DIFFERENT KINDS OF OBLIGATIONS 1

Joint and Solidary Obligations

Module 6

Objective: By the end of this module, the student must be able to at least understand, familiarize
and submit a written on line report on the items listed below. A time limited on-line quiz exam
may be given at the end of the session concerning other matters contained in the discussion
below. The answer to the quiz will be submitted together with the on line report.

a. Divisible obligation
b. Kinds of division
c. Obligations deemed divisible
d. Indivisible obligation
e. Kinds of indivisibility
f. Effect of non-compliance by a co-debtor in a joint indivisible obligation
g. Obligations deemed indivisible

SECTION 5. — Divisible and Indivisible Obligations

ART. 1223. The divisibility or indivisibility of the things that are the object of obligations
in which there is only one debtor and only one creditor does not alter or modify the
provisions of Chapter 2 of this Title. (1149)

Meaning of divisible and indivisible obligations.

(1) A divisible obligation is one the object of which, in its delivery or performance, is capable
of partial fulfi llment.
(2) An indivisible obligation is one the object of which, in its delivery or performance, is not
capable of partial fulfi llment.

Test for the distinction.

In determining whether an obligation is divisible or not, the controlling circumstance is not the
possibility or impossibility of partial prestation but the purpose of the obligation or the intention
of the parties. Hence, even though the object or service may be physically divisible, an
obligation is indivisible if so provided by law or intended by the parties. (Art. 1225, par. 3.)
However, if the object is not physically divisible or the service is not susceptible of partial
performance (Art. 1225, par. 1.), the obligation is always indivisible, the intention of the parties
to the contrary notwithstanding. This rule is absolute.
An obligation is presumed indivisible where there is only one creditor and only one debtor. (see
Art. 1248.)

Applicability of Article 1223.

While Article 1223 appears to be limited to real obligations because it speaks of “things,” the
word is used in its broad sense as referring to

244
Art. 1223

the object or prestation of the obligation, which may be to deliver a thing or to render some
service.
 DIFFERENT KINDS OF OBLIGATIONS 2
Joint and Solidary Obligations

EXAMPLES:
(1) D agreed to pay C P2,000.00 in four equal monthly installments. The obligation of D is
divisible because it is capable of partial performance.
But if the agreement is that D will pay C on a certain date the full amount of P2,000.00, the
obligation is indivisible although money is physically divisible because the intention of the
parties is that the obligation must be fulfi lled at one time and as a whole (not partially).
The divisibility of an obligation should not, therefore, be confused with the divisibility of the
thing which is the object thereof.
(2) S obliged himself to deliver to B a specifi c car on November 15. This obligation is
indivisible because it is not capable of partial performance. The car must be delivered at
one time and as a whole.
(3) Suppose the agreement is that S will deliver one-half of the car on November 15 and the
other half on November 30. Of course, it would be inconceivable that B would agree to a
partial performance of the obligation, but let us just assume he did. Will the obligation be
divisible or indivisible?
The obligation is still indivisible and S must deliver the whole car on November 15 or
November 30. A defi nite thing like a car, cannot be severed into parts without altering its
essence or destroying its value. It is an essential condition of the fi tness of a thing to be
divisible that it is possible, by uniting the diverse portions thereof, to reconstruct it as if
existed before its division. (4 Sanchez Roman 93.)

ILLUSTRATIVE CASE:
Contract contemplates stage-by-stage construction and payment approach.
Facts: One of the conditions of the building contract is that C (contractor) shall start the
construction of the building by stages advancing the necessary amount needed for each
stage of work and O (owner), to reimburse the amount spent on the work accomplished by
C before proceeding to the next stage, and that C will give a new performance bond in
proportion to the remaining value or cost of the unfi nished work as per approved plans and
specifi cations.
Issue: Does the amount of the bond (20%) refer to the whole unfi nished work?
Art. 1223

Held: No. The parties contemplate a divisible obligation necessitating a performance “in
proportion to” the uncompleted work. The quoted words mean a bond equal to 20% of the
next stage of work to be done. It would have been different were C is required to give a new
performance bond to cover the remaining value cost of the unfi nished work of the
construction. (Pasay City Government vs. CFI of Manila, 132 SCRA 156
[1987]; see Gonzales vs. Court of Appeals, 124 SCRA 630 [1983].)

