CLASSIFICATION OF PROPERTY
Article 414. All things which are or may be the object of appropriation
are considered either:
(1) Immovable or real property; or
(2) Movable or personal property.
As to their nature (mobility)
Immovable or real (415)
---things that are
permanently or intended to
be permanently attached
or fixed to another thing, or
cannot be transferred from
place to place, OR
---if can be transferred, the
transfer cannot be done
without injury or damage to
the immovable to which
they are attached
Examples
In PIL
---immovables are
governed by the law of the
country where they are
located
In criminal law
---usurpation of property if
real property
In procedure
---actions are brought in
the RTC where the
property is located
---action to recover
possession may be an
Movable or personal
Mixed
(416-7)
---if not real, then personal ---neither movable nor
immovable
(1) Movables rendered
immovable by
reason of being
immobilized by
destination or thru
attachment to
immovables
(2) Immovables that are
treated as movables
because they can
be transplanted or
dismantled or
moved to another
place without
impairing their
substance
(3) Animals in animal
houses, are
classified as
immovables though
transferrable from
place to place or
they can move by
themselves
In common law
---movables are governed ---leasehold (part land, part
by the personal law of the chattel) is a chattel real
owner which is the of his
nationality or the law of his
domicile
---robbery or theft if
personal property
---actions are brought in
the court where the
defendant resides or may
be found, or where the
plaintiff resides, at the
election of the plaintiff
 action for forcible entry and
unlawful detainer ---plaintiff may avail of the
provisional remedy or
manual delivery
In contracts
---only real property can be ---only personal property
the subject of real can be the subject matter
mortgage and antichresis of simple loan or mutuum,
voluntary deposit, pledge,
and chattel mortgage
In donation
---for it to be valid, it must ---may be made orally or in
be made in a public writing unless the value
document (749) exceeds P5,000 (if it
exceeds 5k, it need only
be in a private instrument
(748)
In prescription
---ownership over --- ownership over
immovables is acquired by movables is acquired by
prescription, although prescription in only 8 years
there is bad faith, in 30
years (1137)

Property may be classified as follows:

(1) As to their nature: (b) future (e.g., ungathered crops).

(a) Real;
(b) Personal; or (8) As to their dependence or
(c) Mixed. importance:
(a) principal (e.g., land on which a house
(2) As to their ownership: is built); or
(a) Public; or (b) accessory (e.g., house built on a
(b) Private. land).

(9) As to their definiteness or

(3) As to their divisibility: designation:
(a) Divisible (e.g., sack of rice); or (a) generic; or
(b) Indivisible (e.g., car). (b) specific.

(4) As to their consumability: (10) As to their manifestability to the

(a) Consumable; or senses:
(b) Non-consumable. (a) corporeal; or
(b) incorporeal (e.g., rights).
(5) As to their susceptibility of
substitution:
(a) Fungible; or
(b) Non-fungible.

(6) As to their alienability:

(a) Within the commerce of man; or
(b) Outside the commerce of men.

(7) As to their existence in time:

(a) existing or present; or
Importance of classification:
---the condition of property as movables or immovables affects all property, such as
acquisition, use, and loss, and particularly such important aspects thereof as
prescription, registration, possession, etc., which are governed by different provisions of
law.

IMMOVABLE OR REAL PROPERTY (415)

Article 415. The following are immovable property:

(1) Land, buildings, roads and constructions of all kinds adhered

to the soil;
(2) Trees, plants, and growing fruits, while they are attached to
the land or form an integral part of an immovable;
(3) Everything attached to an immovable in a fixed manner, in
such a way that it cannot be separated therefrom without
breaking the material or deterioration of the object;
(4) Statues, reliefs, paintings or other objects for use or
ornamentation, placed in buildings or on lands by the owner
of the immovable in such a manner that it reveals the
intention to attach them permanently to the tenements;
(5) Machinery, receptacles, instruments or implements intended
by the owner of the tenement for an industry or works which
may be carried on in a building or on a piece of land, and
which tend directly to meet the needs of the said industry or
works;
(6) Animal houses, pigeon-houses, beehives, fish ponds or
breeding places of similar nature, in case their owner has
placed them or preserves them with the intention to have
them permanently attached to the land, and forming a
permanent part of it; the animals in these places are
included;
(7) Fertilizer actually used on a piece of land;
(8) Mines, quarries, and slag dumps, while the matter thereof
forms part of the bed, and waters either running or stagnant;
(9) Docks and structures which, though floating, are intended by
their nature and object to remain at a fixed place on a river,
lake, or coast;
(10) Contracts for public works, and servitudes and other real
rights over immovable property.

