements for drawing water or for watering animals can be
imposed only for reasons of public use in favor of a town or village, after payment of the
proper indemnity.
• Article 641. Easements for drawing water and for watering animals carry with them the
obligation of the owners of the servient estates to allow passage to persons and animals to
the place where such easements are to be used, and the indemnity shall include this
service. (556)

C. Private Ownership vs. The State

1. Police Power
a) Land Use Regulations/Zoning
(1) In General
(a) Interference with the Traditional Property Rights Regime - Traditionally, land owners
have absolute freedom to use land except only in nuisance and easement.
(b) Before, few regulations existed to control the use of land, due to the seemingly endless
amounts of it. As society shifted from rural to urban, public land regulation became
important, especially to city governments trying to control industry, commerce, and
housing within their boundaries. The first zoning ordinance was passed in New York City
in 1916 and, by the 1930s, most states had adopted zoning laws. In the 1970s,
concerns about the environment and historic preservation led to further regulation.
(c) Criticism of zoning laws comes from those who see the restrictions as a violation of
property rights. It has been argued that local zoning authorities can too easily strip
property owners of their right to unencumbered use of their land.
(d) Criticized as a means to promote social and economic segregation through exclusion.
These exclusionary zoning measures artificially maintain high housing costs through
various land-use regulations such as maximum density requirements. Thus, lower
income groups deemed undesirable are effectively excluded from the given community.
i.e. gated subdivisions vs. slums
(e) In the American South, zoning was introduced as an explicit mechanism for enforcing
racial segregation of communities.
(f) Work against economic efficiency and hinder development in a free economy. Poor
zoning restriction are claimed to hinder the optimal efficient usage of a given area.

(2) Land Use Regulation

(a) Public regulations of the use and development of land that generally focuses on four
aspects of land use, namely:
 i) The type of use, such as whether it will be used for agricultural, commercial,
industrial, or residential purposes;
ii) The density of use, manifested in concerns over the height, with, bulk or
environmental impacts of the physical structure of the land;
iii) The aesthetic impact of the use, which may include the design and placement of the
structure of the land; and
iv) The effect of the particular use of the land on the cultural and social values of the
community
(3) Zoning
• Describes the control, usually by local authority, of the use of land and of the buildings
and improvements thereon. Areas of land are divided by appropriate authorities into
zones within which various uses are permitted. It is a tool in land use planing.

(4) Devices used

(a) Non-Conforming Uses - use that is impermissible under current zoning restrictions but
the is allowed because the use existed lawfully before the restriction took effect.
(b) Amortisation
(c) Zoning Amendments
(d) Zoning Variance - A license or official authorization to depart form a zoning law.
(e) Special Exceptions - An allowance in a zoning ordinance for special use that are
considered essential and are not fundamentally incompatible with the original zoning
regulation.
(f) Spot Zoning - Zoning a particular piece of land without regard for the zoning of the larger
area surrounding the land.
(g) Private Zoning - The use of restrictive covenants in private agreement to restrict the use
and occupancy of real property. Private zoning often covers such things as lot size,
building line, architectural specification and property uses.

(5) Laws on Land Use in the Philippines

(a) Batas Pambansa Blg. 220 - Authorizes the ministry of human settlements to establish
and promulgate different levels of standards and technical requirements for economic
and socialized housing projects in urban and rural areas from those provided under
Presidential Decrees No. 957, 1216, 1067 and 1185.
(b) Presidential Decree No. 957 - regulates the sale of subdivision lots and condominiums.
(c) Presidential Decree No. 1216 - defining "open space" in residential subdivisions and
amended section 31 of Presidential Decree No. 957 requiring subdivision owners to
provide roads, alleys, sidewalks and reserve open space for parks or recreational use)
(d) Republic Act No. 7160 - mandated the LGU to prepare and implement a comprehensive
land use plan (CLUP) and shall approve subdivision plans.
(e) Executive Order No. 71 - implemented the provision of RA No. 7160 on the LGUs
mandate to approve subdivision plans, to cities and municipalities pursuant to R.A. No.
7160 (LGC).
(f) Executive Order No. 72 - implemented the provision of the LGC for the preparation and
implementation of the comprehensive Land Use Plans. HLURB’s role on standards.
(g) Republic Act No. 7279 - Urban Development and Housing Act provided a comprehesive
and continuing urban development and housing program, establish the mechanism for
its implementation.
(h) Proposed Land Use Act - 20 years of deliberation in Congress
 b) Environmental Laws, Rules and Regulations
(1) In general
(a) Land use and land management practices have a major impact on natural resources
including water, soil, nutrients, plants and animals.
(b) The major effect of land use on land cover since 1750 has been deforestation of
temperate regions. More recent significant effects of land use include urban sprawl, soil
erosion, soil degradation, salinization, and desertification. Land-use change, together
with use of fossil fuels, are the major anthropogenic sources of carbon dioxide, a
dominant greenhouse gas.
(c) Many environmental law affects how property can be use.
(d) Environmental laws developed only in the 1960s and created a comprehensive
legislation that sometimes intersects with laws governing property.

