PERSONS AND FAMILY RELATIONS

1. Queno v. Bautista (2021)(J. Caguioa)

a. Tip: watch the dates
b. Spouses were married under the property regime of CPG —> property was transferred during the time
of the NCC —> transaction is voidable without the wife’s consent if CPG prior to the Family Code.

NOTE: If before Aug. 3, 1988 —> voidable without the wife’s consent. If after that date —> void.

2. Presumptive death – Republic v. Quiñonez (2020) (J. Caguioa): The essential requisites for a declaration of
presumptive death for the purpose of remarriage are:
○ That the absent spouse has been missing for four consecutive years, or two consecutive years if the
disappearance occurred where there is danger of death under the circumstances laid down in Article
391, Civil Code;
○ That the present spouse wishes to remarry;
○ That the present spouse has a well-founded belief that the absentee is dead; and
○ That the present spouse files a summary proceeding for the declaration of presumptive death of the
absentee.

3. Absence of a marriage license – Cariaga v. Cariaga (2021) (J. Caguioa): FC states that the absence of a valid
marriage license renders the marriage void, except if it falls under the exceptions: (a) in articulo mortis; (b)
ethnic community; (c) remote location; and (d) capacitated cohabitation for at least five years.

4. Co-Ownership under FC 147: Perez v. Senerpida (2021) (J. Caguioa): Under Art. 147, FC, in the absence of
proof to the contrary, properties acquired while they lived together shall be presumed to have been obtained by
their joint efforts, work or industry, and shall be owned by them in equal shares.

5. Foreign Divorce - Galapon v. Republic(2020) (J. Caguioa)

Article 26 par. (2) applies to mixed marriages where the divorce decree is:
(i) obtained by the foreign spouse;
(ii) obtained jointly by the Filipino and foreign spouse; and
(iii) obtained solely by the Filipino spouse, who is married to a foreigner.

TIP: Following the Bar Chairman’s tendency towards being conservative, cite Galapon v. Republic, not Republic v.
Manalo.

6. Marriage settlement – Delgado v. GQ Real Development (2019) (J. Caguioa): Spouses may agree, through an
Ante-Nuptial Agreement, that their properties would be governed by complete separation of properties. As such,
any property that one spouse may donate to another would redound to the exclusive property of the other, and
vice versa.

7. Property – Art. 116 – Presumption of conjugality. All property acquired during the marriage, whether the
acquisition appears to have been made, contracted or registered in the name of one or both spouses, is
presumed to be conjugal unless the contrary is proved. (116, NCC)

8. A has contracted two marriages. Does he need the second wife’s consent to dispose of the property from the
first marriage? Answer: No

9. Should Art. 36 be qualified? Answer, NO, it should not be qualified.

NOTE: Just state, clear and convincing evidence is required. Prove juridical antecedents. Incapacity can be
incurable but relative. No expert witnesses required.

10. Southern Mindanao College v. CA (J. Caguioa): The law takes effect upon publication in the Official Gazette to
take effect. It was erroneous for the CA to require additional publication of the said notice in a newspaper of
general circulation.
11. Psychological incapacity: Meneses v. Meneses (J. Caguioa): To warrant a declaration of nullity on the basis of
Article 36, the incapacity "must be grave or serious such that the party would be incapable of carrying out the
ordinary duties required in marriage; it must be rooted in the history of the party antedating the marriage
 although the overt manifestations may emerge only after the marriage; and it must be incurable or even if it
were otherwise, the cure would be beyond the means of the party involved.

12. Annulment of marriage: For the concealment of the fact of pregnancy to be a ground for annulment on fraud, it
must have been existing at the time of the marriage. [Republic v. Villacorta (2021) (J. Caguioa)]
● Two requisites: 1) Wife must have been pregnant by a man other than the husband at the time of
marriage; 2) Must have fraudulently concealed the same.