Classes:

1. By nature --- cannot be carried from place to place (par. 1 & 2)

2. By incorporation --- attached to an immovable in a fixed manner to be
an integral part thereof (par. 1-4, 6)
3. By destination --- placed in an immovable for the utility it gives to the
activity carried thereon (par.4-6, 7, 9)
 4. By analogy --- classified by express provision of law because it is
regarded as united to the immovable property (par. 10)

PAR. 1: “Lands, buildings, roads, and constructions of all

kinds” must adhere to the soil.

(1)LAND --- immovable even if rented

(2)BUILDINGS ---

GENERAL RULE: immovable, provided that it is more or less

permanent, independent of and regardless of ownership of
the land it was built on.

EXCEPTIONS (movables ni sila if):

(a)Structures which are merely superimposed on the soil

(e.g. barong-barong)

(b)Building or house which is sold to be demolished

shortly afterwards (subject matter of the contract are
the materials thereof)

(c) Demolished house (immovability ceases) ---- effect:

action for recovery of damages does not involve title to
real property

(3)ROAD AND CONSTRUCTIONS --- private or public roads; wall/fence

is immovable by incorporation (as long as there is an intent to attach
it permanently)

EXAMPLES

***Mortgagor – utangan/debtor

1. FACTS: AF bought machinery from SM and executed a chattel mortgage

thereon. Giapil sa mortgage deed ang building nga gitaptan sa
machinery, way apil land. AF failed to pay and the mortgaged property
was bought by SM.

Weeks later, AF tried to sell to SM the land where the building and the
machinery stood. This deed of sale (public document) was not
registered.

When the chattel mortgage was executed in favor of SM, AF (mortgagor)

mortgaged to LY the building—separate and apart from the land on
which it stood—para mabayaran ang utang ni AF kang LY. Wala
 nakabayad si AF. LY levied execution upon the building, bought and
registered it.

Kuhaon na ni LY ang building. But SM has it in its possession.

Trial judge decided in favor of SM on the ground that the company had
its title to the building registered prior to the date of registry of LY’s
certificate.

ISSUE: WHO HAS A BETTER RIGHT TO THE BUILDING?

HELD: SM, but on the ground of prior possession.

i. The annotation in the chattel mortgage registry cannot be given

the legal effect of an inscription in the registry of real property.

The building of strong materials in which the rice-cleaning

machinery installed by AF was real property.

ii. Neither the purchase of the building by the plaintiff nor his
inscription of the sheriff’s certificate of sale in his favor was made
in good faith.

2. FACTS: V owns a house of strong materials built on a rented land. V

executed a chattel mortgage on both the leasehold interest on said lot
and house in favor of Standard Oil. Standard Oil wanted the mortgage to
be recorded in the registry, but the registry refused to recognize it as a
chattel mortgage as it involved real property.

ISSUE: Is it the ministerial duty of the register of deeds to accept the

proper fee and place the instrument on record?

HELD: Yes. The duties of a register of deeds in respect to the

registration of chattel mortgages are of a purely ministerial character. A
register of deeds has no power to determine the nature of any document
of which registration is sought as a chattel mortgage.

Obiter dictum: There is no clear delineation between what is real or

personal property. Under given conditions, a property may have
character different from that imputed to it in Articles 415 and 416.

Contracting parties may validly stipulate that a real property be

considered as personal.

Real property treated by the parties as personal property

***Valid real estate mortgage --- only the building erected on the land, even
if the land belongs to another
BUT Contracting parties may validly stipulate that a real property be
considered as personal.

(1)Chattel mortgage on real property --- “leasehold rights and building”;

“a house of mixed materials which by its very nature is considered
real property”

a. Chattel mortgage not binding on third persons --- bisan nag-

agree ang contracting parties to treat a real property as a
personal property, dili ni siya binding on third persons.

b. Venue of real action involving building --- bisan separate and

pag trato sa building and the land on which it is erected,
immovable gihapon ang building.

