BASIC DOCTRINES IN CIVIL LAW

Atty. Maria Almira L. Fandialan – Saniano

I. PERSONS AND FAMILY RELATIONS

MARRIAGE - is a special contract of permanent union between a man and

a woman entered into in accordance with the law for the establishment of
conjugal and family life. It is the foundation of the family and an
inviolable social institution whose nature, consequences, and incidents are
governed by law and not subject to stipulation, except that marriage
settlements may fix the property relations during the marriage within the
limits provided by this Code.

Marriages Exempt From License Requirement: (MOLAR)

1. Among Muslims or members of ethnic cultural communities, provided

such were solemnized in accordance with their customs, rites and
practices;

2. Solemnized Outside PH where NO marriage license is required by the

country where they were solemnized

3. Marriage of a man and a woman who have Lived together as husband

and wife for at least 5 years and without legal impediment to marry each
other;

NOTE: The 5-year period should be computed on the basis of cohabitation

as husband and wife where the only missing factor is the marriage contract
to validate the union. This 5-year period should be the years immediately
before the day of the marriage and it should be a period of cohabitation
characterized by exclusivity - meaning no third party was involved at any
time within the 5 years and continuity - that is unbroken (Ninal vs. Bayadog,
GR No. 133778, March 14, 2000).

Requisites to avail the exemption under Article 34 of the Family

Code: (Manzano vs. Sanchez (G.R. No. MTJ-00-1329, March 08, 2001)

A. The man and woman must have been living together as husband and wife
for at least five years before the marriage;

B. Parties must have no legal impediment to marry each other;

C. The fact of absence of legal impediment between the parties must be

present at the time of marriage;

D. Parties must execute an affidavit stating that they have lived together for
at least five years and without legal impediment to marry each other; and

E. Solemnizing officer must execute a sworn statement that he had

ascertained the qualifications of the parties and that he had found no
legal impediment to their marriage.
4. Articulo mortis
5. Remote places

Doctrine of Triennial Cohabitation - Presumption that the husband is

impotent should the wife still remain a virgin after 3 years of living together
with her husband.

VERY IMPORTANT! PREVAILING DOCTRINE AS TO FOREIGN DIVORCE

(Republic vs. Marelyn Tanedo Manalo, G.R. No. 221029, April 24, 2018)
– Hindi ito umabot sa cut-off last year, maybe this year ilabas, kaya gawan
ko ng digest)

FACTS: Marelyn Tanedo Manalo was married in the Philippines to Yoshino

Minoro, a Japanese. She divorced Minoro in Japan and a Japanese court
issued the divorce decree dated December 6, 2011. On January 10, 2012,
she filed in RTC Dagupan a petition for cancellation of entry of marriage in
the Civil Registry of San Juan pursuant to Rule 108 of the Rules of Court.

She claims there is an imperative need to have the entry of marriage

cancelled so that it would not appear that she is still married to a Japanese
national who is no longer married to her, and so that she shall not be
bothered and disturbed by said entry should she decide to remarry. The
Office of the City Prosecutor (OCP) of Dagupan questioned the caption of the
petition and alleges that the proper action should be a petition for
recognition and enforcement of judgment. Manalo accordingly amended the
petition.

RTC denied the petition ruling that the divorce obtained by Manalo in Japan
should not be recognized based on Article 15 of NCC. CA overturned the RTC
Decision, and ruled that Article 26 of FC is applicable even if it was Manalo
who filed for divorce.

ISSUE: W/N a Filipino citizen has the capacity to remarry under Philippine
law after initiating a divorce abroad against her alien spouse.

RULING: YES, pursuant to Par. 2 of Art. 26 of the Family Code, to wit:

“Art. 26. All marriages solemnized outside the Philippines, in accordance

with the laws in force in the country where they were solemnized, and valid
there as such, shall also be valid in this country, except those prohibited
under Articles 35 (1), (4), (5) and (6), 36, 37 and 38.

Where a marriage between a Filipino citizen and a foreigner is validly

celebrated and a divorce is thereafter validly obtained abroad by the
alien spouse capacitating him or her to remarry, the Filipino spouse
shall have capacity to remarry under Philippine law.”

Based on a clear and plain reading of the provision, it only requires that
there be a divorce validly obtained abroad. The letter of the law does not
demand that the alien spouse should be the one who initiated the
proceeding wherein the divorce decree was granted. It does not
distinguish whether the Filipino spouse is the petitioner or the
respondent in the foreign divorce proceeding. The Court is bound by
the words of the statute. (** Verba Legis Rule)

The purpose of Paragraph 2 of Article 26 is to avoid the absurd situation

where the Filipino spouse remains married to the alien spouse who,
after a foreign divorce decree that is effective in the country where
it was rendered, is no longer married to the Filipino spouse. The
provision is a corrective measure to address an anomaly where the Filipino
spouse is tied to the marriage while the foreign spouse is free to marry
under the laws of his or her country.

Whether the Filipino spouse initiated the foreign divorce proceeding or not, a
favorable decree dissolving the marriage bond and capacitating his or her
alien spouse to remarry will have the same result: The Filipino spouse will
effectively be without a husband or wife. A Filipino who initiated a foreign
divorce proceeding is in the same place and in like circumstance as a Filipino
who is at the receiving end of an alien initiated proceeding. Therefore, the
subject provision should not make a distinction. In both instance, it is
extended as a means to recognize the residual effect of the foreign divorce
decree on Filipinos whose marital ties to their alien spouses are severed by
operation of the latter’s national law.

However, this case was remanded to the RTC to allow Manalo to prove the
Japanese law on divorce.

** Plain-Meaning Rule or Verba Legis Rule - In statutory construction, if

the statute is clear, plain and free from ambiguity, it must be given its literal
meaning and applied without attempted interpretation. t is expressed in the
maxim, index animi sermo, or "speech is the index of intention."
Furthermore, there is the maxim verba legis non est recedendum, or "from
the words of a statute there should be no departure." (Bolos vs. Bolos, G.R.
No. 186400, October 20, 2010)

Doctrine of Processual Presumption – The foreign law, whenever

applicable, should be proved by the proponent thereof, otherwise, such law
shall be presumed to be exactly the same as the law of the forum.