(2) Property and Ecology

(a) Land is not a passive entity waining to be transformed by its land owner. Land is already
at work, performing important services in its unaltered state. Some ecological functions
have been recognized and protected by law. Viewing land through the lens of nature’s
economy reduces the significance of property lines. (Joseph L. Sax, Property Rights and
the Economy of Nature, 45 Stan. L. Review. 1433, (1993)

(3) Theories
(a) Utilitarian theory - land is solely the owner’s property to develop as the owner please
(b) Green theory - ecological ethic emphasises the moral duty of humanity to act as a
steward of natural life (J. Peter Bryne, Green Property, 7 Const. Comment. 239, 243
(1990)
(c) Public Trust Doctrine - lands are deemed to be owned in trust by the sovereign for the
benefit of the public
(d) Bundle of rights - title does not include the right to violate the public trust.

(4) Environmental Laws in the Philippines

(a) Presidential Decree No. 1586 “Establishing an Environmental Impact Statement
System, including other Environmental Management Related Measures and for other
Purposes”
(b) Presidential Decree No. 1152 “Philippine Environmental Code” (amended)
(c) Republic Act No. 6969 “Toxic Substances and Hazardous and Nuclear Waste Act of
1990”
(d) Republic Act No. 8749 “Philippine Clean Air Act”
(e) Republic Act No. 9003 “Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000”
(f) Republic Act No. 9275 “Philippine Clean Water Act No. 2004”

2. Eminent Domain
a) Art. 435. No person shall be deprive of his property except by competent authority and for
pubic use an always upon payment of just compensation.

3. Taxation
a) The theorem states that if trade in an externality is possible and there are sufficiently low
transaction costs, bargaining will lead to an efficient outcome regardless of the initial
allocation of property. In practice, obstacles to bargaining or poorly defined property rights can
prevent Coasian bargaining.
 b) Meaning of Transaction Cost - any direct costs, as well as any concomitant inefficiencies in
production or misallocation that resulted from them. When property rights are protected and
maintained in any context, transaction costs exist. In economics and related disciplines, a
transaction cost is a cost incurred in making an economic exchange. In the neoclassical
approach, enforcement-type costs within firms are not transaction costs. Transaction costs
consist of those costs that occur between firms or individuals from the process of market
exchange.
c) If transaction costs are prohibitively high then property rights will neither be established nor
maintained and property rights will be zero. The reverse, however, is not necessarily true. If
property rights are complete in some situation, there are two possibilities, either transaction
costs are zero, or costs may have been incurred to guarantee the property rights simply
because the benefits of doing so exceed the costs - in which case transaction costs are
positive. Further, when property rights are zero, transaction costs could also be zero. For
example, if a property right could never be established, despite the resources devoted
towards such a goal, no one would bother making any expenditures towards establishing
property rights and the good would remain unowned. For example, there are no property
rights over the planet Venus and no efforts have been made to establish any.

VIII.Original Modes of Acquiring Ownership (Original Creation of Property)

A. Occupation
1. Definition
a) Things appropriable by nature which are without an owner are acquired by occupation (Article
713, NCC)
b) But land cannot be acquired by occupation (Article 714, NCC).

2. Conditions:
a) Physical object;
b) Actual possession or control;
c) Intention to and capacity to acquire
d) Specific Resources: wild animals, hidden treasure and abandoned movables.
e) Res nulius
• includes domesticated animals that returned to the wild (20 days to reclaim, otherwise it
shall be considered as res nullius);

3. Special Rules:
a) Bees (right to pursue, 2 days);
b) Pigeons and fish (enticement rule);
c) Hidden treasure (Art. 438, NCC); Finder must return (1/10 reward) or he is liable for theft
under RPC Article 308, Par. (1);
d) Abandoned property becomes res nullius

4. Republic Act No. 9147 (Wildlife Resources Conservation Act and Protections Act)
a) State Policy
(1) Implements the policy of the State to Conserve the country’s wildlife resources and their
habitats for sustainability
 (2) Objectives: Conserve, protect, regulate the collection and trade, pursue commitment to
international conventions, and to initiate scientific studies on the conservation and
protection of wildlife.

b) Illegal Acts:
(1) Section 27 enumerates the illegal acts;
(a) Killing, destroying, and injuring wildlife species;
(b) Damaging critical habitats;
(c) Introduction, reintroduction or restocking of wildlife resources;
(d) Collecting, hunting, possessing, trading, and transporting of wildlife and their by
products/derivative including active nests, nest trees, host plants and the like; and
(e) Other similar acts

c) Subject to exceptions:
(1) Section 7 and Section 27 (paragraph a, subparagraph i to v)
(2) Use by indigenous people
In accordance with customs and practices traditionally observed, accepted and recognized
including killing and destroying if part of religious rituals of established indigenous peoples
community; exception: does not cover threatened species
(3) DENR may issue permits for:
(a) Wildlife farm or culture;
(b) Wildlife collector’s permit;
(c) Gratuitous permit;
(d) Local Transport Permit; and
(e) Export/Import/Re-export permit.