Kinds of division.
They are:
(1) Qualitative division or one based on quality, not on number or quantity of the things that
are the object of the obligation.
 DIFFERENT KINDS OF OBLIGATIONS 3
Joint and Solidary Obligations

EXAMPLE:
A and B are heirs of C. They agreed to divide the inheritance as follows: to A — a house
and lot and home appliances and to B — a ricefi eld, a car and P100,000.00 cash.

(2) Quantitative division or one based on quantity rather than on quality.

EXAMPLE:
In the preceding example, if the inheritance consists only of a ricefi eld its partition by
metes and bounds into two equal parts is a quantitative division. Another example, is when
A and B divide 300 cavans of palay harvested from the ricefi eld or the P100,000.00 cash.

(3) Ideal or intellectual division or one which exists only in the minds of the parties.

EXAMPLE:
Suppose the car and the ricefi eld in the fi rst example, were inherited by both A and B.
As co-owners, their one-half shares in the car are not separable in a material way but only
mentally. Similarly, before the land is actually divided between A and B, they are merely co-
owners, and neither one of them can say that he is the absolute owner of a specifi c portion
thereof.
Art. 1224

Kinds of indivisibility.
They are:
(1) Legal indivisibility. — where a specifi c provision of law declares as indivisible,
obligations which, by their nature, are divisible (Art. 1225, par. 3.);
(2) Conventional indivisibility. — where the will of the parties makes as indivisible,
obligations which, by their nature, are divisible (Ibid.); and
(3) Natural indivisibility. — where the nature of the object or prestation does not admit of
division, e.g., to give a particular car, to sing a song, etc. (Ibid., par. 1.)

Where there is only one creditor and one debtor.

The provisions of Chapter 2, Title 1, regarding the “Nature and Effect of Obligations” in general
(Arts. 1163 to 1178.) are also applicable to divisible or indivisible obligations. They contemplate
obligations involving only one creditor and only one debtor.
Since divisibility or indivisibility refers to the object or prestation (see Art. 1210.), it does not
alter or modify said provisions. (Art. 1223.) When there is only one creditor and one debtor, the
latter has to perform the obligation in its totality, whether or not the prestation is divisible.
Unless there is an express stipulation to that effect, says Article 1248 (par. 1.), the creditor
cannot be compelled partially to receive the prestations in which the obligation consists; and in
accordance with Article 1232, an obligation is not deemed paid unless the thing or service in
which the obligation consists has been completely delivered or rendered, as the case may be.

ART. 1224. A joint indivisible obligation gives rise to indemnity for damages from the
time anyone of the debtors does not comply with his undertaking. The debtors who may
 DIFFERENT KINDS OF OBLIGATIONS 4
Joint and Solidary Obligations

have been ready to fulfi ll their promises shall not contribute to the indemnity beyond the
corresponding portion of the price of the thing or of the value of the service in which the
obligation consists.
(1150)

Art. 1225

Effect of non-compliance by a debtor in a joint indivisible obligation.

If any one of the debtors does not comply with his undertaking in a joint indivisible obligation,
the obligation is transformed into one for damages, i.e., to pay money. The creditor cannot ask
for specifi c performance or rescission because there is no cause of action against the other
debtors who are willing to fulfi ll their promises.
In a solidary obligation, the breach by a co-debtor makes all debtors liable for damages. The
obligation remains solidary without prejudice to their right against the guilty or negligent debtor.
(Art. 1221, par. 2.) In a joint indivisible obligation, the effect of non-compliance by a debtor is to
make all the debtors liable for damages but the innocent debtors shall not contribute beyond
their respective shares of the obligation. The obligation becomes a divisible one.
The above provision has already been explained under Article 1209.
ART. 1225. For the purposes of the preceding articles, obligations to give defi nite
things and those which are not susceptible of partial performance shall be deemed to be
indivisible.
When the obligation has for its object the execution of a certain number of days of work,
the accomplishment of work by metrical units, or analogous things which by their nature
are susceptible of partial performance, it shall be divisible.
However, even though the object or service may be physically divisible, an obligation is
indivisible if so provided by law or intended by the parties.
In obligations not to do, divisibility or indivisibility shall be determined by the character of
the prestation in each particular case. (1151a)

Obligations deemed indivisible.