What is "Psychological Incapacity"? There is no exact definition of

Psychological Incapacity, but SC referred to it as “no less than a mental (not
physical) incapacity that causes a party to be truly incognitive of the basic
marital covenants that concomitantly must be assumed and discharged by
the parties to the marriage”.

The intendment of the law has been to confine the meaning of "psychological
incapacity" to the most serious cases of personality disorders clearly
demonstrative of an utter intensitivity or inability to give meaning and
significance to the marriage.

Elements of the Psychological Incapacity:

1. Gravity – It must be grave or serious such that the party would be

incapable of carrying out the ordinary duties required in a marriage;
2. Juridical Antecedence – It must be rooted in the history of the party
antedating the marriage, although the overt manifestations may emerge
only after the marriage; and
3. Incurability– It must be incurable or, even if it were otherwise, the cure
would be beyond the means of the party involved. (Dimayuga-Larena v.
Court of Appeals, G.R. No. 159220, September 22 2008)

II. PROPERTY

REGALIAN DOCTRINE (JURE REGALIA) – is a legal principle that holds

that all natural wealth – agricultural, forest, timber and mineral lands of the
Public Domain and all other natural resources belong to the State. Thus,
even if a private person owns the property where minerals are discovered,
his ownership does not give him the right to extract or utilize said minerals
without permission from the State to which such minerals belong.

Section 2 (1987 Constitution) - All lands of the public domain, waters,

minerals, coal, petroleum, and other mineral oils, all forces of potential
energy, fisheries, forests or timber, wildlife, flora and fauna, and other
natural resources are owned by the State. With the exception of agricultural
lands, all other natural resources shall not be alienated.

DOCTRINE OF SELF - HELP – enunciated in Art. 429, NCC: 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 such
force as may be reasonably necessary to repel or prevent an actual or
threatened unlawful physical invasion or usurpation of his property.

Tests of Movable Character

1. Test by Exclusion - Whether the property was not enumerated in Art.

415 (expressio unius est exclusio alterius);

2. Test by Description - Whether the property can be transported or

carried from place to place; Whether such change of location can be
made without injuring the immovable to which the object may be
attached; unless expressly included in Art. 415.

*** Test by Exclusion is superior.

CO-OWNERSHIP - The right of common dominion which two or more

persons have a spiritual part (or ideal portion) or a thing which is not
physically divided.

Characteristics of co-ownership

1. There is plurality of owners, but only one real right of ownership;

2. The recognition of ideal shares, defined but not physically identified;
3. Each co-owner has absolute control over his ideal share;
4. Mutual respect among co-owners in regard to use and enjoyment and
preservation of thing as a whole.
ACQUISITIVE PRESCRIPTION - Ordinary acquisitive prescription
requires possession of things in good faith and with just title for a
period of ten (10) years. Without good faith and just title, acquisitive
prescription can only be extraordinary in character which requires
uninterrupted adverse possession for thirty (30) years.

EXTINCTIVE PRESCRIPTION - From the moment one of the co-owners

claims that he is the absolute and exclusive owner of the properties and
denies the others any share therein, the question involved is no longer one
of partition but of ownership and the prescriptive period will begin to run and
may eventually operate to divest the real owners of their right to the
property after the lapse of the applicable statutory period.

DOCTRINE OF STATE OF NECESSITY or Incomplete Privilege:

Art. 432. The owner of a thing has no right to prohibit the interference of
another with the same, if the interference is necessary to avert an imminent
danger and the threatened damage, compared to the damage arising to the
owner from the interference, is much greater. The owner may demand from
the person benefited indemnity for the damage to him.

Requisites:

1. Interference is necessary; and

2. Damage to another is much greater than damage to property
3. Imposed by the owner (e. g. lease)
4. Imposed by the grantor (e.g. prohibition to the donees from partitioning
the property not exceeding 20 years.

III. OBLIGATIONS AND CONTRACTS

ELEMENTS OF OBLIGATION:

1. The vinculum juris or judicial tie which is the efficient cause established
by the various sources of obligations;

2. The object which is the prestation or conduct, required to be observed

(to give, to do or not to do);

3. The subject-persons who viewed from the demandability of the

obligation, are the active (obligee) and the passive (obligor) subjects

Blanket mortgage clause or Dragnet clause - one which is specifically

phrased to subsume all debts of past or future origins. Mortgages of this
character enable the parties to provide continuous dealings, the nature or
extent of which may not be known or anticipated at the time, and they avoid
the expense and inconvenience of executing a new security on each new
transaction.

A “dragnet clause” operates as a convenience and accommodation to the

borrowers as it makes available additional funds without their having to
execute additional security documents, thereby saving time, travel, loan
closing costs, costs of extra legal services, recording fees, et cetera. Indeed,
it has been settled in a long line of decisions that mortgages given to secure
future advancements are valid and legal contracts (Mojica vs. CA, G.R. No.
94247, September 11, 1991, 201 SCRA 517), and the amounts named as
consideration in said contracts do not limit the amount for which the
mortgage may stand as security if from the four corners of the instrument
the intent to secure future and other indebtedness can be gathered.

DOCTRINE OF PRESUMPTIVE CONTRACT - Since a quasi-contract is a

unilateral contract created by the sole act/s of the gestor, there is no
express consent given by the other party. The consent needed in a contract
is provided by law through presumption. (Pineda, Obligations and Contracts)

DOCTRINE OF MUTUAL DESISTANCE (Mutuo disenso) — is a mode of

extinguishing obligations. It is a concept that derives from the principle that
since mutual agreement can create a contract, mutual disagreement by the
parties can cause its extinguishment.

Concept of application of payments – It is the designation of the debt to

which the payment must be applied when the debtor has several obligations
of the same kind in favor of the same creditor.

Novation - the extinguishment of an obligation by the substitution or

change of the obligation by a subsequent one which terminates the first,
either by changing the object or principal conditions, or by substituting the
person of the debtor, or subrogating a third person in the rights of the
creditor.

Essential requisites:

1. A previous valid obligation;

2. Agreement of all the parties to the new contract;
3. Extinguishment of the old contract;
4. Validity of the new one.

** There must be consent of all the parties to the substitution, resulting in

the extinction of the old obligation and the creation of a valid new one.