LAW ON PROPERTY

1. Easement of Light and View; Positive and Negative Easements - Sps. Garcia v. Santos (2019) (J. Caguioa)

● Easement of Light and View

○ Easement of Light (Jus Luminum) - purpose of admitting light and a little air, as in the case of small
windows, not more than 30 centimeters square, at the height of the ceiling joists or immediately under
the ceiling
○ Easement of View (Servidumbre Prospectus) - purpose of affording view, as in the case of full or
regular windows overlooking the adjoining estate
● Easements as Positive and Negative Easements
○ Positive Easement
■ imposes upon the owner of the servient estate the obligation of allowing something to be
done or of doing it himself
■ prescriptive period shall commence from the day on which the owner of the dominant estate,
or the person who may have made use of the easement, commenced to exercise it upon the
servient estate
○ Negative Easement
■ prohibits the owner of the servient estate from doing something which he could lawfully do if
the easement did not exist
■ prescriptive period shall commence from the day on which the owner of the dominant estate
forbade, by an instrument acknowledged before a notary public, the owner of the servient
estate, from executing an act which would be lawful without the easement

2. Accion publiciana: An ordinary civil proceeding to determine the better right of possession of realty
independently 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 the realty. [Madrid v. Spouses Mapoy (2009)]

Note: Accion Interdictal, to be filed within one year. Note also the difference between Forcible Entry and Unlawful
Detainer.

3. Right of an owner to fence his property under Art. 430 - Sps. Ermino v. Golden Village Homeowners’ Association,
Inc., (2018) (J. Caguioa)

Article 430 of the Civil Code provides that “(e)very 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.” Thus, the Court held that the act of replacing the steel grille gate with a concrete fence was within the
legitimate exercise of GVHAI’s proprietary rights over its property.

4. Easement of light and view

a. The easement of view necessarily includes the easement of light, because It is impossible to have a
view only without a light. However, it is possible to have light without a view.
b. How acquired : Through a period of prescription of 10 years, counted depending on whether it was
positive or negative in nature.

5. Easement of right of way - AMA Land, Inc. v. Wack Wack Residents’ Association, Inc., (2017) (J. Caguioa)

The temporary easement of right of way under Article 656 of the Civil Code, similar to the permanent easement
of right of way pursuant to its Article 649 and 650, can only be granted after proof of compliance with the
prerequisites set forth in the articles duly adduced during a full blown trial.

6. Rights of a co-owner over their individual shares in the co-ownership

TORTS LAW

1. Abuse of rights principle – Van De Burg v. PNB, (2018) (J. Caguioa)

In order to be liable for damages under the abuse of rights principle, the following requisites must concur:
a. the existence of a legal right or duty;
b. which is exercised in bad faith; and
c. for the sole intent of prejudicing or injuring another.

2. Moral Damages: Coca Cola v. Menez (2017) (J. Caguioa): The cases when moral damages may be awarded are
specific. Unless the case falls under the enumeration as provided in Article 2219, which is exclusive, and Article 2220
of the Civil Code, moral damages may not be awarded.

LAW ON SALES

1. Contract of sale v. Contract to sell: Beltran v. Cangayda, G.R. No. 225033, August 15, 2018 (J. Caguioa)
a. Contract of Sale - The seller has to transfer title AND deliver the thing sold.
b. Contract to Sell - Ownership of vendor is reserved and is not to pass until full payment of price or other
stated condition.

2. Maceda Law : Where the buyer of a real estate (including residential condominium apartments) has paid at
least 2 years of installment (including down payment), two rights are granted to him 1) to pay the additional
installments without additional interest due within the grace period 2) if contract is canceled, seller should
refund to the buyer cash surrender value equivalent to 50% of the total payments made.

LAND TITLES AND DEEDS

1. Free Patent - a mode of disposition of public agricultural land whereby an incomplete or imperfect title over a
parcel of land is administratively legalized (PLA, Sec. 11)

2. Open, continuous, exclusive, and notorious possession and occupation (OCENPO) - generally a conclusion of
law determined by courts, but is based on a person’s belief in good faith that he or she has just title to the
property in the concept of an owner, even before the land has been declared alienable or disposable (Republic v
Sogod Dev’t Corporation, 2016).