(2)Chattel mortgage on house built on rented land --- the law does not
distinguish as to who owns the land on which a building is built

a. On rented land owned by another person --- house can be the

subject matter of a chattel mortgage as personal property if so
agreed by the parties

b. Mortgaged house built on rented land --- personal property

because (1) the deed considers it as such, and (2) it did not
form part of the land [an object placed on land by one who has
only a temporary right to the same does not become
immobilized by attachment.]

c. Declaration of house as chattel = stating that he “leases, sells,

and transfers by way of chattel mortgage the property together
with its leasehold rights over a lot”

BECAUSE: he means to convey the house as chattel, or

intends to treat it as such

(3)Chattel mortgage on immobilized machineries and equipment ---

bisan “heavy, bolted, or cemented” ang machineries on real property
mortgaged, dili siya ipso facto immovable. Thus, even if it appears
immovable, it can still be considered personal property. In short,
pwede ma-subject matter of a chattel mortgage ang machineries
even if they appear to be immovable.

(4)Lease of immobilized machines treated as personal property --- bisan

immovable by destination (415[5]), personal gihapon because it was
stipulated in the lease agreement that the machines are to be treated
as such.
PAR. 2: “Trees, plants, and growing fruits” while they are
attached to the land OR form an integral part of an
immovable

(derive their existence or sustenance from the soil)

1. Trees and plants ---

 immovable by nature if spontaneous products of the soil;
 immovable by incorporation if produced through cultivation or
labor;
 cut up or uprooted trees are movable (XPN: uprooted timber);
 since trees and plants annexed to the land form parts thereof,
they become part of the person’s property (XPN: unless others
claim rights and interests in such trees and plants.

2. Growing fruits ---

 may be treated as personal property under certain conditions;
 in the context of sale of growing crops, the transaction is “sale
of movables” because the crops are GATHERED AND
HARVESTED for delivery, thus, NO LONGER ATTACHED to
the land

PAR. 3: “Everything attached to an immovable” in a fixed

manner

Cannot be separated from the immovable without breaking the material

or deteriorating of the object” (includes things that are immovable by
incorporation)

Rule: bisan ma-separate ang thing from an immovable, immovable gihapon

siya IF there is an intent to put it back or restore it. (Some sources say that the
primary consideration is the attachment to an immovable, thus, separation from the
immovable means that the thing is already movable)

Intent to attach permanently is essential --- physical attachment w/o the

intent of permanent attachment is not enough. (e.g. money buried in the
ground is movable kay naa may intention nga kuhaon siya eventually)

PAR. 4: “Statues, reliefs, paintings, or other objects for use

OR ornamentation” must reveal the intention to attach them
permanently to the tenements

1. Objects must be placed by owner --- owner himself or agent of the

owner, but NOT lessee or usufructuary UNLESS he acts as the agent
of the owner, of the immovable
 2. Intent to attach permanently is essential --- immovable by
incorporation (attach permanently) AND by destination (for use or
ornamentation);

Distinction from par. 3: can be separated from the immovable without

damage to the immovable, while in par. 3, the thing is attached in a
fixed manner and separation would mean damage or deterioration of
the immovable

PAR. 5: “Machinery, receptacles, instruments, or

implements”

Requisites:

1. Machinery must be placed by the owner of the tenement OR his

agent --- same rules as par. 3.

a. Lessee acts as agent of the owner --- stipulated in the lease

that the machinery shall become part of the plant belonging to
the owner upon termination of the lease w/o compensation to
the lessee (immobilization of machinery arises from the owner’s
act of giving permanent destination to the machinery, through
the contract)

b. Machinery placed by lessee not included in improvements to be

returned to the lessor upon end of lease --- considered as
personal property, esp. if the machinery are the subject matter
of a chattel mortgage executed by the lessee in favor of third
persons

c. Machinery immobilized by destination can be treated as

personal property

d. Machinery is susceptible to seizure under a search warrant --- if

the machinery’s owner is not the owner of the land or building
where the machinery is found

