ARTICLE 1156

Legal Definition of a Civil

Obligation

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 An obligation is a juridical
necessity to give, to do or not to
do.
 J/N - 2 G
D
N2D
Does it include not to give?
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 Yes, under the DOCTRINE OF IMPLICATION as
pronounced by the Supreme Court of the
Philippines.

And such pronouncement of the Supreme Court

is now part of Art. 1156 under the DOCTRINE
OF STARE DECISIS as enunciated in Art. 8 of
the Civil Code of the Philippines.

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Mnemonics – FLAP
F – Fact, object, prestation or service
 Requisites:
 It must be licit. (Art. 1459)
 It must be possible, physically and juridically.(Art. 1348)
 It must be determinate or determinable. (Art. 1349 & 1460)
 It must have pecuniary value ( possible equivalent in money)
It may include Form – Statute of Frauds (Law on Form)
L – Legal or juridical tie – vinculum juris
A – Active subject (Creditor/Obligee)
 One in whose favor the obligation is constituted

P – Passive subject (Debtor/Obligor)

 One who has the duty of giving, doing, not doing or not giving

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Extra Challenge 1
 Apply the elements of an obligation in the given
case/scenario.
CASE
“By virtue of a contract, GOTTO obliged
himself to deliver a specific RTWPB of
Malu Wang from 69 Condom-inium
Towers, Maka-ti City to Cebu-bucol
City for Php 2,000.00.”
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THE DELIVERY OF A SPECIFIC RTWPB TO
CEBU-BUCOL CITY IS THE FACT OR
PRESTATION
THE CONTRACT BETWEEN GOTTO AND MALU
WANG IS THE VINCULUM JURIS OR LEGAL TIE
MALU WANG IS THE ACTIVE SUBJECT
GOTTO IS THE PASSIVE SUBJECT

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 Viewpoint
of

Subject
Sanction Performance
Matter

CIVIL
NATURAL REAL POSITIVE
(MORAL) PERSONAL NEGATIVE

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 Civil Natural
 Derive their binding  Derive their binding effect
effect from positive law from equity and natural justice
 Can be enforced by  Fulfillment can not be
compelled by court action but
court action or the depends exclusively upon the
coercive power of good conscience of the debtor
public authority  Under Philippine Law, moral
 Example – Art. 1 FC obligations are now merged
with natural law
 Example – Arts. 1424 – 1430 CCP

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 Real Personal
 Obligations to give
 Determinate (Art. 1460)
Obligations to do
 Generic or not to do/not
to give
 Extra Challenge 2
Give a vivid  Extra Challenge 3

example of a Real Give a vivid

Obligation. example of a
personal obligation.
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 Positive
Negative
 Obligations to give
 Obligations not to
 Obligations to do
do/not to give

 Extra Challenge 4  Extra Challenge 5

 Give a vivid example of a  Give a vivid example
Positive Obligation. of a Negative
Obligation.

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  ARTICLE 1157

Sources of Obligations
and their concepts

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La – Law (Obligation ex lege)
Co – Contract (Obligation ex contractu)
De – Delict/Delito/Felony
(Obligation ex maleficio/ex delicto)

Qua – Quasi-contract
 (Obligation ex quasi-contractu)

Qua – Quasi-delict
(Obligation ex quasi-delicto/ex quasi-maleficio)

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 1. OBLIGATION ex
LEGE
LAW

 JURIS/LEX/LEY or LEYES/LEGE or LEGIS

 Set/body of norms of conduct, rules, regulations, policies,
principles, protocol, guidelines, instructions, decrees
including jurisprudence that govern a particular territory
and made by competent authority.