** Novation is never presumed - novatio non praesumitur.

CONSIGNATION – Act of depositing the object of the obligation with the

court or competent authority after the creditor has unjustifiably refused to
accept the same or is not in a position to accept it due to certain reasons or
circumstances. (Pineda, Obligations and Contracts)

Consignation is made by depositing the proper amount to the judicial

authority, before whom the tender of payment and the announcement of the
consignation shall be proved. All interested parties are to be notified of the
consignation. Compliance with these requisites is mandatory.
When will Consignation produce the effects of payment?

GR: Consignation shall produce effects of payment only if there is a valid

tender of payment.

XPNs:

1. When the creditor is absent or unknown, or does not appear at the place
of payment;
2. When he is incapacitated to receive the payment at the time it is due;
3. When, without just cause, he refuses to give a receipt;
4. When two or more persons claim the same right to collect;
5. When the title of obligation has been lost.

BASIS TENDER OF PAYMENT CONSIGNATION

Nature It is the antecedent of It is the principal or
consignation or preliminary consummating act for the
act to consignation. extinguishment of the
obligation.
Effect It does not by itself It extinguishes the obligation
extinguish the obligation. when declared valid.
Character It is extrajudicial. It is judicial for it requires the
filing of complaint in court.

IV. SALES

Contract of Sale - is an agreement whereby one of the parties (seller or

vendor) obligates himself to deliver something to the other (buyer or
purchaser or vendee) who, on his part, binds himself to pay therefor a sum
of money or its equivalent (known as the price).

Stages in the life of Sale:

1. Policitacion – Negotiation or preparation stage, period of negotiation

and bargaining;

2. Perfection – Birth of the contract, point in time when the parties come
to agree on the terms of the sale;

3. Consummation – Death of the contract, process of fulfillment or

performance of the terms agreed upon in the contract, whereby by
each party fulfils his undertaking resulting to the extinguishment of the
contract.

EMPTIO REI SPERATAE EMPTIO SPEI

Sale of an expected thing (with
potential existence)
Subject to the condition that the
thing will exist, if it does not – no
contract.
Sale of mere hope or expectancy
Sale produces effect even if the thing
does not come into existence, unless
it is a vain hope.
Uncertainty is with regard to quantity Uncertainty is with the existence of
and quality of the thing, and not the the thing.
existence of the thing.
Object is a future thing. Object is a present thing, which is
the hope or expectancy.
EXAMPLE: Sale of Wine that is EXAMPLE: Sale of sweepstakes or
expected to be produced by a raffle ticket that is yet to be drawn.
vineyard.

REDHIBITORY DEFECT - a defect in the article sold against which defect

the seller is bound to warrant.

Implied Warranty of Fitness - seller guarantees that the thing sold is

reasonably fit for the known particular purpose for which it was acquired by
the buyer

If bought by description, it should be reasonably fit on its merchantable

quality.

Right of First Refusal - the right of first priority "all things and conditions
being equal" meant that there should be identity of the terms and
conditions to be offered to the lessee and all other prospective buyers, with
the lessee to enjoy the right of first priority.

A deed of sale executed in favor of a third party who cannot be deemed a

purchaser in good faith, and which is in violation of a right of first refusal
granted to the lessee is not voidable under the Statute of Frauds but
rescissible under Articles 1380 to 1381 (3) of the New Civil Code. (Riviera
Filipina vs. CA, G.R. No. 117355, April 5, 2002)

SALE DACION EN PAGO

No pre-existing credit
Creates obligations
Cause or consideration is the price,
from sellers point of view; and the
delivery of the object from buyers
point of view.
Greater freedom in fixing the price.
There is pre-existing credit
Extinguishes obligations
Cause or consideration is the
extinguishment of obligation, from
debtors point of view; and the
delivery of the object given in place
of the credit, front the creditors point
of view.
Less freedom in fixing the price
because of the amount of the pre-
existing credit which the parties seek
to extinguish.

Rules to determine whether contract is sale or barter

Art. 1468. If the consideration of the contract consists partly in money, and
partly in another thing, the transaction shall be characterized by the
manifest intention of the parties. If such intention does not clearly appear, it
shall be considered a barter if the value of the thing given as a part of the
consideration exceeds the amount of the money or its equivalent; otherwise,
it is a sale.

Manifest intention of the parties

Even if the acquisition of a thing is paid for by another object of greater

value than the money component, it may still be a sale and not a barter
when such was the intention of the parties. Such intention may be
ascertained by taking into account the contemporaneous and subsequent
acts of the parties (Art. 1371)

When the intention does not appear and the consideration consists
partly in money and partly in another thing:

a) It is a barter, where the value of the thing given as part of the

consideration exceeds the amount of money given or its equivalent.

b) It is a sale, where the value of the thing given as part of the

consideration equals or less than the amount of money given.

V. LEASE

Contract of Lease - agreement whereby one person (lessor) binds himself

to grant temporarily the enjoyment or use of a thing or to render some work
or service to another (lessee) who undertakes to pay rent, compensation or
price therefore.

Estoppel against lessee - A lessee is estopped from asserting title to the

thing leased as against the lessor, or to deny the lessor’s title, or to assert a
better title not only in himself, but also in some third person., including the
State while he remains in possession of the leased property and until he
surrenders possession to the lessor.

Exception: Where the lessee would, in effect, be paying rental twice for the
use of the same property for the same period of time – to the real owner if
he were to pay the lessor.

Conclusive presumptions include: “(b) The tenant is not permitted to deny

the title of his landlord at the time of the commencement of the relation of
landlord and tenant between them. “ (Sec. 3-b, Rule 131, RC)

Obligations of the lessor (Art. 1654)

1. To deliver the thing which is the object of the contract in such a

condition as to render it fit for the use intended;

2. To make on the same during the lease all the necessary repairs in order
to keep it suitable for the use to which it has been devoted, unless there
is a stipulation to the contrary;
3. To maintain the lessee in the peaceful and adequate enjoyment of the
lease for the entire duration of the contract.
*The lessor is also obliged not to alter the form in such a way as to impair
the use to which the thing is devoted

Obligations of the Lessee (Art. 1657)

1. To pay the price of the lease according to the terms stipulated;

2. To use the thing leased as a diligent father of a family, devoting it to the

use stipulated; and in the absence of stipulation, to that which may be
inferred from the nature of the thing leased, according to the custom of
the place;

3. To pay expenses for the deed of lease.

* The lessee is obliged to pay rent, to use the thing leased as a diligent
father of a family, devoting it to the use stipulated, to pay expenses for the
deed of lease, to notify the lessor of usurpation or untoward acts, to notify
the lessor of need for repairs, to return the property leased upon.