The above article lays down the general rule for determining the divisibility or indivisibility of an
obligation. As has been seen, however, the purpose of the obligation is the controlling
circumstance. This rule applies not only to obligations to give but also to those of doing or not
doing. (4 Sanchez Roman 94.)
Divisible and indivisible obligations are not to be confused with divisible and indivisible
contracts. (see Art. 1420.)
Art. 1225

(1) Obligations to give defi nite things (par. 1.). —

EXAMPLES:
To give a particular electric fan; to deliver a specifi c car. Here, the obligation is indivisible
because of the nature of the subject matter.
 DIFFERENT KINDS OF OBLIGATIONS 5
Joint and Solidary Obligations

(2) Obligations which are not susceptible of partial performance

(Ibid.). —

EXAMPLES:
To sing a song; to dance the “tinikling.”
Here, the obligation is indivisible by reason of its purpose which requires the performance
of all the parts.
Is the obligation still indivisible, if there are more than one participant? The obligation
becomes divisible as far as the participants are concerned because it is capable of partial
performance.

(3) Obligations provided by law to be indivisible even if thing or service is physically divisible
(par. 3.). —

EXAMPLE:
Under the law, taxes should be paid within a defi nite period. Although money is physically
divisible, the amount of tax payable must be delivered in toto, not partially.

(4) Obligations intended by the parties to be indivisible even if thing or service is physically
divisible (par. 3.). —

EXAMPLES:
The obligation of D to give P1,000.00 to C on a certain date. Money is physically divisible
but the clear intention here is for D to deliver P1,000.00 at one time and as a whole.
Suppose there are two debtors, D and E, is the obligation still indivisible? The obligation
becomes divisible as far as D and E are concerned because the delivery of P1,000.00 can
be done in parts, e.g., P500.00 by D and P500.00 by E. However, as far as C is concerned,
the obligation remains indivisible because its performance cannot be done in parts.
Art. 1225

Obligations deemed divisible.

(1) Obligations which have for their object the execution of a certain number of days of work
(par. 1.). —

EXAMPLE:
The obligation of X to paint the house of Y, the painting to be fi nished in 10 days. Here, the
obligation need not be fulfi lled at one time.

(2) Obligations which have for their object the accomplishment of work by metrical units
(Ibid.). —
EXAMPLES:
The obligation of X to make a table, 3 feet wide and 5 feet long; the obligation of X and Y to
deliver 20 cubic meters of sand.
But the obligation of X alone to deliver 20 cubic meters of sand is indivisible.
 DIFFERENT KINDS OF OBLIGATIONS 6
Joint and Solidary Obligations

(3) Obligations which by their nature are susceptible of partial performance (Ibid.). —

EXAMPLE:
The obligation of X to teach “Obligations and Contracts” for one year in a university; the
obligation of Y to render 3 song numbers in a program; the obligation of Z to pay a debt of
P12,000.00 in 12 monthly installments of P1,000.00 (see Soriano vs. Montes, 1 SCRA 366
[1961].) but each prestation to pay P1,000.00 is indivisible as it is to be delivered at one
time and in its totality.

Divisibility or indivisibility in obligations not to do.

In negative obligations not to do, the character of the prestation in each particular case shall
determine their divisibility or indivisibility.
(Ibid.)

EXAMPLES:
(1) Indivisible obligation. — X obliged himself to Y not to sell cigarettes in his store for one
year. Here, the obligation should be fulfi lled continuously during a certain period.
Art. 1225

(2) Divisible obligation. — If the obligation of X is not to sell cigarettes in his stores only
during Sundays and holidays, the obligation is divisible because the forbearance is not
continuous.

Obligations “to do” and “not to do” are generally indivisible. Obligations “to do” stated in
paragraph 2 of Article 1225 are divisible.

— oOo —