5. Roman Law Concepts:

a) res nullius
• property without an owner
b) spes recuperandi
• hope of recovery

c) animus revertendi
• intent to recover
d) res alicujus
• possession is lost but not ownership

B. Intellectual Creation
1. General Principles:
a) Properties that are created by the human mind
b) Creation are transformed into physical objects
(1) Physical copy of the book or in the case of songs and music the copy of the recording is
owned by the buying public
 (2) Many can use it without interfering with each other’s use. It is a public good or a good that
can be consumed without reducing any other person’s consumption of it. However, the
intellectual content of the created object is owned by the author or the creator.
(3) Authors and inventors are given an incentive by giving a limited monopoly on writings and
inventions.

c) System of allocation of rights

(1) First in Time
(2) Principal right is the “right to exclude” others from using the intellectual property.
(3) Governed by national laws but are increasingly affected by international law.
(4) Intellectual Properties are protected by Special Legislation

d) Three (3) types of Intellectual Creation

(1) Copyrights - protects original works of the authorship, i.e. books, computer programs,
plays, sculptures, songs
(2) Patents - protects new inventions
(3) Trademarks - protect words, names and other symbols which are used by merchants to
distinguish their goods and services form others

2. Copyright
a) Objective
• To promote science and useful arts, the constitution authorizes congress to give authors
and inventors the exclusive right to their respective writing and discoveries

b) As Incentive to creators
• Holds the right to exclude, prevent others from reproducing the work, creating derivative
works,, distributing copies of the work to the public, publicly performing the wok or
displaying during the term of the copy right. The owner may transfer her copyright to others
or destroy the copyright by abandoning it.

c) What is being protected

• Copyright law protects the manner in which an idea is expressed not the idea itself. Thus,
concepts, principles, discoveries, facts and other ideas are not covered by copyright.

d) Copyright Infringement
• To prevail in a copyright infringement action, the plaintiff must prove that:
1. Plaintiff owns the copyright;
2. The defendant actually copied the plaintiff’s work; and
3. The ordinary observer would conclude that the defendant’s work was substantially
similar to the plaintiff’s work

3. Patent
a) Objective
• To promote science
• Patent Office - authorized to issue patent to anyone who invents or discovers any new and
useful process, machine, manufacture or composition of matter or any new and useful
improvement thereof.

b) Utilitarian Mandate
• Inventors are obliged to reveal how he made the invention so that others may improve it
 c) What can be patented
• There are four (4) categories of inventions to qualify for a patent; any process, machine,
manufacture, or composition of matter. Abstract concept, mathematical algorithms,
scientific principles and physical phenomena cannot be patented.

d) Elements
(1) Utility - useful invention, benefit to human
(2) Novelty - new invention; prior arts examination
(3) Non-obviousness - obvious to persons with ordinary skills
(4) Enablement - description in details to enable a person skilled in the art to which it pertains
to make use of the same.

e) Patents Infringement
• Too prevail in a patent infringement action, the plaintiff must show either:
1. Literal infringement; or
2. Infringement under the “doctrine of equivalents”.

4. Trademarks
a) Objective
• While copyrights and patent law seek to encourage creative efforts, the goals of trademark
are different. Its goal is to protect consumer form being deceived inter purchasing shoddy
goods and services

b) Trademark Infringement
• To prevail in a trademark infringement action, the plaintiff must prove:
1. Plaintiff is holding a valid trademark with priority over the defendant’s mark
2. the defendant’s mark is likely to cause confussion or deceive consuments
3. Or a defendant may be liable for trademark dilution if his conduct blurs or tarnished the
plaintiff.s famous mark.

IX. Transfers of Rights - Derivative Mode of Acquiring Ownership

A. Concept
1. The Right to Transfer - The more efficient person should be allowed to acquire the property of the
less efficient one for mutual benefit. The right to transfer is vital for efficiency in our market
economy because it helps ensure that property is devoted to its most valuable use.
2. Full Transfer or Transfer of Certain Rights only

B. Kinds of Transfers in General

1. Voluntary and Involuntary
2. Full and Partial
a) Fee Simple Transfers
Fee simple is the term used to represent the maximum ownership interest in real property that
is allowed under law. It can be referred to as complete ownership. A fee simple owner has full
legal rights and powers to possess, use, and transfer the land.

b) Assignment of Rights
 C. Voluntary Transfers and Transactions
1. Sales
a) Redemption
b) Pacto de Retro

2. Donations
3. Barter or Exchange
4. Extra-Judicial Settlement of Estate
5. Lease
6. Agency
7. Mortgages
a) Real Estate
b) Chattel
8. Judicial Foreclosure
9. Estra-Judicial Forecloures
D. Involuntary Transfers and Transactions
1. Adverse Claim
2. Attachment and Execution
3. Lis Pendens

X. Donation
A. Defintion
1. A voluntary contract by which the donor expressly agrees to give, without consideration,
something to the donee, and the latter in an equally express manner accepts the gift.
2. In Roman law and in some modern codes this contract carries with it only the obligation of
transferring the ownership of the thing in question; actual ownership is obtained only by the real
traditio or handing over of the thing itself, or by the observation of certain juridically prescribed
formalities.