Doctrine of Implied New Lease - Implied lease is which when at the end
of the contract the lessee continues enjoying the thing leased for 15 days
with the acquiescence of the lessor, unless a notice to the contrary had
previously been given by either party. It is required that the term of the
original contract has expired, the lessor has not given the lessee a notice to
vacate and the lessee continued enjoying the thing leased for at least 15
days with acquiescence of the lessor.

VI. PARTNERSHIP, AGENCY AND TRUST

A. PARTNERSHIP - contract wherein two or more persons bind themselves

to contribute money, property, or industry to a common fund, with the
intention of dividing the profits among themselves. (Art. 1767, NCC)

ELEMENTS OF A PARTNERSHIP:

1. There is a meeting of the minds;

2. To form a common fund;
3. With intention that profits (and losses) will be divided among the
contracting parties

PRINCIPLE OF DELECTUS PERSONAE “The selection or choice of the

person” – The birth and life of a partnership at will is predicated on the
mutual desire and consent of the partners. The right to choose with whom a
person wishes to associate himself is the very foundation and essence of
partnership.

Doctrine of Mutual Agency - In the absence of contractual stipulation, all

partners shall be considered agents and whatever any one of them may do
alone shall bind the partnership (Art. 1803[1], 1818)
DOCTRINE OF APPARENT AUTHORITY / HOLDING OUT THEORY /
DOCTRINE OF OSTENSIBLE AGENCY / AGENCY BY ESTOPPEL
This doctrine imposes liability, not as the result of the reality of a contractual
relationship, but rather because of the actions of a principal or an employer
in somehow misleading the public into believing that the relationship or the
authority exists. (Irving v. Doctors Hospital of Lake Worth, Inc., 415 So. 2d
55 (1982).The concept is essentially one of estoppel.

Under the rule, the principal is bound by the acts of his agent with the
apparent authority which he knowingly permits the agent to assume, or
which he holds to the agent out to the public as possessing. The question in
every case is whether the principal has by his voluntary act placed the agent
with business usages and the nature of the particular business, is justified in
presuming that such agent has authority to perform the particular act in
question.

GENERAL PARTNERSHIP LIMITED PARTNERSHIP

Personally liable for partnership Liability extends only to his capital
obligations. contributions.
When manner of mgt. not agreed No participation in management.
upon, all gen partners have an equal
right in the mgt. of the business.
Contribute cash, property or Contribute cash or property only, not
industry. industry.
Proper party to proceedings by/ Not proper party to proceedings by/
against partnership. against partnership.
Interest not assignable w/o consent Interest is freely assignable.
of other partners.
Prohibition against engaging in No prohibition against engaging in
business. business.
Retirement, death, insolvency, Does not have same effect; rights
insanity of gen partner dissolves transferred to legal representative.
partnership.

WHEN GENERAL PARTNER NEEDS CONSENT/RATIFICATION OF ALL

LIMITED PARTNERS:

1. Do any act in contravention of the certificate;

2. Do any act which would make it impossible to carry on the ordinary
business of the partnership;
3. Confess judgment against partnership
4. Possess partnership property/assign rights in specific partnership
property other than for partnership purposes;
5. Admit person as general partner;
6. Admit person as limited partner - unless authorized in certificate;
7. Continue business with partnership property on death, retirement, civil
interdiction, insanity or insolvency of gen partner unless authorized in
certificate.

B. AGENCY - a person (agent) binds himself to render some service or to do

something in representation or on behalf of another (principal), with the
consent or authority of the latter.

Obligations of the Agent:

1. To carry out the agency in accordance with its terms [Art. 1884];
2. To answer for the damages which through his non-performance the
principal may suffer [Art. 1884];
3. To act in accordance with the instructions of the principal [Art. 1887];
4. Not to carry out the agency if its execution would manifestly result in
loss or damage to the principal [Art. 1888];
5. To answer for damages should he prefer, in case of conflict, his own
interests to those of the principal [Art. 1889];
6. To render an account of his transactions and to deliver to the principal
whatever he may have received by virtue of the agency [Art. 1891];
7. To be responsible for the goods received by him, to sell on credit only
with the consent of the principal and to collect with due diligence the
credits of the principal [Articles 1903-1908, Civil Code]; and
8. To answer for his fraud or negligence. [Art. 1909]

Obligations of the Principal:

1. To comply with all the obligations which the agent may have contracted
within the scope of his authority [Arts. 1868 & 1883];
2. To advance to the agent, should the latter so request, the sums
necessary for the execution of the agency [Art. 1912];
3. To reimburse the agent for all advances made by him provided the agent
is free from fault [Ibid];
4. To indemnify the agent for all damages which the execution of the
agency may have caused the later without fault or negligence on his part
[Art. 1913]; and
5. To pay the agent the compensation agreed upon, or if no compensation
was specified, the reasonable value of the agent’s services. [Arts. 1875
and 1306]

PRESUMPTION OF EXISTENCE OF AGENCY:

GR: Agency must exist as a fact. The law makes no presumption thereof.
The person alleging it has the burden of proof to show, not only the fact of
its existence, but also its nature and extent. (People vs. Yabut)

XPNs: (Presumption may arise)

1. By operation of law (ex. All partners are being considered agents of the
partnership when the manner of management has not been agreed
upon);
2. To prevent unjust enrichment.

THEORY OF IMPUTED KNOWLEDGE – GR: Notice to the agent constitutes

notice to the principal. Thus, knowledge of the agent is ascribed to the
principal.

Requisites:

1. Actual notice to agent;

2. Notice must pertain to a matter of fact and not of law;
3. The fact must be within the scope of agent’s authority.
XPNs:

1. Agent’s interests are adverse to those of the principal;

2. Agent’s duty is not to disclose the information (confidential info);
3. Person claiming the benefit of the rule colludes with the agent to defraud
the principal.

IX. CREDIT TRANSACTIONS

CREDIT TRANSACTIONS - include all transactions involving the purchase

or loan of goods, services or money in the present with a promise to pay or
deliver in the future (contract of security).

