ADDITIONAL

REVIEWER
FOR
PRELIMINARY
EXAM
An obligation is a juridical necessity to give, to do or not to do.
CONCEPT OF OBLIGATION
the juridical necessity to comply with a
Sanchez Roman
prestation
legal relation established
between one person and another, whereby
Manresa, the latter is bound to the
fulfillment of a prestation which the
former may demand of him.

OBLIGATIONS MAY BE EITHER CIVIL OR NATURAL

1. A civil obligation is one which has a binding force in law, and which gives to the
obligee or creditor the right of enforcing it against the obligor or debtor in a court
of justice. This is the obligation which is defined in Art. 1156 of the Code.
2. A natural obligation is one which cannot be enforced by action, but which is
binding on the party who makes it in conscience and according to the natural
law.
EXAMPLE:
If A has a right of action, evidenced by a promissory note, to collect one thousand
pesos from B, and such promissory note prescribes after the expiration of ten years
from the time it accrues, although the latter is no longer bound to pay the obligation in
accordance with the statute of limitations, he is still bound to pay in accordance with
equity and natural law.
REQUISITES OF OBLIGATIONS
(1) A juridical or legal tie, which binds the parties to the obligation, and which may
arise from either bilateral or unilateral acts of persons;
(2) An active subject known as the obligee or creditor, who can demand the
fulfillment of the obligation;
(3) A passive subject known as the obligor or debtor, against whom the obligation is
juridically demandable; and
(4) The fact, prestation or service which constitutes the object of the obligation
 The law requires that the personal property which is the subject matter of the
contract shall be recorded in the Chattel Mortgage Register as a security for the
performance of an obligation.
 Non-compliance with such formalities would have the effect of rendering the
contract or agreement void or inexistent.
CLASSIFICATION OF OBLIGATIONS
The following is the primary classification of obligations under the Civil Code:
(1) Pure and conditional (Arts. 1179-1192)
(2) With a period (Arts. 1193-1198)
(3) Alternative and facultative (Arts. 1199-1206)
(4) Joint and solidary (Arts. 1207-1222)
(5) Divisible and indivisible (Arts. 1223-1225)
(6) With a penal clause (Arts. 1226-1230)
OBLIGATIONS ARISE FROM:
1. Law
2. Contracts
3. Quasi-contracts
4. Acts or omissions punished by law
5. Quasi-delicts
SOURCES OF OBLIGATIONS
In Roman law, the sources of obligations are:
(1) contractu
(2) quasi-contractu
(3) malefi cio
(4) quasi-maleficio

CASE TO STUDY
Gutierrez vs Gutierrez
March 25, 2016
G.R. NO. 34840
FACTS
On February 2, 1930, a passenger truck and an automobile of private
ownership collided while attempting to pass each other on a bridge. The truck was
driven by the chauffeur Abelardo Velasco, and was owned by saturnine Cortez. The
automobile was being operated by Bonifacio Gutierrez, a lad 18 years of age, and was
owned by Bonifacio’s father and mother, Mr. and Mrs. Manuel Gutierrez. At the time
of the collision, the father was not in the car, but the mother, together with several
other members of the Gutierrez family were accommodated therein.

The collision between the bus and the automobile resulted in Narciso
Gutierrez suffering a fractured right leg which required medical attendance for a
considerable period of time.

ISSUE
Whether or not both the driver of the truck and automobile are liable for
damages and indemnification due to their negligence. What are the legal obligations
of the defendants?

HELD
Bonifacio Gutierrez’s obligation arises from culpa aquiliana. On the other
hand, Saturnino Cortez’s and his chauffeur Abelardo Velasco’s obligation rise from
culpa contractual.

The youth Bonifacio was na incompetent chauffeur, that he was driving at an

excessive rate of speed, and that, on approaching the bridge and the truck, he lost his
head and so contributed by his negligence to the accident. The guaranty given by the
father at the time the son was granted a license to operate motor vehicles made the
father responsible for the acts of his son. Based on these facts, pursuant to the
provisions of Art. 1903 of the Civil Code, the father alone and not the minor or the
mother would be liable for the damages caused by the minor. The liability of
Saturnino Cortez, the owner of the truck, and his chauffeur Abelardo Velasco rests on
a different basis, namely, that of contract.