Topics for exam:

1. Effect of destruction of the thing owned in common.

If the thing owned in common is destroyed or lost, the co-ownership also
ceases because the state of co-ownership is only a state of fact which exists
so long the property remains materially undivided.

2. Effects of partition of the thing owned in common.

Article 500 provides that upon partition, there must be mutual accounting for
benefits received and reimbursements for expenses made by each co-owner.
Further, a co-owner by reason of his negligence or fraud had caused damages
must indemnify the others. After partition, every co-owner must be liable for
defects of title and quality of the portion assigned to each of the other
co-owners.

3.Can a co-owner insist on the partition of the thing owned in common.

Yes, because under Art. 494, no co-owner shall be obliged to remain in the
co-ownership. Each co-owner may demand at any time the partition of the
thing owned in common, insofar as his share is concerned. However, there
shall be no partition when it is prohibited by law.

4.Why can land not be acquired through occupation?

A piece of land can not be acquired through occupation as expressly

stipulated in Article 714 of the civil code. The Regalian Doctrine provides that
all land belongs to the state. (Art. 714. The ownership of a piece of land cannot be
acquired by occupation.)

Suggested Answer: One element of acquiring property through occupation is

that the thing must be res nullius. All land belongs to the state under the
Regalian doctrine. Thus, the element of the land being res nullius is not
present.

5. Why does the law impose the obligation to pay indemnity in easements?
The payment of indemnity in easements shall be deemed as a payment of
rent for the use of the easement.

6. Why is consent necessary if the co-owned thing is altered?

Consent of all co-owners is necessary in alteration because alteration has a
more permanent result relating to the substance or form of the thing.
7. May an action for ejectment be filed against a co-owner of property?
Yes, under Art. 487, any one of the co-owners may bring an action in
ejectment. The action in ejectment is not only against 3rd persons but also
against another co-owner who takes exclusive possession and asserts
exclusive ownership of the property. However, in the latter case, the only
purpose of the action is for the recognition of the co-ownership. The action of
ejectment against the erring co-owner must be for all the other co-owners.
The only effect of an action brought by a co-owner against a co-owner
will be to obtain recognition of the co-ownership; hence, the defendant cannot
be excluded from a specific portion of the property because as a co-owner, he
has a right to possess and the plaintiff cannot recover any material or
determinate part of the property.

8. What is the effect of failure to give notice to the other co-owners of repairs
undertaken?
According to Senator Tolentino, such failure to notify other co-owners of the
repairs made for the preservation of the thing owned in common does not
deprive the co-owner who incurred the expenses of the right to recover the
proportionate shares of the co-owners in the expenses. The only effect is that
said co-owner has the burden of proving the necessity of the repairs and the
reasonableness of the expenses.

9. What are the distinctions between jus possidendi and jus possessionis?
Jus possidendi is the right to possession which is incidental to or
included in the right of ownership while jus posessionis is the right of
possession independent from the right of ownership.

In the case of Pershing Tan Queto vs CA, jus possidendi is when the builder
os the owner himself which he has a right to possess while jus possessionis is
when there is another owner other than the possessor.

“He is a builder-possessor (jus possidendi) because he is the OWNER himself. Please

note that the Chapter on Possession (jus possessionis, not jus possidenti) in the Civil
Code refers to a possessor other than the owner.”

10. Explain good faith possession

Article 526 of the Civil Code defines a possession in good faith as 'one who is
not aware that there exists in his title or mode of acquisition any flaw
which invalidates it, and a possession in bad faith as one who possesses in
any case contrary to the foregoing.
11. What are the requisites of constructive possession?
For the doctrine of constructive possession to apply, the following requisites
must be present:
(1) the alleged possessor must be in actual possession of a portion or part
of the property;
(2) he is claiming ownership of the whole area;
(3) the remainder of the area must not be in the adverse possession of
another person; and
(4) the area claimed must be reasonable.
(Rabuya, page 406)

12. Explain dominion

According to Black’s Law Dictionary, 2nd Edition, dominion is Ownership, or

right to property.

Under the Civil Code, Ownership may be exercised over things or rights.

‘Ownership’ as defined by Paras

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.

13. When property is leased, can the owner be the one to file a case for
forcible entry against third persons who enter into the property?

Yes, the owner is not precluded from filing a case for forcible entry against
third persons who enter into the leased property.

Under the Article 539 of the Civil Code, every possessor has a right to be
respected in his possession; and should he be disturbed therein he shall be
protected in or restored to said possession by the means established by the
laws and the Rules of Court.