B. Kinds
1. Simple Donation
a) Donation is an act of liberality whereby a person disposes gratuitously of a thing or right in
favour of another who accepts it (Art. 725, NCC); and
b) Ilegal or impossible conditions that are imposed in simple donation are considered as not
imposed (Art. 727, NCC).

2. Remuneratory
 a) A donation is called remunerative when inspired by a sentiment of gratitude for services
rendered by the donee. (Art. 726, NCC)
b) Remunerates past services which do not constitute a demandable debts; and
c) The donation is not payment for a demandable debts.

3. Conditional
a) When a condition, charge or burden (also called “modes”) is is imposed by the donor to the
donee in consideration of the donation. .
b) It does not affect the rights of the donee. It is an accessory disposition where the benefit
conferred on the donee is restricted by the statement of the purpose to which the thing shall be
applied or the imposition of a presentation to be performed by the donee.
c) The portion exceeding the value of the burden imposed constitutes a real donation while the
portion equivalent to the burden is governed by the rules on obligations and contracts.

4. Onerous Donation
a) Donations for a valuable consideration that is demandable agains the donor or when it
imposes a burden equivalent to the value of he donation.
b) Essentially, this is a contract is is governed by the rules of contracts (Art. 722, NCC)
c) As to when it will take effect:

(1) Inter Vivos

(a) Art. 729, NCC;
(b) The effectivity of the disposition is not made to depend upon the death of the donor even
if the delivery of the property donated may be postponed until after the donor’s death

(2) Mortis Causa

(a) Art. 728, NCC
(b) The donation is made to depend on the death of the donor
(c) The intention is to transfer ownership after his death.
(3) In case of doubt, donations are deemed as inter visor rather than mortis causa.
(4) The taking effect of the donation during the lifetime or after the death of the donor down not
depend upon whether the property is delivered during such lifetime or after such death.
From the moment the donor disposes gratuitously of his property, and the disposition is
accepted by the donee, a perfect and irrevocable donation exists. Such donation may be
conditional or with a term, and the term may be the death of the donor. Until the day comes
or the condition is fulfilled, the donation is not carried out, but it produces effect. (Art. 729
and Art. 730, NCC)
(5) Thus, he who donates with a term, although such term may be that of his death, has
disposed already the thing donated, and can no longer revoke the donation, nor, for that
reason, can he disposed of the thing in favor of another.

C. Essential Elements of Donation

1. Reduction of the patrimony of the donor;
2. Increase in the patrimony of the donee; and
3. The intent to do an act of liberality of the donee (animus donandi)

D. Capacity
1. Who may give donations or receive donations
 a) All persons who may contract and dispose of their property may make a donation (Art. 735,
NCC);
b) Donor’s capacity shall be determined as of the time of the making of the donation (Art. 737,
NCC)
(1) “Making of the Donation” refers to the perfection of the donation;
(2) After acceptance of the donee of the donation.
c) Guardians and trustees cannot donate the property entrusted to them (Art. 736, NCC)

2. Who may accept donations

a) All those who are not disqualified by law may accept donations. (Art. 738, NCC)
b) Those who are incapacitated to succeed by will are disqualified to accept donation inter vivos.
(Art. 740, NCC) Examples:
(1) Priest who heard the confession of the donor during his last illness
(2) Relatives of such prints within the 4th degree, the church, order, etc. of such priests.
(3) Guardians before the final account of guardianship have been approved except if the
guardian is an ascendant, descendant, siblings or spouse;
(4) Physicians, medical attendants, etc.
(5) Unworthiness is not included since knowledge of this fact constitutes a pardon. If the cause
of unworthiness occurs after the donation, the same cannot be revoke because donation
inter vivos is revoked only for causes under Art. 760, 764 and 765 of the NCC.