2. Industry or works must be carried on in a building OR on a piece of

land --- e.g. furniture of an inn; furnishings and machinery of a
theater

a. Principal elements v. incidentals --- incidentals should not be

considered immobilized by destination, for these businesses
can continue or carry on their functions without these
equipment
i. Principal --- brewery machines for liquor manufacturers
 ii. Incidentals --- delivery trucks found in their compound are
incidentals

b. Permanent part of tenements

i. Additional machinery which are installed in a permanent
manner are also immovable (included in the real estate
mortgage)
ii. Selling by the sheriff of sawmill machineries and
equipment at public auction without a notice of the sale
having been previously published --- null and void
because the machineries were part of the real estate

c. Electrical poles and steel supports --- personal property

because
i. (1) not buildings under par. 1,
ii. (2) could be easily dismantled,
iii. (3) will not cause damage to immovable they attached,
thus not falling under par. 3,
iv. (4) not under par. 5 bcos dili siya machinery and not
intended for industry or works on the land in which they
are constructed

d. Attachment or incorporation to immovable NOT ESSENTIAL ---

immovable by destination, NOT NECESSARY by attachment or
incorporation; kung di na gamiton for the intended industry or
works, mahimo na siyang movable

Bisan gibutang sa owner in a building ang usa ka machine unya

not intended to be used by him, MOVABLE siya bisan ug it
“tends to directly meet the needs…”

3. Machinery must tend to directly meet the needs of the said industry
or works. --- without the machinery, the industry or works would be
unable to function or carry on its intended industrial purpose

EXAMPLES:

1. Gas station machinery and equipment were made subject to real

property tax by the assessment board ---
a. REAL PROPERTY by attachment and by destination --- as far
as real property tax assessment is concerned
b. Personal becomes real property by destination --- in Davao
Sawmill case, dili siya real property because the LESSEE
installed the machineries ON RENTED LAND. In the Caltex
case, Caltex itself installed the machineries.
c. Real may include things generally regarded as personal
property --- if so agreed by the parties, and for purposes of
realty tax
 d. Personal attached to real in a fixed manner --- subject to realty
tax

2. Two storage oil tanks on leased land were made subject to real
estate tax by the assessment board

FACTS: Meralco installed 2 oil tanks on a lot leased from Caltex

(within Caltex refinery compound). The Board of Assessment ruled
that the tanks, together with the foundation, walls, dikes, steps,
pipelines and other appurtenances constitute taxable improvements.

Meralco disagrees. the tanks are not attached to the land and that
they were placed on leased land, not on the land owned by Meralco.

ISSUE: Are the tanks subject to realty tax?

HELD: Yes. Tanks are installed with some degree of permanence ---
although generally regarded as personal, pwede siya real due to
permanence

PAR. 6: “Animal houses, pigeon houses, beehives, fish

ponds or breeding places of similar nature” permanently
forming part of the land and so intended by the owner
(animals* included; included in par. 1: “other kinds adhered to the soil”)
*for purposes of classification --- personal in case of alienation
*for purposes of the criminal law --- they may be the subject of theft or robbery

PAR. 7: “Fertilizers” actually used on land

Immovable by destination
1. Only when actually used --- form part of the land
2. Not used but placed on land intended for cultivation --- MOVABLE

PAR. 8: (a) “Mines, quarries, and slag dumps” forming part*

of the bed, and (b) “waters”**

* “forming part” --- unsevered from soil; if severed, minerals na, thus
movable

** “waters” --- running or stagnant (e.g. part of sea that is appropriable;

river, lake, canals, aqueducts). “Water” =/= “waters” because water in itself
is movable
PAR. 9: “Dock and structures” intended to remain at a fixed
place on a river, lake, or coast

“though floating” --- only if intended to be at a fixed place

REASON: waters are considered immovables, thus structures united to the

in a fixed manner are also immovables

Ships or vessels --- PERSONAL; but partake of the nature and condition
of real property due to their importance in commerce

PAR. 10: “Contracts for public works and servitudes and

other real rights over immovables”

If the subject of a real right is real property --- the RIGHT ITSELF is REAL
PROPERTY

If the subject of a real right is personal property --- the RIGHT ITSELF is
PERSONAL PROPERTY

GENERAL RULE: a PERSONAL RIGHT is always PERSONAL

PROPERTY

EXCEPTION: This provision is the exception. Art. 415(10).