BAILMENT - the delivery of property of one person to another in trust for a

specific purpose, with a contract, express or implied, that the trust shall be
faithfully executed and the property returned or duly accounted for when the
special purpose is accomplished or kept until the bailor reclaims it.

A. LOAN - a contract by which one of the parties delivers to another, either

something not consumable so that the latter may use the same for a certain
time and return it, in which case the contract is called commodatum; or
money or other consumable thing, upon the condition that the same amount
of the same kind and quality shall be paid, in which case the contract is
simply called a loan or mutuum. (Art.1933)

MUTUUM AND COMMODATUM DISTINGUISHED FROM BARTER

1. In mutuum, subject matter is money or any other fungible things; in

barter, non-fungible (non-consumable) things.

2. In commodatum, the bailee is bound to return the identical thing

borrowed when thetime has expired or the purpose has been served. In
barter, the equivalent thing is given in return for what has been
received.

3. Mutuum may be gratuitous and commodatum is always gratuitous.

Barter on the other hand is an onerous contract. It is really a mutual
sale.

Principle of mutuality of contracts - The contract must bind both

contracting parties; its validity or compliance cannot be left to the will of one
of them.

A contract containing a condition which makes its fulfillment dependent

exclusively upon the uncontrolled will of one of the contracting parties, is
void.

An escalation clause that gives a creditor an unbridled right to unilaterally

and upwardly adjust the interest on the debtor’s loan would completely take
away from the debtor the right to assent to an important modification in
their agreement, and would negate the element of mutuality in contracts.
B. DEPOSIT - is constituted from the moment a person receives a thing
belonging to another, with the obligation of safely keeping it and of returning
the same. If the safekeeping of the thing delivered is not the principal
purpose of the contract, there is no deposit but some other contract.

Kinds of Deposit

Judicial – takes place when an attachment orseizure of property in litigation

is ordered. B (Arts. 2005-2008)

Extrajudicial

1. Voluntary - delivery is made by the will of the depositor or by two or more

persons each of whom believes himself entitled to the thing deposited;

2. Necessary - made in compliance with a legal obligation, or on the

occasion of any calamity, or by travelers in hotels and inns (Arts.1996-2004)
or by travelers with common carriers (Arts.1734-1735 GENERAL RULE:

GR: The depositary is permitted to commingle grain or other articles of the

same kind and quality.

XPN: When there is a stipulation to the contrary.

EFFECT OF COMMINGLING:

1. The various depositors of the mingled goods shall own the entire mass in
common.
2. Each depositor shall be entitled to such portion of the entire as the
amount deposited by him bears the whole.

HOTEL-KEEPER LIABLE (Regardless of the amount of care exercised)

1. The loss or injury to personal property is caused by his servants or

employees as well as by strangers. (Art. 2000)
2. The loss is caused by the act of a thief or robber done without the use of
arms and irresistible force. (Art. 2001)

HOTEL-KEEPER NOT LIABLE : The loss or injury is cause by force majeure

like flood, fire (Art.2000) theft or robbery by a stranger - not the hotel-
keeper’s servant or employee with the use of firearms or irresistible force

EXCEPTION:

1. Hotel- keeper is guilty of fault or negligence in failing to provide against

the loss or injury from his cause. (Arts. 1170 and 1174)
2. The loss is due to the acts of the guests, his family, servants, visitors
(Art.2002)
3. The loss arises from the character of the things brought into the hotel.

C. GUARANTY - is a contract whereby a person, called the guarantor, binds

himself to the creditor to fulfill the obligation of the principal debtor in case
the latter should fail to do so. (Art. 2047) While a surety undertakes to pay if
the principal does not pay, the guarantor only binds himself to pay if the
principal cannot pay.

Benefit of Excussion - right granted to the guarantor and, therefore, only

he may invoke it at his discretion.

The benefit of excussion, as well as the requirement of consent to extensions

of payment, is a protective device pertaining to and conferred on the
guarantor. These may be invoked by the guarantor against the creditor as
defenses to bar the unwarranted enforcement of the guarantee.

Exceptions to the Benefits of Excussion:

1. If the guarantor has expressly renounced it;

2. If he has bound himself solidarily with the debtor;
3. In case of insolvency of the debtor;
4. When he has absconded, or cannot be sued within the Philippines
unless he has left a manager or representative;
5. If it may be presumed that an execution on the property of the principal
debtor would not result in the satisfaction of the obligation.
6. If he doesn’t comply with Article 2060;
7. If he has a judicial bondsman and sub-surety;
8. Where a pledge or mortgage has been given by him as special
security;
9. If he fails to interpose it as a defense before judgment is rendered
against him.

D. SURETYSHIP - is a relation which exists where one person (principal)

has undertaken an obligation and another person (surety) is also under a
direct and primary obligation or other duty to the obligee, who is entitled to
but one performance, and as between the two who are bound, the second,
rather than the first should perform. If a person binds himself solidarily with
the principal debtor, the contract is called suretyship and the guarantor is
called a surety.

STRICTISSIMI JURIS RULE applicable only to accommodation surety

Reason: An accommodation surety acts without motive of pecuniary gain

and hence, should be protected against unjust pecuniary impoverishment by
imposing on the principal, duties akin to those of a fiduciary. This rule will
apply only after it has been definitely ascertained that the contract is one of
suretyship or guaranty.

STRICTISSIMI JURIS RULE NOT APPLICABLE TO COMPENSATED

SURETIES - Reasons:

1. Compensated corporate sureties are business association organized for

the purpose of assuming classified risks in large numbers, for profit and
on an impersonal basis.
2. They are secured from all possible loss by adequate counter-bonds or
indemnity agreements.
3. Such corporations are in fact insurers and in determining their rights and
liabilities, the rules peculiar to suretyship do not apply.

E. PLEDGE - is a contract by virtue of which the debtor delivers to the

creditor or to a third persona movable or document evidencing incorporeal
rights for the purpose of securing the fulfillment of a principal obligation with
the understanding that when the obligation is fulfilled, the thing delivered
shall be returned with all its fruits and accessions.

EFFECT OF THE SALE OF THE THING PLEDGED (Art 2115)

1. Extinguishes the principal obligation, whether the price of the sale is

more or less than the amount due.
2. If the price is more than amount due, the debtor is not entitled to the
excess unless the contrary is provided.
3. If the price of the sale is less, neither is the creditor entitled to recover
the deficiency. A contrary stipulation is void.