3. Void Donations
a) Between persons who are guilty of adultery or concubinage at the time of the donation;
b) Made to a public officer or his wife, descendants and ascendants, in consideration of his office.
c) Applicable to insurance as well

4. Formalities
a) Public Instrument
b) Acceptance, Notification and Ratification

5. Effects of Donations and Limitations

a) Present Properties
b) Future Properties
c) Inofficious Donations
d) On Debts and Usufruct

6. Revocation and Reduction of Donations

a) Coverage
b) Extent
c) Prescription of Action

XI. USUFRUCT
A. Definition:
1. 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 (Art. 562, NCC). It is
constituted by law, by the will of private persons in acts inter-vivos or mortis cause and by
prescription (Art. 563, NCC). The rights and obligation of the usufuctuary are provided in the title
or in case of deficiency by the code (Art. 565, NCC).
B. Rights and Obligation of the Owner
1. To make any works, improvements and plantings as long as it will not diminish the usufruct or
prejudice the right of the usufructuary
2. To received the thing at the end of the Usufruct
3. Things that deteriorates - obligation to return as is
4. Consumables - pay the appraised value at the time of the usufruct or to return the same quantity
and quality or pay the current price at the time the usufructuary ceases.
5. To transfer or alienate the thing but he cannot alter its form or substance or do anything thereon
which may be prejudicial to the usufructuary
6. To be notified of the inventory and receive security for the thing
7. To remove trees that may be left in cases of calamities
8. To administer the thing if the usufructuary fails to give security
9. To make ordinary repairs if the usufructuary refused after demand, at the expense of the
usufructuary
10. To pay for extra-ordinary repairs upon notice, right to demand legal interest for the time the
usufructuary last
11. Pay taxes on that relates directly on the capital

C. Rights of Usufructuary
1. Entitled to the fruits growing at the time the usufruct begins (See Article 588, NCC on Security).
2. Entitled to Civil fruits - can lease the land - proportionate to the time
3. Entitled to the benefits from industrial and commercial enterprise - proportionate
4. In Wood land - natural fruits, including ordinary cutting without prejudicing the preservation of the
land. Cannot cut down trees unless it be to restore or improve the land and must inform the
owner.
5. Entitled to transfer or alienate his right of usufructuary
6. Entitled to Vindicate - may obliged the owner to give him authority to file action but his right to the
fruit is limited to what is adjudged to belong to the owner
7. Entitled to Set-Off the improvements introduce against the damage
8. Collect matured credits which forms part of the usufruct if he has given security (or upon
authority of the owner or the court)

D. Obligation of the Usufructuary

1. To make an inventory, description and appraisal with notice to the owner;
2. To give security
3. Not applicable to donor and parents who are usufuctuaries of the things donated
4. If usufructuary fails to five security, the owner may demand that immovables be put under
administration,
5. Movables be sold - artistic, sentimental worth - delivery to the owner with payment of legal
interest
6. Convert public bonds, instrument of credit payable to order or bearer to registered certificates or
deposited in a bank or public institution Cash be invested to safe securities
7. The interest of the proceeds of the sale, public securities and bonds under administration shall
belong to the usufructuary
8. The owner may act as administrator if he so prefers until the usufructuary gives security - entitled
to fees of administration, by agreement or by court order
 9. Take care of the thing as a good father to a family
10. Woodland - special rule (Article 557)
11. Flock of animals - replacement of the young of the animals that die each year from natural
causes or due to rapacity of beast, uncommon events - deliver the remains which may have
been saved from the misfortune, if it perish in part, the usufruct shall continue on the part save
12. Ordinary repairs - usufuctuary’s obligation, owner may demand and may perform repairs at the
expense of the usufructuary
13. Extra-Ordinary Repairs - obliged to notify the owner when the need for such repairs is urgent
14. Demand payment for the improvement cause by extra-ordinary repairs made by him on the thing
15. Pay debts of the owner in case the usufruct was made in violation of the rights of creditors
though he is not obligated to pay the obligation from a mortgage

E. Extinguishment of Usufruct
1. Death of Usufructuary
2. Expiration of the term, fulfillment of the condition
3. Merger of the usufruct and ownership
4. Renunciation of the usufructuary
5. Total loss - insurance (with or without contribution; building or no rebuilding)
6. Termination of the right of right of the person constituting the usufruct
7. Prescription

Readings and Cases:

PROPERTY IN GENERAL
1. Garret Hardin, Tragedy of the Commons, 162 Science 1243 (1968)
2. Howard Gensler, Property Law as an Optimal Economic Foundation, 35 Washburn L.J. 50, 51-52
(1995)
3. Thomas W. Merrill, Property and the Right to Exclude, 77 Neb. L. Rev. (1998)
4. Margaret Jane Radin, Property and and Personhood, 34 Stan. L. Rev. 957 (1982)
5. Cass R. Sunstein, On Property and Constitutionalism, 14 Cardozo L. Rev. 907 (1993)
6. Harold Demsetz, Toward a Theory of Property Rights, 57 AM. ECON. REV. PAPERS & PROC. 347
(1967)
7. Henry E. Smith, Property, Equity, and the Rule of Law, June 14, 2013
8. Pierson v. Post, Supreme Court of New York, 3 Cai. R. 175 (1805)
9. Brumagin vs. Bradshaw, 39 CAL 24 (1870)
10. Popov v. Hayashi, WL 31833731 Ca. Sup. Ct. (2002)
11. Johnson vs Mcintosh, 21 U.S. (8 Wheat.) 543 (1823)
12. Carino vs. Insular Government 212 US 449
13. Moore v. Regents of University of California, 793 P2.d 479 (1990), cert. denied, 499 US 936 (1991)
14. Jacque v. Steenberg Homes, Inc. 563 N.W.2d 154 (1997)
15. Pray v. Maretti, 321 N.W.2d 182 (1982)
16. Leung Yee vs. Strong Machinery (G.R. No. L-11658, February 15, 1918)
17. Standard Oil Co. vs. Jaranillo (44 Phil. 631)
18. Davao Saw Mill vs. Castillo (G.R. No. L-40411, August 7, 1935)
19. Berkenkotter vs. Cu Unjieng, Mabalacat Sugar, and Sheriff of Pampanga G.R. No. L-41643, July 31,
1935
20. Manarang vs. Ofilada and Esteban (GR No. L-8133, May 18, 1956)
21. GSIS vs. Calsons, Inc. (GR No. L-19867, May 29, 1968)
22. Mindanao Bus Co. vs. City Assessor and Treasurer of CDO (GR No. L-17870, September 29, 1962)
23. Ago vs. Court of Appeals and Grace Park Engineering (GR No. L-17898, October 31, 1962)
24. Serg’s Product vs. PCI Leasing and Finance Corporation (GR No. 137705, August 22, 2000)
25. Tumalad vs. Vicencio (GR No. L-30173, September 30, 1971)
26. Navarro vs. Pineda, (G.R. No. L-18456, November 30, 1963)
27. Makati Leasing and Finance Corporation vs. Wearever Textile Mills (G.R. No. L-58469 May 16, 1983)
28. Benguet Corporation vs. Central Board of Assessment Appeal (GR No. 106041, January 29, 1993)
29. Meralco Securities Industrial Corporation vs. Central Board of Assessment Appeal (GR No. L-47943,
May 431, 1982)
OWNERSHIP AND CO-OWNERSHIP
30. Lilian Sanchez vs. CA and Virginia Teria ([G.R. No. 152766. June 20, 2003)
31. Vda. de Ape vs. CA and Dva de Lumayno, [G.R. No. 133638. April 15, 2005]
32. Spouses Ricardo and Vicenta Pardel vs. Sposes Gaspar and Matilde Bartolome (23 Phil. 450)
33. Longings Javier vs Segundo Javier (6 Phil 493)
34. Enriquez vs. A. S. Watson and Co. (22 Phil., 623),
35. Manuel, Mariano, Pura and Caridad Melencio vs. Dy Tiao Lay (55 Phil. 99)
36. Lopez vs. Martinez (5 Phil. 567)
37. Ramirez vs. Bautista (G.R. No. L-5075 December 1, 1909)
38. Tuazon vs. Tuazon (GR No. L-3404, April 2, 1961)
39. Romana Cortez, et al vs. Florencia Oliva (G.R. No. 10104. February 10, 1916)
40. De Santos vs. Bank of the Philippine Islands (G.R. No. 38544. November 18, 1933.)
41. Garcia de Lara vs. Gonzales de Lara (G.R. No. 1111 May 16, 1903)
POSSESSION
42. Spouses Luciana and Pedro Dalida vs. CA and Agustin Ramos, G.R. No. L-53983 Sept. 30, 1982
43. US vs. Tan Tayco, [G.R. No. 4723. February 8, 1909. ]
44. Telesforo Alo vs. Clodoaldo Rocomora, G.R. No. L-2440, April 27, 1906
45. Ramos vs. Director of Lands (39 Phil 175)
46. Arriola vs. Gomez dela Serna, 14 Phil. 627
47. Bukidnon Doctor’s Hospital vs. MBTC (GR No. 161882, July 8, 2005)
48. Carlos v. Republic of the Philippines 468 SCRA 70`9
49. Escritor vs. IAC 155 SCRA 577
50. Kasilag vs. Roque, et al., G.R. No. 46623, December 7, 1939, En Banc
51. Heirs of Pedro Laurora vs. Sterling Technopark III, GR No. 146815, April 9, 2003
52. Chua v. Court of Appeals, Ramon Ibarra, G.R. No. 109840.  January 21, 1999