MOVABLE OR PERSONAL PROPERTY (416-418)

Classes:

416 (1): Those not included in Art. 415 --- e.g. ships or vessels;
interest in a business, wild or domesticated animals, car, books, money,
jewelry

416 (2): Real considered personal by special provision of law

a. Growing crops under Chattel Mortgage Law; “The existence of

a right on the growing crops is a mobilization [not
immobilization] by anticipation, gathering as it were in advance,
rendering the crop movable.” Sibal v. Valdez.

b. Machinery placed by lessee not acting as owner’s agent

416 (3): Forces of nature --- e.g. electricity, gas, rays, heat, light,
oxygen, atomic energy, water power;

Electricity is capable of appropriation thus can be the subject of theft

416 (4): In general, all movable things --- three-fold test to
determine movability

a. whether the property can be transported or carried from place

to place
b. whether such change of location can be made without
injuring the immovable to which the object may be attached;
and
c. whether the object does not fall within any of the ten cases
enumerated in Art. 415

417 (1): Obligations1 and actions --- have definite passive subject;
“property” can be corporeal (things) and incorporeal (rights)

a. E.g. contracts, promises, or obligations which gives the creditor

the right recover movable property or a sum of money from the
debtor

But if a loan is secured by real estate mortgage, the loan is real

property by analogy

b. “demandable sums” --- the amounts are liquidated or

determined. Obligations and actions must be legally
DEMANDABLE or ENFORCEABLE

416 (2): Shares of stocks

“entities” --- include all juridical persons, even partnerships

“stock” --- “participation’’ or “interest’’ e.g. 50% interest in a drug store
business; BUT interest in a real property of the business (such as the
building) is IN ITSELF REAL PROPERTY

Other incorporeal personal property --- e.g. intellectual property

Consumables* versus non-consumables. (capacity for repeated use)

*cannot be used for which they are intended WITHOUT being

consumed e.g. money, food, etc.). Thus, consumables cannot be
repeatedly used.

Commodatum: non-consumables should be the subject matter

because the purpose of the contract is the consumption of the object
e.g. washing machine or motorcycle

Mutuum: the subject matter is consumable e.g. money

1
Art. 1157. Sources of obligation: (1) Laws; (2) Contracts; (3) Quasi-contracts; (4) Delicts; and (5) Quasi-delicts.
 Usufruct: generally should not include consumables

Fungibles versus non-fungibles. (replaceability)

The consumability of a movable depends upon the nature of the thing

itself.

Fungible --- can be substituted by another thing of the same kind,

quantity and quality

Non-fungible --- not replaceable on such equivalents

EXAMPLES:

1. Rice
a. Consumable by nature
b. Non-fungible if for exhibition/display
c. Consumable AND fungible if loaned for consumption
2. Money
a. Non-consumable by nature (physical)
b. Consumable because owner parts with money if it is spent
c. Fungible because you return the equivalent, not the exact bills
you borrowed
d. Non-fungible if you need to return the exact same bills
borrowed
3. Obligation to deliver 10 copies of a particular
a. Fungible, non-consumable

PROPERTY IN RELATION TO THE PERSON TO

WHOM IT BELONGS (419-425)

Public dominion versus private ownership.

Public dominion – owned by the State

(1) in its public or sovereign capacity and

(2) intended for public use and not for the use of the State as a
juridical person

Private ownership – property owned by

(1) the State in its private capacity (patrimonial property) and

 (2) persons, either individually or collectively

Presumption: Property is State property if not proven otherwise. The

burden of proof lies on the person applying for registration.

Dominion and ownership.

Dominion – the State does not really “own” the property but simply
ADMINISTERS (takes care and preserves) those properties under its
jurisdiction for the collective enjoyment of the people

The purpose of “property of public dominion” is to serve the

CITIZENS and NOT the STATE AS A JURIDICAL PERSON (thus
public domain cannot be appropriated by State or private persons)

PROPERTY OF PUBLIC DOMINION

Kinds:

420 (1). Property intended for public use

- can be used by the public or everybody, and not limited to privileged
individuals

NOTE: charging of fees does not determine the property’s character (e.g.
collecting of toll fees does not remove the road’s character as “public
property” “intended for public use”

“others of similar character”

1. Public streams, river channels, river beds, creeks and ester

2. Accretions to the shores of the sea by action of the water
3. Submerged lands, like the waters (sea or bay) above them.
Reclamation (through legislative action or presidential proclamation).
4. Lands that disappeared into the sea by natural erosion (reclaim)
5. Canals constructed on private lands
6. Foreshore lands when the sea moved toward an estate and the tide
invaded it, the invaded property becomes foreshore land and passes
to the realm of the public domain.
7. A lot on which stairways were built for the use of the people as
passageway to the highway.