F. MORTGAGE - is a contract whereby the debtor secures to the creditor the

fulfillment of a principal obligation, immediately making immovable property
or real rights over immovable property answerable to the principal obligation
in case it is not complied with at the time stipulated.

PRINCIPLE OF INDIVISIBILITY OF PLEDGE /MORTGAGE: (Art. 2089)

A pledge or mortgage is indivisible, even though the debt may be divided

among the successors in interest of the debtor or of the creditor.

Therefore, the debtor’s heir who has paid a part of the debt cannot ask for
the proportionate extinguishment of the pledge or mortgage as the debt is
not completely satisfied.

Neither can the creditor’s heir who received his share of the debt return the
pledge or cancel the mortgage, to the prejudice of the other heirs who have
not been paid.

From these provisions is excepted the case in which, there being several
things given in mortgage or pledge, each one of them guarantees only a
determinate portion of the credit.

The debtor, in this case, shall have a right to the extinguishment of the
pledge or mortgage as the portion of the debt for which each thing is
specially answerable is satisfied.

G. ANTICHRESIS - contract whereby the creditor acquires the right to

receive the fruits of an immovable of the debtor, with the obligation to apply
them to the payment of the interest, if
owing, and thereafter to the principal of the credit. (Art 2132)

CONCURRENCE OF CREDIT – implies possession by two or more creditors

of equal right or privileges over the same property or all of the property of a
debtor.
PREFERENCE OF CREDIT - is the right held by a creditor to be preferred in
the payment of his claim above other out of the debtor’s assets.

X. SUCCESSION - A mode of acquisition by virtue of which the property,

rights and obligations to the extent of the value of the inheritance, of a
person are transmitted through his death to another or others either by his
will or by operation of law. (Art. 774)

A. TESTAMENTARY SUCCESSION

WILL - an act whereby a person is permitted, with the formalities prescribed

by law, to control to a certain degree the disposition of his estate to take
effect after his death (Art. 783)

RULE ON AFTER-ACQUIRED PROPERTY (Art. 793)

GR: Property acquired during the period between the execution of the will
and the death of the testator is NOT included among the property disposed
of.

XPN: When a contrary intention expressly appears in the will.

NOTE: This rule applies only to legacies and devises and not to institution of
heirs.

TEST OF PRESENCE (As to witnesses in a will) - Not whether they actually

saw each other sign, but whether they might have seen each other sign had
they chosen to do so considering their mental and physical condition and
position with relation to each other at the moment of inscription of each
signature. (Jaboneta vs. Gustilo)

Doctrine of Liberal Interpretation (Art. 809) - In the absence of bad

faith, forgery, fraud, or undue and improper pressure and influence, defects
and imperfections in the form of attestation or in the language used therein
shall not render the will invalid if it is proved that the will was in fact
executed and attested in substantial compliance with Art. 805 (formal
requirements).

Doctrine of Presumed Revocation - Whenever it is established that the

testator had in his possession or had ready access to the will, but upon his
death it cannot be found or located, the presumption arises that it must
have been revoked by him by an overt act.

Where it is shown that the will was in custody of the testator after its
execution, and subsequently, it was found among the testator’s effects after
his death in such a state of mutilation, cancellation or obliteration as
represents a sufficient act of revocation, it will be presumed in the absence
of evidence to the contrary, that such act was performed by the testator
with the intention of revoking the will.

Doctrine of Dependent Relative Revocation (ART. 832) - A revocation

subject to a condition does not revoke a will unless and until the condition
occurs. Thus, where a testator “revokes” a will with the proven intention that
he would execute another will, his failure to validly make a latter will would
permit the allowance of the earlier will.

Where the act of destruction is connected with the making of another will so
as fairly to raise the inference that the testator meant the revocation of the
old to depend upon the efficacy of the new disposition intended to be
substituted, the revocation will be conditional and dependent upon the
efficacy of the new disposition; and if for any reason, the new will intended
to be made as a substitute is inoperative, the revocation fails and the
original will remains in full force (Vda. De Molo vs. Molo 90 Phil 37).

Principle of Instanter - The express revocation of the first will renders it

void because the revocatory clause of the second will, not being
testamentary in character, operates to revoke the previous will instantly
upon the execution of the will containing it.

NOTE: In implied revocation, the first will is not instantly revoked by the
second will because the inconsistent testamentary dispositions of the latter
do not take effect immediately but only after the death of the testator.

Grounds for Disallowance of a Will (ART. 839)

1. Formalities required by law have not been complied with;

2. Testator was insane, or otherwise incapable of making a will, at the time
of its execution;
3. Will was executed through force or under duress, or the influence of fear,
or threats;
4. Will was procured by undue and improper pressure and influence, on the
part of the beneficiary or of some other person;
5. Signature of the testator was procured by fraud;
6. Testator acted by mistake or did not intend that the instrument he
signed should be his will at the time of affixing his signature thereto.

NOTE: GROUNDS ARE EXCLUSIVE.

Presumption of Equality – Heirs instituted without designation of shares

shall inherit in equal parts. This is limited only to the case where all of the
heirs are of the same class or juridical condition, and where there are
compulsory heirs among the heirs instituted, it should be applied only to the
disposable free portion.

Presumption of Individuality – When the testator institutes some heirs

individually and others collectively, those collectively designated shall be
considered as individually instituted, unless it clearly appears that the
intention of the testator was otherwise.

Presumption of Simultaneity – when the testator calls to the succession a

person and his children, they are all deemed to have been instituted
simultaneously and not successively.

DOCTRINE OF CONSTRUCTIVE FULFILLMENT - When without the fault

of the fault of the heir, an institucion sub modo * cannot take effect in the
exact manner stated by the testator, it shall be complied with in a manner
most analogous to and in conformity with his wishes.
NOTE: If the condition is casual, the doctrine is not applicable since the
fulfillment of the event which constitutes the condition is independent of the
will of the heir, devisee/legatee. If the condition is potestative or mixed, the
doctrine is applicable.

* Subject to a condition or qualification.