53. Lorenzo Alburo v. Catalina Villanueva, G.R. No. 3003, January 2,1907
54. MWSS vs. Court of Appeals 143 SCRA 623 (1986)
55. Sideco vs. Pascua, 13 Phil. 342
56. Ortiz vs. Fuentabella, G.R. No. L-8108 , August 22, 1914, En Banc
57. A. Tacas vs. Tobon, G.R. No. L-30240 August 23, 1929, En Banc
58. Gregorio Miraflor vs. CA and Monsalud G.R. No. L-40151-52 April 8, 1986
59. Gabrito vs. CA, G.R. No. 77976 November 24, 1988
60. Pada-Kilario v. Court of Appeals and Silverio Pada 379 Phil. 515, 530, January 19, 2000
61. Leonila Sarmiento v. Hon. Agana and Spouse Lorenzo-Valentino (129 SCRA 122, April 30, 1984)
62. Pedro Pecson v. Court of Appeals and Spouses Nuguid (G.R. No. 115814 May 26, 1995)
63. Rosendo Balucanag v. Hon. Francisco and Richard Stohner, G.R. No. L-33422 May 30, 1983
64. Mariano Floreza v. Maria de Evangelista, G.R. No. L-25462 February 21, 1980
65. Carbonel vs. Court of Appeals, Poncio and Infante (G.R. No. L-29972 January 26, 1976)
66. Alejandro Quemuel v. Angel Olaes, G.R. No. L-11084, April 29, 1961
67. Resuena, et al. vs. Court of Appeals and Juanito Boromeo, Sr., G.R. No. 128338, March 28, 2005.
68. Ismael & Teresita Macasaet vs. Vicente & Rosario Macasaet, (G.R. Nos. 154391-92, September 30,
2004)
69. Spouses del Campo and del Canto v. Abesia (G.R. No. L-49219 April 15, 1988)
70. Sarona vs. Villegas
ACQUISITION OF POSSESSION
71. Director of Lands vs. Roman Catholic Bishop of Zamboanga, G.R. No. L-40851 July 31, 1935, EN
BANC
72. Director of Lands vs. Roman Catholic Bishop of Manila, G.R. No. L-14869, October 27, 1920, En Banc
73. Margarito Sarona, et al. vs. Felipe Villegas and Ramono Carillo, G.R. No. L-22984, March 27, 1968,
En Banc
74. Pia Del Rosario vs. Juan Lucena, Praxedes Flores and Teresa Verches, G.R. No. L-3546, September
13, 1907, En Banc
75. US vs. Soriano and Villalobos, G.R. No. 4563, January 19, 1909
76. U.S. vs. Vicente Sotelo, 28 Phil 147
77. Josefa Varela vs. Josephine Finnick, GR No. L-3890, January 2, 1908
LOSS OF POSSESSION
78. US vs. Laurente Rey, G.R. No. L-3326, September 7, 1907
79. Bishop of Cebu vs. Mangaron, G.R. No. 1748, June 1, 1906, En Banc
OTHER CASES ON POSSESSION
80. Roxas et al. v. Mijares, G.R. No. 3823, November 23, 1907)
81. Bago vs. Garcia, G.R. No. 2587. January 8, 1906
82. Heirs of Jumero vs. Lizares, G.R. No. 5051, September 27, 1910
83. Arriola vs. de la Serna, G.R. No. L-5397 December 17, 1909
PRESCRIPTION
84. Nunez et al. vs. GSIS Family Bank, GR No. 163988, November 17, 2005
85. Crisostomo vs. Garcia, Jr., GR No. 164787, January 31, 2006
86. Leonardo vs. Maravilla, GR No. 143369, Nov. 27, 2002
87. Lubos vs. Gulapo, GR No. 139136, January 16, 2002
ACCESSION
88. Barach vs. Talisay-Silay Co., G.R. No. 35223, September 17, 1931
89. Tacas vs. Tobon, G.R. No. L-30240, August 23, 1929
90. Leoncia Liuanag, vs. Yu-Soquian, G.R. No. L-2238, October 19, 1905
91. Government of the Philippines vs. Colegio de San Jose, G.R. No. L-30829, August 28, 1929
92. Cortez vs. City of Manila, G.R. No. L-4012, March 25, 1908
93. Vicente Joven Y Monteverde vs. The Director of Lands, G.R. No. L-4628, May 25, 1953, En Banc
94. Ramon Laznar vs. Director of Lands and Iloilo City, G.R. No. L-31934 July 29, 1977
95. Grande vs. Court of Appeals and Calalung, GR No. L-17652, June 30, 1962
96. Baes vs. Court of Appeals, GR No. 108065, July 06, 1993
97. Mario Ronquillo vs. Court of Appeals, Rosendo del Rosario GR No. L-43346, Marh 20, 1991
98. Panlilio vs. Mercado, GR No. L-18771, March 26, 1923
99. Maximo Jagualing vs. Court of Appeals and Janita Eduave, GR No. 94283, March 04, 1991
TRESPASS, INTERFERENCE, INJURIOUS USE, QUIETING OF TITLE
100.Bishop of Cebu vs. Mangaron, G.R. No. L-1748, June 1, 1906
101.Jacinto Co v. Rizal Militar and Lilia Sones (G..R. No. 149912)