NOTE:

Roads --- public ways constructed and maintained by the national

government (424)

Canals --- artificial waterways designed for navigation or for irrigating or

draining land.
Port --- a place where ships may take on or discharge cargo; a harbor or
sheltered place which furnishes anchorage for ships.

Ports --- seaports and airports

Shores --- portion of the land bordering the sea and which is subject to the
ebb and flow of the waters.

Roadstead --- a place less sheltered or enclosed than a harbor where ships
may ride at anchor.

SEE Art. 457 and 459 for meaning of rivers, torrents, beds, banks, and
creeks.

420 (2)a. Property which are not for public use but are
intended for some public service
- can be used only by duly authorized persons, such as government
buildings and vehicles

420 (2)b. Property not employed for public use or public

service but intended for the development of the national
wealth
- e.g., minerals, coal, oil, forest, and other natural resources

Property outside the commerce of men.

Property of public dominion are outside the commerce of men. Hence:

1. They cannot be sold, leased or otherwise be the subject matter of

contracts.

2. They cannot be acquired by prescription not even by municipalities as

against the State.

3. They cannot be encumbered, attached, or be subject to levy and sold

at public auction to satisfy a judgment

(RATIONALE: essential public services would be jeopardized if

properties of public dominion are subject to encumbrances,
foreclosures, and disposition through public or private sale.)

4. They cannot be burdened with easements.2

2
Article 613. An easement or servitude is an encumbrance imposed upon an immovable for the benefit of another
immovable belonging to a different owner.
 5. They cannot be registered under the land registration law and be the
subject of a Torrens title.

NOTE: Abandoned river beds belong to private owners of lands

occupied by the new course of waters in proportion to the area lost. 3

Public lands and government lands.

Public lands --- uniformly used to describe so much of the national

domain under the legislative power of Congress as has not been
subjected to private right or devoted to public use. Equivalent to lands
of the public domain and does NOT include all lands of government
ownership.

Government lands --- broader term; It includes not only the first, but
also other lands of the government already reserved, or devoted to
public use, or subject to private rights, and patrimonial lands. In other
words, the government owns real estate which is part of the “public
lands’’ and other real estate which is not a part thereof.

Alienation of public agricultural land.

GR: All natural resources belong to the State and they are not subject
to alienation.

EXC: public agricultural lands

REGALIAN DOCTRINE: The State is the source of any asserted

right to ownership of land

Thus, all lands that do not appear to be privately owned are

presumed to belong to the State.

1. Before public agricultural lands are made available for disposition,

they are property of the public dominion for the development of
national wealth.

a. Not capable of private appropriation

b. Possession thereof cannot convert them into private property
c. When available, they become patrimonial or private property of
the State
d. When acquired by private persons, they become private
property.
The immovable in favor of which the easement is established is called the dominant estate; that which is subject
thereto, the servient estate.

3
Article 461. River beds which are abandoned through the natural change in the course of the waters ipso facto
belong to the owners whose lands are occupied by the new course in proportion to the area lost. However, the
owners of the lands adjoining the old bed shall have the right to acquire the same by paying the value thereof,
which value shall not exceed the value of the area occupied by the new bed.
 2. In the hands of a government agency tasked and authorized to
dispose of alienable or disposable lands of the public domain, these
lands are still public, not private lands.

PATRIMONIAL PROPERTY (421)

Patrimonial property --- property of the State owned by it in its private or

proprietary capacity, i.e., the property is NOT intended for public use, or for
some public service, or for the development of the national wealth.

1. State has same property rights as private individuals. It exists for the
purpose of giving the State the means to exist (to meet economic
ends)

2. Patrimonial property may be acquired by private individuals or

juridical persons through prescription. It can also be the object of an
ordinary contract.

Conversion from public dominion to patrimonial property. (422)

(not self-executing) --- needs formal declaration by the executive OR

legislative action

Application of the Regalian doctrine:

Unless public land is shown to have been reclassified as alienable or
disposable, and subsequently alienated to a private person by the State, it
remains part of the inalienable public domain. Occupation of land in the
concept of owner, no matter how long, cannot ripen in ownership and be
registered as a title.