However, the right to be respected is not only in the concept of a holder but
also in the concept of an owner.
Hence, applying article 428 of the New Civil Code, the owner has a right to
vindicate (jus vindieandi), or the right of action to recover the property against
the holder or possessor.

This right stems from the nature of his ownership. Hence, if fails or is not
allowed to vindicate the act of forcible entry, his ownership or dominion over
the property will also be affected.

14. Who can acquire possession of property?

Art. 532. Possession may be acquired by the:

a. same person who is to enjoy it
b. by his legal representative
c. by his agent, or
d. by any person without any power whatever; but in the last case, the
possession shall not be considered as acquired until the person in
whose name the act of possession was executed has ratified the same,
without prejudice to the juridical consequences of negotiorum gestio in a
proper case.

15. Can patrimonial property of the State be acquired through prescription?

In Heirs of Mario Malabanan v. Republic,the Court however clarified that lands of the public
domain that are patrimonial in character are susceptible to acquisitive prescription and,
accordingly, eligible for registration under Section 14(2) of P.D. No. 1529, viz:

The Civil Code makes it clear that patrimonial property of the State may be acquired by private
persons through prescription. This is brought about by Article 1113, which states that "all things
which are within the commerce of man are susceptible to prescription," and that property of the
State or any of its subdivisions not patrimonial in character shall not be the object of
prescription."

Note,however, that conveyance or disposition of real property classified as

patrimonial property of the State must be authorized and approved by a law
enacted by Congress.

16. Distinctions between ordinary and extraordinary prescription.

Ordinary acquisitive prescription requires possession in good faith and with just title for ten (10) years. In
extraordinary prescription ownership and other real rights over immovable property are acquired through
uninterrupted adverse possession thereof for thirty (30) years without need of title or of good faith.
https://elibrary.judiciary.gov.ph/thebookshelf/showdocs/1/56300#:~:text=Ordinary%20acquisitive%20prescription
%20requires%20possession,title%20or%20of%20good%20faith.

17. Explain the different modes of acquiring property.

Occupation is acquisition of ownership by seizing corporeal things that have no

owner, made with the intention of acquiring them according to legal rules.
.
Acquisition by complying with the conditions prescribed by Law such as accession
and fruits falling on the adjacent land.

Donation is where a person Gratuitously disposes of his property in favor of another,

who accepts it.

Tradition is a derivative mode by virtue of which they are transmitted from the
patrimony of the grantor to that of the grantee by means of a just title, there being
both the intention and the capacity on the part of both parties. Also, as a
consequence of certain contracts (like the contract of sale, barter, assignment,
simple loan or mutuum).

A perfected sale does not transmit ownership. It is the delivery or tradition which
conveys ownership.

Intellectual Creation is a mode by virtue of which the author acquires intellectual

property or ownership over the products of his intellect, with the consequent power to
authorize or refuse publication or production of such products.

Prescription as when ownership of land is acquired by adverse possession for the

period of time required under the law, provided the necessary legal conditions or
requisites are present;

Succession or through inheritance is 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.

18. Who owns the literal fruits of property if the branches extend to an
adjacent land
According to Article 681 of the civil code, the fruits falling on the adjacent land
belong to the owner of such adjacent land.
Art. 681. Fruits naturally falling upon adjacent land belong to the owner of said land.

Suggested Answer: If the fruit is still attached to the tree, it belongs to the
owner of the land where the tree is situated.
If the fruit falls to the adjacent land, it belongs to the owner of the adjacent
land.

19. What are the remedies of the owner of an adjacent land if the roots of a
tree enter his land?
According to Article 680 of the Civil Code, if the roots of a tree enters the
adjacent land of another, his remedy is to cut it off himself.

Art. 680. If the branches of any tree should extend over a neighboring estate, tenement,
garden or yard, the owner of the latter shall have the right to demand that they be cut off
insofar as they may spread over his property, and, if it be the roots of a neighboring tree which
should penetrate into the land of another, the latter may cut them off himself within his
property.

20.What is an attractive nuisance?

SUGGESTED ANSWER: The attractive nuisance doctrine is premised on the

belief that one who maintains a dangerous condition which is likely to attract
children on their property is under a duty to post a warning or take affirmative
action to protect children from the dangers of that attraction. This is not
applicable to bodies of water, artificial as well as natural, in the absence of
some unusual condition or artificial feature other than the mere water and its
location (Hidalgo Enterprises, Inc. vs. Balandan, G.R. No. L-3422, June 13,
1952).