TABLE OF LEGITIMES

SURVIVOR LEGITIME NOTE

LC 1/2 Divide by the # of LC, whether they
survive alone or with concurring CH.
1 LC ½
SS ¼
2 or more LC ½
SS equal to 1 LC
LC ½
IC ½ of 1 LC
All the concurring CH get from the half free
LC ½ portion, the share of the SS having
SS ¼ preference over that of the IC, whose share
IC ½ of 1 LC may suffer reduction pro rata because
there is no preference among themselves.
LPA (Legitimate Whether they survive alone or with
Parents and ½ concurring CH.
Ascendants)
LPA ½ IC succeed in the ¼ in equal shares.
IC ¼
LPA ½
SS ¼
LPA ½
SS 1/8
IC ¼
IC 1/2 Divide equally among the IC.
SS 1/3
IC 1/3
1/3 if marriage is in articulo mortis and
SS 1/2 deceased spouse dies within 3 mos. after
the marriage.
IP (Illegitimate 1/2
Parents)
IP -excluded- Children inherit in the amounts established
Any child It depends in the foregoing rules.
IP ¼ Only the parents are of IC are included.
SS ¼ Grandparents and other ascendants are
excluded.

B. LEGAL OR INTESTATE SUCCESSION - effected by operation of law in

the absence or default of a will.

Rule of Preference between lines - Those in the direct descending line

shall exclude those in the direct ascending and collateral lines, and those in
the direct ascending line shall, in turn, exclude those in the collateral line.
Rule of Proximity - The relative nearest in degree excludes the more
distant ones, saving the right of representation when it properly takes place.
This rule is subject to the rule of preference between lines.

Rule of Equal Division - Relatives in the same degree shall inherit in equal
shares.

XPNs:

1. Division in the ascending line (between paternal and maternal

grandparents);
2. Division among brothers and sisters, some of whom are of the full and
others of half blood; and
3. Division In cases where the right of representation takes place.

NOTE: This rule is subject to the rule of preference between lines.

BARRIER RULE - The illegitimate family cannot inherit by intestate

succession from the legitimate family and vice-versa.

Rule of Double Share for full blood collaterals - When full and half-
blood brothers or sisters, nephews or nieces, survive, the full blood shall
take a portion in the inheritance double that of the half-blood.

NOTE: In case of a disposition made in general terms under Article 959, only
the Rule of Proximity applies.

Regular Order of Succession (Decedent is a legitimate person):

1. Legitimate children or descendants (LCD)

2. Legitimate parents or ascendants (LPA)
3. Illegitimate children or descendants (ICD)
4. Surviving spouse (SS)
5. Brothers and sisters, nephews and nieces (BS/NN)
6. Other collateral relatives within the 5th degree (C5)
7. State

Irregular Order of Succession (Decedent is an illegitimate person):

1. Legitimate children or descendants (LCD)

2. Illegitimate children or descendants (ICD)
3. Illegitimate parents (IP)
4. Surviving spouse (SS)
5. Brothers and sisters, nephews and nieces (BS/NN)
6. State

ORDER OF CONCURRENCE:

1. LCD, ICD, and SS

2. LPA, ICD, and SS
3. ICD and SS
4. SS and IP
5. BS/NN and SS
6. C5 (alone)
 7. State (alone)

TABLE OF INTESTATE SHARES

SURVIVOR INTESTATE SHARE

Any class alone Entire estate
1 LC 1/2
SS 1/2
2 or more LC Consider SS as 1 LC, then divide estate by total
SS number.
LPA 1/2
SS 1/2
LPA 1/2
SS 1/4
IC 1/4
IP 1/2
SS 1/2
(The law is silent. Apply concurrence theory.)
SS 1/2
BS/NN 1/2
1 LC First, satisfy legitimes. Estate would be insufficient.
SS Reduction must be made according to the rules on
IC legitimes. The legitimes of LCD and SS shall always
be first satisfied in preference to the ICD.
2 or more LC First, satisfy legitimes. There would be an excess in
SS the estate. Distribute such excess in the proportion
IC 1:2:2, in accordance with the concurrence theory.

XI. LAND TITLES AND DEEDS

Registration under the Torrens System is a Proceeding in Rem

 Main principle of registration: to make registered titles indeafisible;

 All occupants, adjoining owners, adverse claimants, and other
interested persons are notified of the proceedings, and have a right to
appear in opposition in such application;
 Proceeding against the whole world;
 Proceedings shall be in rem and based on generally accepted principles
under the Torrens system

HOW DOES AN APPLICATION FOR REGISTRATION PROCEED?

1. Application shall be filed with the RTC of the province or city where the
land is situated;
2. Court shall issue an order setting the date and time of the initial hearing
and the public shall be given notice thereof by means of publication,
mailing, and posting;
3. Any person claiming interest may appear and file an opposition, stating
all his objections to the application;
4. The case shall be heard and all conflicting claims of ownership shall be
determined by the court;
5. Once judgment has become final, the court shall issue an order for the
issuance of the decree and corresponding certificate of title in favor of the
person adjudged as entitled to registration.

Forged document can be a source of a valid title - A forged or

fraudulent document may become the root of a valid title if the property has
already been transferred from the name of the owner to that of the forger.
This doctrine serves to emphasize that a person who deals with registered
property in good faith will acquire good title from a forger and be absolutely
protected by a Torrens title. (Sps. Villamil vs. Velasco, G.R. No. 177187)

MIRROR DOCTRINE

GR: Time and again, this Court has ruled that a person dealing with the
owner of registered land is not bound to go beyond the certificate of title as
he is charged with notice of burdens on the property which are noted on the
face of the register or on the certificate of title. (San Lorenzo Devt Corp vs.
CA, G.R. No. 124242, 2005)

XPNs:

1. Person who deals with registered land through someone who is not the
registered owner, he is expected to look behind the certificate of title and
examine all the factual circumstances, in order to determine if the vendor
has the capacity to transfer any interest in the land.  He has the duty to
ascertain the identity of the person with whom he is dealing and the
latter’s legal authority to convey.

2. Party has actual knowledge of facts and circumstances that would impel a
reasonably cautious man to make such inquiry or when the purchaser has
knowledge of a defect or the lack of title in his vendor or of sufficient
facts to induce a reasonably prudent man to inquire into the status of the
title of the property in litigation.  One who falls within the exception can
neither be denominated an innocent purchaser for value nor a purchaser
in good faith.