EXAMPLES:

1. Municipality of Hinunangan v. Director of Lands

FACTS: Gipa-register ang land by the Municipality of Hinunangan.

The land has a stone fort on it which has stood there from time
immemorial and was in times past used as a defense against the
invasion of the Moros. The municipality claimed it had exercised acts
of ownership over the land by permitting it to be occupied and
consenting to the erection of private houses thereon.

ISSUE: Has the land become the property of the municipality?

HELD: NO.
 1. Land became patrimonial property of the State. --- property
of public dominion, WHEN NO LONGER INTENDED FOR
PUBLIC USE OR PUBLIC SERVICE, becomes part of the
patrimonial property of the State (422)

2. Acts of ownership exercised by the municipality did not

convert land into municipal property. --- Occupation of land
in the concept of owner, no matter how long, cannot ripen in
ownership and be registered as a title.

3. Prescription where land has been used for purposes

distinctly public --- rule may be invoked only as to property
which is used distinctly for public purposes. It cannot be
applied against the state when occupied for any other
purposes. The facts do not show that the municipality has
used the land for purposes distinctly public.

2. Cebu Oxygen & Acetylene Co., Inc. v. Bercilles

FACTS: City Council of Cebu (1) declared a portion of a street as

abandoned road and (2) authorized the mayor to sell the land through
public bidding. Cebu Oxygen was the buyer and applied for the
registration of its title. Provincial fiscal opposed on the ground that it
was still public domain.

ISSUE: May the land be subject to registration in the name of the

buyer?

HELD: YES.

1. Municipal corporation has discretionary power to withdraw a

street from public use. --- The power to vacate or withdraw a
street or alley from public use is discretionary. Faithfulness
to the public trust will be presumed. So the fact that some
private interests may be served incidentally will not invalidate
the ordinance

2. Withdrawn property can be the object of ordinary contract.

--- the withdrawn portion becomes patrimonial property
which can be the subject of ordinary contract (422).

THUS, the withdrawal and the subsequent sale being

VALID, Cebu Oxygen can register its title over the road.

3. Laurel v. Garcia
 FACTS: The Roppongi property (designated for the chancery of the
Philippine Embassy in Japan) is part of the indemnification to the
Filipino people for their losses in life and property and their suffering
during World War II. Due to lack of funds, the property has remained
undeveloped. The Government wants to sell the Roppongi property.

ISSUE: Can the Roppongi property be alienated by the Philippine

Government?

HELD: No. Roppongi property is of public dominion, thus, it cannot

be alienated. (420[2]). Its ownership is a special collective ownership
for general use and enjoyment, an application to the satisfaction of
collective needs, and resides in the social group. The purpose is not
to serve the State as a juridical person, but the citizens; it is intended
for the common and public welfare and cannot be the object of
appropriation.

The fact that the Roppongi site has not been used for a long time for
actual Embassy service does not automatically convert it to
patrimonial property. Any such conversion happens only if the
property is withdrawn from public use. A property continues to be part
of the public domain, not available for private appropriation or
ownership until there is a formal declaration on the part of the
government to withdraw it from being such.

Property of political subdivisions (423, 424)

Article 423 classifies property of political subdivisions into property for

public use and patrimonial property. All property other than property for
public use enumerated in Article 424 are patrimonial property.

423-424 --- property for public service  patrimonial

420(2) --- property for public service, NOT for public use  public dominion

Rules:
- political subd. cannot register as their own any part of the public domain
EXC: (1) Congressional grant, (2) presumption of ownership.

EXAMPLES:

1. Capitulo v. Aquino

FACTS: Land was donated by corporation (X) to the City of Manila

(M) exclusively for street purposes. The intended traffic circle was not
implemented by M. C occupied the lot without permission. Later on,
the city mayor granted a lease contract, which was later revoked.

ISSUE: Is the lot property for public use or patrimonial property?

 HELD: Under Article 424, WON the property is actually devoted for
public use or for some public services is immaterial. If the property
has been intended for such use or service and the city has not
devoted it to other uses or adopted any measure, which amounted to
a withdrawal thereof from public use or service, the same remains
property for public use or service. The Mayor of Manila has no right to
lease its public property.

