PROPERTY

TITLE I

CLASSIFICATION OF PROPERTY

Definition of Property

Property is considered as an object, is that which is, or may be, appropriated.

Thing vs. Property

Thing is broader in scope for it includes both appropriable and non-appropriable objects. Property
involves not only material objects but also intangible things, like rights or credits.

Classification of Things

1. Res nullius ( belonging to no one)

2. Res communes (belonging to everyone)
3. Res alicujus (belonging to someone)

Classification of Property

a. Mobility and non-mobility

1. Movable or personal property
2. Immovable or real property
b. Ownership
1. Public dominion or ownership
2. Private dominion or ownership
c. Alienability
1. Within the commerce of man
2. Outside the commerce of man
d. Existence
1. Present property
2. Future property
e. Materiality or Immateriality
1. Tangible or corporeal (objects which can be seen or touch)
2. Intangible or incorporeal (rights or credits
f. Dependence or Importance
1. Principal
2. Accessory
g. Capability of Substitution
1. Fungible (capable of substitution by other things of the same quantity and quality
2. Non-fungible (incapable of such substitution, hence, the identical thing must be given or
returned
h. Nature or Definiteness
1. Generic
 2. Specific
i. Whether in the Custody of the Court or Free
1. In custodia legis (in the custody of the court
2. Free property

Characteristics of Property

a. Utility for the satisfaction of moral or economic wants

b. Susceptibility of appropriation
c. Individuality or substantivity

Art. 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.

Chapter 1

IMMOVABLE PROPERTY

Art. 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, fi sh 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 fl oating, 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.

Paragraph 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.’

Essential Requisites

1. The placing must be made by the owner of the tenement, his agent, or duly authorized legal
representative
2. The industry or works must be carried on in the building or on the land
3. The machines, etc., must tend directly to meet the needs of said industry or works
4. The machines must be essential and principal elements in the industry, and not merely
incidental.

BAR QUESTION

1) When is machinery attached to land or a tenement considered immovable? [ANS.: Par. 5, Art. 415].

2) Give the exception. [ANS.: When placed on the land or tenement by a tenant.] (Davao Sawmill v.
Castillo, supra).

3) Give the exception to the exception. [ANS.: when the tenant had promised to leave the machinery on
the tenement at the end of the lease, or when he acted only as agent of the owner of the land.]. (Valdez
v. Central, supra)
Real Property by Nature

1.) Land as well as buildings and other forms of construction attached to the soil
2.) Trees and plants, if they weren't planted by anybody
3.) Mines, quarries and slag dumps (slag dumps form part of the bed and
water)

Real Property by Incorporation

1.) Trees and plants that were planted (the fruit hanging on the trees is
considered part of real property until harvested or removed)
2.) Things attached to the real property in such a way that they can't be
removed without damaging the real property
3.) Statues, paintings, reliefs that have been put there by the owner with the
intention that they form part of the property permanently

Real Property by Destination

1.) Fertilizer that was actually used on the land (if it's not used, it's considered
personal property)
2.) In case there is an industry on the land, machinery receptacles, instruments
or implements directly related to the industry in question or public works
3.) In case of lakes, rivers or coasts, docks and other structures which are
intended by their nature or object to remain at a fixed place (even if floating)
4.) Animal houses, pigeon houses, fishponds, breeding places, beehives and
even the animals in these places; in case the owner put all these (buildings,
animals, etc.) there, intending to have them permanently part of the land

Real Property by Analogy

1.) Public works contracts as well as servitudes and other real rights over
immovable property

Chapter 2

MOVABLE PROPERTY

Art. 416. The following things are deemed to be personal

property:

(1) Those movables susceptible of appropriation which

are not included in the preceding article;

(2) Real property which by any special provision of law

is considered as personalty;
(3) Forces of nature which are brought under control

by science; and

(4) In general, all things which can be transported from

place to place without impairment of the real property to

which they are fixed.

Three Tests to Determine whether Property Is Movable or Immovable Manresa mentions three tests:

(a) If the property is capable of being carried from place to place (test by description);

(b) If such change in location can be made without injuring the real property to which it may in the
meantime be attached (test by description); and

(c) If fi nally, the object is not one of those enumerated or included in Art. 415 (test by exclusion).

Art. 417. The following are also considered as personal property:

(1) Obligations and actions which have for their object movables or demandable sums; and

(2) Shares of stock of agricultural, commercial and industrial entities, although they may have real
estate.

Art. 419. Property is either of public dominion or of private ownership.

Art. 420. The following things are property of public dominion:

(1) Those intended for public use, such as roads, canals, rivers, torrents, ports and bridges constructed
by the State, banks, shores, roadsteads, and others of similar character
(2) Those which belong to the State, without being for public use, and are intended for some public
service or for the development of the national wealth.