102.Spouses Pascual v. Spouses Coronel (G.R. No. 159292, 12 July 2007)
103.Spouses Barias v. Heirs Boneo, et al. (G.R. No. 166941, 14 December 2009)]
104.Carbonilla v. Abiera (G.R. No. 177637, 26 July 2010)
105.Canlas v. Tubil (G.R. No. 184285, 25 September 2009)
106.Valentin Cabrera, et al. v. Elizabeth Getaruela, et al. (GR No. 164213, April 21, 2009)
107.Ruiz, Sr. v. Court of Appeal and Honorato Hong, GR No. 121298, July 31, 2001
108.CS Gilchrist vs. EA Cuddy (G.R. No. L-9356, February 18, 1915)
109. So Ping Bun vs. Court of Appeals and Tek Hua Enterprising Corporation (G.R. No. 120554,
September 21, 1999)
110. US vs. Luis Toribio, G.R. No. L-5060, January 26, 1910, En Banc
111. US vs. Balbino Villareal, G.R. No. L-9480, November 13, 1914
112. Reman Enterprises, Inc. v. CA, G.R. No. 107671.  February 26, 1997
113. Remman Enterprises, Inc. v. CA, G.R. No. 125018. April 6, 2000
114.Bonifacio Nakpil vs. Manila Towers Developement Corporation, G.R. No. 160867, Sept. 20, 2006
115. Spouses Hipolito vs. Cinco, G.R. No. 174143, November 28, 2011
116.Heirs of Tuazon vs. Court of Appeals, Ma. Luisa Victorio, et al, G.R. No. 125758, January 20, 2004
117. Mananquil vs. Moico, G.R. No. 180076 , November 21, 2012
LIMITATIONS - LAND USE, ENVIRONMENTAL LAW
118. Pasong Bayabas Farmers Association, Inc. v. CA, G.R. NO. 142359. May 25, 2004
119.Sta. Rosa Realty Development Corporation v. Amante, G.R. Nos. 112526 and 118838, March 16,
2005
120.Remman Enterprises, Inc. v. CA, G.R. No. 132073, September 27, 2006
121.Buklod nang Magbubukid sa Lupaing Ramos, Inc. v. E.M. Ramos and Sons, Inc., G.R. No. 131481,
March 16, 2011
122.Natalia Realty, Inc. v. Department of Agriculture, G.R. No. 103302 August 12, 1993
123.Heirs of Deleste vs. Land Bank of the Philippines, G.R. No. 169913, June 8, 2011
124.United BF Homeowners Association vs. City Mayor of Parañaque, et al., G.R. No. 141010 , February
7, 2007
125.Social Justice Society vs. Mayor Atienza, G.R. No. 156052,   February 13, 2008
126.Ortigas & Company vs. Feati Bank and Trust Company, G.R. No. L-24670 December 14, 1979
127. Cariday Investment Corp. vs. Court of Appeals, G.R. No. 83358 August 2, 1989
128.Village of Euclid vs. Amber Realty, 272 US 365 (1926)
129.AVR, Inc. v. City of St. Louis Park, 256 US 1114 (1999)
130.Smith vs. City of Little Rock, 279 Ark. 4 (1983)
131.Stoyanoff v. Berkeley, Supreme Court of Missouri (458 S.W.2d 305, 1970)
132.City of Ladue vs. Gilleo, 512 US 43 (1994)
133.Moore vs. City of East Cleveland, 431 US 494 (1977)
134.Associated Home Builders of the Greater Eastbay, Inc. vs. City of Livermore, 557 P.2d 473 (1976)
135.Just vs. Marinette County, 201 N.W.2d 761 (1972)
136.United States vs. Monsanto, 858, F.2d 160 (1988)
137.Babbit v. Sweet Home Chapter of Communities for Greater Oregon 515 US 687 (1995)
138.American Electric Power Co. Inc. v. Connecticut, 131 S. Ct. 2527 (2011)
TAXATION, POLICE POWER, EMINENT DOMAIN
139. Manosca vs. Court of Appeals, G.R. No. 106440. January 29, 1996
140.Del Castillo v. Orciga, CA-G.R. SP No. 66122.  November 26, 2001
141. Association of Small Land Owners vs. Secretary of DAR, G.R. No. 78742 July 14, 1989
DONATION
142. Liguez vs CA, G.R. No. L-11240, December 18, 1957
143.Pirovano, et al. v. De la Rama Steamship Co. , G.R. No. L-5377, December 29, 1954
144.The Diocese of Bacolod vs. COMELEC, GR No. 205728, Jan. 21, 2015
145.Castro vs Court of Appeals, G.R. No. L-20122, April 28, 1969
146.Alejandro vs. Geraldez, G.R. No. L-33849 August 18, 1977
147.Laureta vs Mata, G.R. No. L-19740, March 22, 1923
148.Balaqui vs Dongso, G.R. No. L-31161, October 28, 1929
149.Lagazo vs Court of Appeals, G.R. No. 112796. March 5, 1998
150.Roman Catholic Archbishop vs CA , G.R. No. 77425, June 19, 1991
151.Quijada vs court of appeals, G.R. No. 126444. December 4, 1998