3. Prescription cannot lie against a person in actual possession. - Where the plaintiff in an action for
reconveyance remains in possession of the subject land, the action for reconveyance becomes in effect an
action to quiet title to property, which is not subject to prescription. [Heirs of Tomakin v. Heirs of Navares (2019)
(J. Caguioa)]

NOTE: There might not be many questions on LTD because there is a new law. Only basic principles on LTD.

4. Notice: Not the content of the order, but the fact of two publication in successive issues 30 days before the
hearing. [Padayhag v. Director of Lands (2017), J. Caguioa]

5. The sole remedy of a land owner whose property was wrongfully or erroneously registered in another’s name is
reconveyance after one year from the date of the decree.

OBLIGATIONS AND CONTRACTS [35%]

NOTE: No novation questions

1. Defective contract
a. Void: Those in which one of the essential requisites is totally wanting; those declared void by positive
provision of law [1409, CC]
b. Voidable (binding unless annulled; can be ratified): Those where one of the parties is incapable of
giving consent; or where the consent is vitiated by mistake, violence, intimidation, undue influence, or
fraud. [1390 CC]
c. Unenforceable: Those entered into by one who has no authority or legal representation; those
non-compliant with Statute of Frauds; those where BOTH parties are incapable of giving consent. [1403
CC]
 d. Rescissible: Those where all essential requisites are present but there is injury, lesion or economic
damage to one of the parties or to a third person. [1381 CC]

NOTE: If a contract seems void in a question, double check. It might not be.

2. Remedies for a specific performance

a. Obligation to Give A Specific Thing
i. Specific performance - compel debtor to make a delivery (1165, Par. 1, CC)
ii. Rescission (1191, CC)
b. Obligation to Give a Generic Thing and Obligation to Do:
i. Fulfillment of obligation at expense of debtor (1165, par. 2, CC)
ii. Fulfillment of obligation at expense of person who failed to do it (1167, CC)
iii. What has been poorly done may be undone (1167, CC)
iv. Rescission (1191, CC)
c. In either case: damages (1170, CC)

3. Art. 1191 Rescission v. Art. 1381 Recission

a. Rescission (1191) - a principal action, retaliatory in nature, based on breach of faith, where only the
party to the contract may seek the remedy. Prescriptive period is 10 years.
b. Rescission (1381) - a subsidiary action involving partial resolution, based on lesion, where the
prejudiced third party may also seek the remedy. Prescriptive period is 4 years.
4. Condonation in relation to donation: Condonation/remission of debt - the gratuitous abandonment by the
creditor of his right against the debtor; a form of donation (If greater than 5k, donation and acceptance must
be in a public instrument. Otherwise void.)
5. Simulated Contract: G. Holdings v. Cepalco (2017) (J. Caguioa): In simulation, the agreement is not intended to
produce legal effects.
6. Penal clause: An accessory obligation to ensure performance of a particular prestation.

SUCCESSION

1. Requirements of a Holographic Will: a) Written; b) dated and, c) signed by the hand of the testator himself (810
CC)

2. Legitimes: Part of the testator’s property which he cannot dispose of because the law has reserved it for certain
heirs who are, therefore, called compulsory heirs. [886 CC]

NOTE: Remember the legitimes for intestacy.

3. Formalities of a will in general: a) In writing; b) in a language or dialect known to the testator [804 CC]

NOTE: Remember the formalities for notarial wills, and holographic wills.

4. Special Proceedings - Treyes v. Larlar (2020): No judicial declaration of heirship necessary in order that an heir
may assert his/her right to the property of the deceased. The right of the heirs to the property of the deceased
vests in them even before judicial declaration of heirship in a special proceeding.

5. Mayuga v. Atienza (2018) (J. Caguioa): A partition of an estate made by an act inter vivos shall not prejudice the
legitime of the compulsory heirs.