Public domain - public dominion means ownership by the State in that the State has control and
administration. Ownership by the public in general, in that not even the State or subdivisions thereof
may make them the object of commerce as long as they remain properties for public use

Three Kinds of Property of Public Dominion

(a) For public use — like roads, canals (may be used by ANYBODY).

(b) For public service — like national government buildings, army rifl es, army vessels (may be used only
by duly authorized persons)
(c) For the development of national wealth — like our natural resources. (3) Paragraph 1 states “and
others of similar character.” Examples are the following: (a) public stream

Characteristics of Properties of Public Dominion

1. They are outside the commerce of man, and cannot be leased, donated, sold, or be the object of
any contract (Mun. of Cavite v. Rojas, 30 Phil. 602), except insofar as they may be the object of
repairs or improvements and other incidental things of similar character
2. They cannot be acquired by prescription; no matter how long the possession of the properties
has been, “there can be no prescription against the State regarding property of the public
domain.”
3. They cannot be registered under the Land Registration Law and be the subject of a Torrens Title;
if erroneously included in a Torrens Title, the land involved remains property of public dominion
4. They, as well as their usufruct, cannot be levied upon by execution, nor can they be attached.
5. In general, they can be used by everybody.
6. They may be either real or personal property, for it will be noted that the law here makes no
distinction.

Art. 421. All other property of the State, which is not of the character stated in the preceding article, is
patrimonial property.

‘Patrimonial Property’ Defined

Patrimonial property of the State is the property it owns but which is not devoted to public use, public
service, or the development of the national wealth. It is wealth owned by the State in its private, as
distinguished from its public, capacity.

Art. 422. Property of public dominion, when no longer intended for public use or for public service, shall
form part of the patrimonial property of the State.

Art. 423. The property of provinces, cities, and municipalities is divided into property for public use and
patrimonial property.

Conversion is the act of changing the current use of a piece of agricultural land into some other use
as approved by the DAR

Reclassification is the act of specifying how agricultural lands shall be utilized for non-agricultural
uses such as residential, industrial, and commercial, as embodied in the land use plan,
 Title II. — OWNERSHIP

Chapter 1

OWNERSHIP IN GENERAL

Art. 427. Ownership may be exercised over things or rights.

Ownership is the independent and general right of a person to control a thing particularly in his
possession, enjoyment, disposition, and recovery, subject to no restrictions except those imposed by the
state or private persons, without prejudice to the provisions of the law.

Kinds of Ownership

1. Full ownership (dominium or jus in re propia) — this includes all the rights of an owner
2. Naked ownership (nuda proprietas) — this is ownership where the right to the use and the
fruits has been denied.
3. Sole ownership — where the ownership is vested in only one person.
4. Co-ownership (or Tenancy in Common) — when the ownership is vested in two or more
owners

Art. 428. The owner has the right to enjoy and dispose of a thing, without other limitations than those
established by law. The owner has also a right of action against the holder and possessor of the thing in
order to recover it.

) Rights of an Owner Under the Civil Code

Under Art. 428, the owner has:

(a) the right to enjoy

(b) the right to dispose

(c) the right to recover or vindicate.

The right to enjoy includes:

(a) the right to possess

(b) the right to use

(c) the right to the fruits.

The right to dispose includes:

(a) the right to consume or destroy or abuse

(b) the right to encumber or alienate

Rights of an Owner Under Roman Law

(a) jus possidendi — the right to possess

(b) jus utendi — the right to use

(c) jus fruendi — the right to the fruits

(d) jus abutendi — the right to consume (and also to transform or abuse)

(e) jus disponendi — the right to dispose

(f) jus vindicandi — the right to recover.

Actions to Recover

(a) Recovery of Personal Property

The proper action to recover personal property is replevin, governed by Rule 60, Rules of Court.

- Replevin is defined as an action or provisional remedy where the complainant prays for the recovery of
the possession of personal property.

(b) Recovery of Real Property

There are three usual actions to recover the possession of real property:

1) Forcible entry or unlawful detainer (either action was formerly referred to as accion interdictal).
-  It refers to the recovery of physical or actual possession only through a special civil action
- Forcible entry is a summary action to recover material or physical possession of real
property when a person originally in possession was deprived thereof by force, intimidation,
strategy, threat, or stealth
- Unlawful detainer is the action that must be brought when possession by a landlord, vendor,
vendee or other person of any land or building is being unlawfully withheld after the
expiration or termination of the right to hold possession, by virtue of any contract, express
or implied. I

2) Accion publiciana (or the plenary action to recover the better right of possession). - is an
ordinary civil proceeding to determine the better right of possession of realty independent of
 title – it refers to an ejectment suit filed after the expiration of one year from the accrual of the
cause of action or from the unlawful withholding of possession of thy property

3) Accion reivindicatoria - is an action whereby plaintiff alleges ownership over a parcel of land
and seeks recovery of its full possession. It is a suit to recover possession of a parcel of land as
an element of ownership.