2. Province of Zamboanga Del Norte v. City of Zamboanga

FACTS: After Z Province was divided into two, RA 3039 was passed,
which provides: “All buildings, properties and assets belonging to the
former province of Zamboanga and located within the City of
Zamboanga are hereby transferred, free of charge in favor of the said
City of Zamboanga.’’ The constitutionality of RA 3039 was
questioned.

ISSUE: Whether the lots and buildings thereon are property for public
use or patrimonial property?

HELD: If the property is owned by the municipality (meaning

municipal corporation) in its public and governmental capacity, the
property is public and Congress has absolute control over it. But if the
property is owned in its private or proprietary capacity, then it is
patrimonial and Congress has no absolute control. The capacity in
which the property is held, however, is dependent on the use to which
it is intended and devoted.

Mere registration cannot convert public property to private property.

Municipal property used for public service is not in the same category
of ordinary private property.

3. Salas v. Jarencio

FACTS: City of Manila was the registered owner of a parcel of land.

They asked the President to declare it as patrimonial property but RA
4118 was passed instead, which converted the lot into disposable
and alienable land of the State under the LTA’s disposal (natl govt).

ISSUE: Is the land involved patrimonial property of the City of

Manila?

HELD: NO. Any property is presumed to have come from the State,
in the absence of evidence that such property is private. In this case,
the City of Manila has not shown evidence as to how they acquired
said land as its private or patrimonial property. Such property,
therefore, is held in trust for the State for the benefit of its inhabitants,
whether it be for governmental or proprietary purposes.
 The City of Manila was not deprived of anything it owns.

4. Manila Lodge No. 761 v. CA

FACTS: Act 1360 authorized the City of Manila to reclaim a portion of

Manila Bay to form part of the Luneta Extension. Manila sold the land
to Manila Lodge 761, and the latter sold the land and its
improvements to TDC.

ISSUE: Is the land part of the public domain, making the sale by
Manila null and void?

HELD: YES. The grant made by Act 1360 is of a public nature. It is

an established rule that public grants should be strictly construed
against the grantee (Manila).

Furthermore, reclaimed land is of the public dominion. The

reclamation is an extension of Luneta, thus, it is of the same nature
or character as the old Luneta.

Shores and bays are part of the national domain open to public use.
When the shore or part of the bay is reclaimed, it does not lose its
character of being property for public use.

Although the intended purpose was for the reclamation (i.e. to make it
an extension to Luneta) was not realized, the intention to devote the
property to public use is sufficient to make it of public domain.

Legislative or executive authority is needed to convert property of

public domain into patrimonial. In the case at bar, there has been no
such explicit or unequivocal declaration.

Thus, having no valid subject matter which is an essential element of

a contract, the contract suffers an incurable defect and is, therefore,
VOID.

5. Municipality of San Carlos v. Morfe

FACTS: Plaintiff claims that they are the owners by inheritance of a

parcel of land (Lot 986). Municipality (petitioner) intervened, claiming
that Lot 986 is part and parcel of the public plaza of the municipality,
thus, the petitioner is the true and legal owner.

ISSUE: Does this conclusion (being the owner) follow from the
premise that the said lot is part of the public plaza?
 HELD: NO. The lot is presumed to be patrimonial property. As
alleged part of a public plaza, said lot is, at best, a public land
belonging to, and, subject to the administration and control of, the
Republic of the Philippines, and petitioner has no right to claim it as
its patrimonial property.

Property of private ownership (425)

- all property:
a) belonging to private persons either individually or collectively;
b) belonging to the State and any of its political subdivisions which are
patrimonial in nature.

Property owned by the Roman Catholic Church.

- neither public nor can be subjects of private ownership; distinctive bcos
devoted to the worship of God

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08-17-2020
RECIT QUESTIONS:

1. A is the owner of a brewery. Inside the brewery are large tanks for
fermenting that are not affixed to the ground. A suspends the
operation due to COVID-19. While the quarantine is ongoing, B
makes an offer to A to buy the brewery structure for 100 Million
Pesos. A says yes. A contract is signed and the title is transferred to
B. After the transfer, A comes to remove the large tanks in the
Brewery. B claims that the tanks are his because of the sale. Who
owns the tanks?

Would your answer be different if instead of closing because of the

pandemic, A had closed permanently?

2. A is an exporter. He buys an option contract to convert a specific

amount of USD to Peso at a specific rate on a specific date in the
future. Can we consider the number of pesos he will redeem at said
future date his property?