3. Banking and Financial Institutions.

CURTAIN PRINCIPLE - in that one does not need to go behind the

certificate of title because it contains all the information about the title of its
holder. This principle dispenses with the need of proving ownership by long
complicated documents kept by the registered owner, which may be
necessary under a private conveyancing system, and assures that all the
necessary information regarding ownership is on the certificate of title.
Consequently, the avowed objective of the Torrens system is to obviate
possible conflicts of title by giving the public the right to rely upon the face
of the Torrens certificate and, as a rule, to dispense with the necessity of
inquiring further; on the part of the registered owner, the system gives him
complete peace of mind that he would be secured in his ownership as long
as he has not voluntarily disposed of any right over the covered land. (Cusi
vs. Domingo, G.R. No. 195825, February 27, 2013)
Principle of primus tempore, potior jure (first in time, stronger in
right) - gains greater significance in case of double sale of immovable
property. When the thing sold twice is an immovable, the one who acquires
it and first records it in the Registry of Property, both made in good faith,
shall be deemed the owner. Verily, the act of registration must be coupled
with good faith— that is, the registrant must have no knowledge of the
defect or lack of title of his vendor or must not have been aware of facts
which should have put him upon such inquiry and investigation as might be
necessary to acquaint him with the defects in the title of his vendor. (San
Lorenzo Devt Corp vs. CA, G.R. No. 124242, 2005)

XII. TORTS AND DAMAGES

SOURCES OF OBLIGATION

CONTRACT QUASI-DELICT DELICT

Vinculum Contract Negligent act/ Act/omission
Juris omission (culpa, committed by means
imprudence) of dolo (deliberate,
malicious, in badfaith
Proof Preponderance Preponderance of Proof beyond
required of evidence evidence reasonable doubt
Defense/s Exercise of Exercise of diligence
available extraordinary of good father of a
diligence (in family in the
contract of selection and
carriage), Force supervision of
Majeure. employees
Pre-existing Yes None None
contract
Burden of Contracting Victim must prove Prosecution –
Proof party must the ff: (1) damage; Accused is presumed
Prove the ff: (2) negligence; (3) innocent until the
(1) Existence of causal connection contrary is proved.
a contract; between negligence
(2) breach and damage done

DEFENSES:

1. CONTRIBUTORY NEGLIGENCE - plaintiff was also negligent together

with the defendant; to constitute a defense, proximate cause of
injury/damage must be the negligence of defendant;

2. CONCURRENT NEGLIGENCE - both parties are equally negligent; the

courts will leave them as they are; there can be no recovery.

3. DOCTRINE OF LAST CLEAR CHANCE - even though a person’s own

acts may have placed him in a position of peril and an injury results, the
injured is entitled to recover if the defendant thru the exercise of
reasonable care and prudence might have avoided injurious
consequences to the plaintiff.
 This defense is available only in an action by the driver or owner of one
vehicle against the driver or owner of the other vehicle involved.

4. EMERGENCY RULE – a person is not expected to exercise the same

degree of care when he is compelled to act instinctively under a sudden
peril because a person confronted with a sudden emergency may be left
with no time for thought and must make a speedy decision upon impulse
or instinct.

5. DOCTRINE OF ASSUMPTION OF RISK (Volenti non fit injuria) -

One who voluntarily assumed the risk of an injury from a known danger
cannot recover in an action for negligence or an injury is incurred.

NUISANCE - any act, omission, establishment, condition of property, or

anything else which injures or endangers the health or safety to others, or
annoys or offends the senses, or shocks, defies, or disregards decency or
morality, or obstructs or interferes with the free passage of any public
highwayor streets, or any body of water, hinders or impairs use of property

KINDS :

NUISANCE PER SE - denounced as nuisance by common law or by statute

NUISANCE PER ACCIDENS - those which are in their nature not nuisances,
but may become so by reason of their locality, surroundings, or the manner
in which they may be conducted, managed, etc.

PUBLIC - affects a community or neighborhood or any considerable number

of persons.

REMEDIES AGAINST PUBLIC NUISANCES:

1. Prosecution under the RPC or any local ordinance;

2. Civil action;
3. Abatement, without judicial proceeding

PRIVATE - one that is not included in the foregoing definition; affect an

individual or a limited number of individuals only.

REMEDIES AGAINST PRIVATE NUISANCES:

1. Civil action;
2. Abatement, without judicial proceedings

DOCTRINE OF ATTRACTIVE NUISANCE - the attractiveness of the

premises or of the dangerous instrumentality to children of tender years is to
be considered as an implied invitation, which takes the children who
accepted it out of the category of a trespasser and puts them in the category
of invitees, towards whom the owner of the premises or instrumentality
owes the duty of ordinary care.

Kinds of Damages: (MENTAL)

MORAL
EXEMPLARY
NOMINAL
TEMPERATE
ACTUAL
LIQUIDATED

1. ACTUAL / COMPENSATORY - adequate compensation for the value of

loss suffered AND profits which obligee failed to obtain; requires proof
(ex. Receipts)

2. MORAL DAMAGES:

a. Physical suffering
b. Besmirched reputation
c. Mental anguish
d. Fright
e. Moral shock
f. Wounded feelings
g. Social humiliation
h. Serious anxiety

• Sentimental value of real or personal property may be considered in

adjudicating moral damages

• The social and economic/financial standing of the offender and the

offended party should be taken into consideration in the computation of
moral damages

• Moral damages is awarded only to enable the injured party to obtain

means, diversions or amusements that will serve to alleviate the moral
suffering he has undergone, by reason of defendant's culpable action and
not intended to enrich a complainant at the expense of defendant.

3. NOMINAL DAMAGES - adjudicated in order that a right of the plaintiff,

which has been violated or invaded by the defendant, may be vindicated
or recognized, and not for the purpose of indemnifying the plaintiff for
any loss suffered by him.

4. TEMPERATE OR MODERATE DAMAGES - more than nominal but less

than compensatory where some pecuniary loss has been suffered but its
amount can't be proved with certainty due to the nature of the case.

5. LIQUIDATED DAMAGES - those agreed upon by the parties to a

contract, to be paid in case of breach thereof.

6. EXEMPLARY OR CORRECTIVE DAMAGES - imposed by way example

or correction for the public good, in addition to the moral, temperate,
liquidated to compensatory damages.