Art. 429. 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

- Art. 429 of the Civil Code, force may be used even without such threatened bodily danger —
provided that defense, and not vengeance, is involved.

Art. 430. Every owner may enclose or fence his land or tenements by means of walls, ditches, live or
dead hedges, or by any other means without detriment to servitudes constituted thereon.

Art. 431. The owner of a thing cannot make use thereof in such manner as to injure the rights of a third
person

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 benefi ted indemnity for the damage to him.

Art. 433. Actual possession under claim of ownership raises a disputable presumption of ownership. The
true owner must resort to judicial process for the recovery of the property.

2 requirements to raise a disputable presumption of ownership

1. Actual possession
2. Claim of ownership

Art. 433 is similar to Art. 541 which provides that “a possessor in the concept of owner has in his favor
the legal presumption that he possesses with a just title and he cannot be obliged to show or prove it.’’

Art. 434. In an action to recover, the property must be identified, and the plaintiff must rely on the
strength of his title and not on the weakness of the defendant’s claim
Requisites in an Action to Recover

(a) Property must be identified

- the boundaries of the land sought must be proved, so that if a person fails to specify which
portion of a parcel of land is the portion he is supposed to have inherited, his action to
recover the property will necessarily fail.
(b) Reliance on title of the plaintiff (and not on the weakness of defendant’s title or claim).
- If the claims of both plaintiff and defendant are weak, judgment must be for the defendant,
for the latter, being in possession, is presumed to be the owner, and cannot be obliged to
show or prove a better title

Art. 435. No person shall be deprived of his property except by competent authority and for public use
and always upon payment of just compensation. Should this requirement be not first complied with, the
courts shall protect and, in a proper case, restore the owner in his possession.

Essential Requisites of Eminent Domain

(a) taking by competent authority

(b) observance of due process of law

(c) taking for public use

(d) payment of just compensation.

Art. 436. When any property is condemned or seized by competent authority in the interest of health,
safety or security, the owner thereof shall not be entitled to compensation, unless he can show that
such condemnation or seizure is unjustified.

Abatement of Nuisances

(a) public nuisance — that which affects a community

or a considerable number of persons. (Art. 695).

(b) private nuisance — that which is not public. (Art.

695).

(c) nuisance per se — that which is a nuisance under

all circumstances.

(d) nuisance per accidens — that which is a nuisance

only under certain circumstances, like a factory,

situated in a residential district.].

Art. 437. The owner of a parcel of land is the owner of its surface and of everything under it, and he can
construct thereon any works or make any plantations and excavations which he may deem proper,
without detriment to servitudes and subject to special laws and ordinances. He cannot complain of the
reasonable requirements of aerial navigation.

Surface Right of a Land Owner

This article deals with the extent of ownership which a person has over a parcel of land — more
specifically, with what is commonly referred to as “surface right.’’ Thus, if a person owns a piece of
land, it is understood that he also owns its surface, up to the boundaries of the land, with the right to
make thereon allowable constructions, plantings, and excavations, subject to:

(a) servitudes or easements

(b) special laws — like the Mining Law
(c) ordinances
(d) the reasonable requirements of aerial navigation
(e) principles on human relations (justice, honesty, good faith)
(f) and the prevention of injury to the rights of third persons

Art. 438. Hidden treasure belongs to the owner of the land, building, or other property on which it is
found.

Nevertheless, when the discovery is made on the property of another, or of the State or any of its
subdivisions, and by chance, one-half thereof shall be allowed to the finder.

If the finder is a trespasser, he shall not be entitled to any share of the treasure.

If the things found be of interest to science or the arts, the State may acquire them at their just price,
which shall be divided in conformity with the rule stated.

Art. 439. By treasure is understood, for legal purposes, any hidden and unknown deposit of money,
jewelry, or other precious objects, the lawful ownership of which does not appear

Requisites in the Definition of Hidden Treasure

(a) Hidden and unknown deposit (such that finding it would indeed be a discovery).
(b) Consists of money, jewelry or other precious objects.

(c) Their lawful ownership does not appear.

Chapter 2

RIGHT OF ACCESSION GENERAL PROVISIONS

Art. 440. The ownership of property gives the right by accession to everything which is produced
thereby, or which is incorporated or attached thereto, either naturally or artifi cially.

Accession is the right of a property owner to everything which is:

(a) produced thereby (accession discreta);

(b) or which is incorporated or attached thereto, either

naturally or artificially (accession continua or accession non-interrumpida), which in turn is divided

into:

1) natural accession (accession natural);

2) artificial accession (accession artifi cial or accession industrial).