Practical Exercises
1. Acknowledgment: “BEFORE ME, this ______ day of ______ in ______ personally appeared:

Known to me and to me known to be the same person/s who executed the foregoing instrument, and who
acknowledged to me that the same is their free and voluntary act and deed. “

2. Demand Letter
a. “This is a final demand to ________“ [See Annex A]
b. NOT: “This is a final reminder …. “ → does not constitute as a demand
[DATE]

[ADDRESSEE]
[ADDRESS]

RE: [SUBJECT]

Dear [ADDRESSEE],

I, the undersigned, are writing on behalf of my client [NAME], in the matter of [SUBJECT].

Records disclose that [SUMMARY OF BASIC FACTS SUPPORTING YOUR CLIENT’S DEMAND/CAUSE OF ACTION],
which violate [APPLICABLE LAW OR CONTRACTUAL STIPULATION].

Accordingly, a demand is hereby made upon you to settle the amount of ______ within ______ days from the receipt of
this letter. Otherwise, we will be constrained to find recourse in the courts of law and file the necessary legal action
against you to protect the interest of my client.

We trust that you will give this matter your urgent attention.

Sincerely yours,

(Sgd.)
[NAME OF COUNSEL]
Counsel

3. Deed of Sale of Motor Vehicle

REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES )

City/Municipality of ____________ ) S.S.

DEED OF SALE OF MOTOR VEHICLE

KNOW ALL MEN BY THESE PRESENTS:

That I, [NAME OF SELLER], Filipino, of legal age, single/married to [SPOUSE, IF APPLICABLE], a resident of
[ADDRESS OF SELLER], is the lawful owner of a certain motor vehicle which is more particularly described as follows:

MAKE : MOTOR NO. :

SERIES : SERIAL/CHASSIS NO. :
TYPE OF BODY: PLATE NO. :
YEAR MODEL : FILE NO. :
C.R. NO. :

That for and in consideration of the sum of [TOTAL AMOUNT IN WORDS (TOTAL AMOUNT IN NUMBERS)],
Philippine Currency, receipt whereof is hereby acknowledged to my entire satisfaction, I hereby sell, transfer and
convey by way of Absolute Sale unto [NAME OF BUYER], Filipino, of legal age, and resident of [ADDRESS OF BUYER],
the above described motor vehicle, free from all liens and encumbrances.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties have signed this agreement this ___ day of [MONTH, YEAR] at [PLACE OF
SIGNING].

(sgd.) (sgd.)
[NAME OF BUYER] [NAME OF SELLER]
VENDEE VENDOR
 [If Seller is married, include spousal consent as follows:]

With my consent:

(sgd.)
[NAME OF SPOUSE OF SELLER]

Signed in the presence of:

_________________ _________________

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES )

City/Municipality of ______ ) S.S.

BEFORE ME, this ______ day of ______ in ______ personally appeared:

NAME, TYPE OF ID, & ID NUMBER DATE AND PLACE ISSUED

________________________________ ________________________________ ________________________________
________________________________ ________________________________
________________________________
Known to me and to me known to be the same person/s who executed the foregoing instrument, and who
acknowledged to me that the same is their free and voluntary act and deed.

[INSTRUMENT WITH 2 or MORE PAGES] This instrument, consisting of ______ pages, including the page on
which this acknowledgment is written, has been signed on the left margin on each and every page thereof by
[AFFIANT] and his witnesses, and sealed with my notarial seal.

[INSTRUMENT CONVEYING 2 or MORE PARCELS OF LAND] This instrument relates to the [SALE etc.] of
______ parcels of land, and consists of ______ pages including the page on which this acknowledgment is written, each
and every page of which, on the left margin, having been signed by [AFFIANT] and his/her witnesses, and sealed with
my notarial seal.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed my notarial seal on the day, year and place
first above-written.

(Sgd.)
[NOTARY PUBLIC]
Notary Public for ______
Commission Serial No. ______
Until Dec. 31, ______
Office address: ______
Roll of Attorney No. ______
PTR No. ______/Issued in ______ on ______
IBP No. ______/Issued in ______ on ______

Doc. No. ______;

Page No. ______;
Book No. ______;
Series of 2023.

Note: If donation, the acceptance of the donee must be in the same instrument.