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  KINDS OF POSITIVE LAWS IN THE PHILIPPINES
 Political/Constitutional Law
 Labor Law
Civil Law
 Law on Taxation
 Criminal Law
 Commercial Laws
 Administrative Law
 Election Law
 Private International Law
 Public International Law
 Special Laws
 REMEDIAL LAW

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 1. Obligation ex Lege

 Art. 1158

“Obligations derived from law are

not presumed. Only those
expressly determined in this Code
or in special laws are
DEMANDABLE.”
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 Obligation ex Lege

 ANNOTATION
 To be demandable and enforceable, the obligation must be
stated by the law which created the obligation.
 Such being the case, the agreement of the parties under this
obligation is no longer necessary because it is the law which
governs their obligation.
 Obligations derived from law shall be governed by the law
which establishes them. In case of insufficiency, the same
shall be supplemented by the provisions of the Civil Code of
the Philippines.
 DURA LEX SED LEX
 The law maybe harsh but it is the law
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 Obligation ex Lege

 Examples
 Art. 3. Ignorantia legis non excusat. Ignorance of the law excuses
no one from compliance therewith.
 Art. 19. Every person must, in the exercise of his
rights and in the performance of his duties, act with
justice, give everyone his due, and observe honesty
and good faith.
 Art. 26. Locus Regit Actum. Every person shall respect the
dignity, personality, privacy and peace of mind of his
neighbors and other persons.
 Art. 783. A will is an act whereby a person is permitted, with the
formalities prescribed by law, to control to a certain degree the
disposition of his estate, to take effect after his death.
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 2. Obligation ex Contractu
 Art. 1305
“A contract is a meeting of minds between two persons
whereby one binds himself, with respect to the other, to
give something or to render some service.”
STORY TELLING TIME

 “The Genie and the Woman”

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  Obligation ex Contractu

 EXTRA CHALLENGE 6
 Answer the following questions based on the story-telling.

Questions

 1. Do obligations exist in the story? Legally explain.

 2. Was there a contract between the genie and the woman?
Legally explain.
 3. What were the obligations of the genie to the woman?
 4. What were the obligations of the woman to the genie?

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 Obligation ex Contractu

A contract may be nominate (contract with a name

designated by law) or innominate (no designated
name)-Art. 1307

Art. 1159
“Obligations arising from contracts have the force of
law between the contracting parties and should be
complied with in good faith.”

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 Obligation ex Contractu

Three doctrines affecting contracts – doctrines of

Liberty of Contracts (Art. 1306), Mutuality of
Contracts (Art. 1308) and Relativity of Contracts
(Art. 1311)

A contract is by nature
“SINALAGMATICO”
 Million Dollar Question- What is SINALAGMATICO?

 Note: to be extensively discussed further in the

Midterms Phase 

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 3. OBLIGATION EX
DELICTO
Art. 3 RPC

“Acts and omissions punishable by law are

called felonies (delitos).”
DELICT/DELITO/FELONY
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 OBLIGATION EX DELICTO
Example of delict
ACT
The act of taking the property of another without the
latter’s consent is a delict. It is a felony called THEFT
as defined in the Revised Penal Code.

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 OBLIGATION EX DELICTO

 Example of delict
 OMISSION

The omission of the required diligence while

driving a motor vehicle and in violation of
the Motor Vehicle Law is an omission
punishable as RECKLESS IMPRUDENCE
under Art. 365 of the Revised Penal Code.
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  OBLIGATION EX DELICTO
 ANNOTATION

As a rule, when a person commits a felony, he can be

held criminally liable and if found guilty beyond
reasonable doubt with moral certainty after trial, he
will be meted with the corresponding penalty of
imprisonment.

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  OBLIGATION EX DELICTO
 ANNOTATION

 And in addition, he can also be held civilly liable

(he shall answer and/or pay for damages) because
most often the commission of a felony causes not
only moral evil but also material damage.
 Such civil obligation is a necessary consequence of
criminal liability, and is to be declared and enforced in
the same criminal proceeding except when the injured
party reserved the right to file the civil action
independently from the criminal action. (Sec. 1, Rule
III, Revised Rules of Court)
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  OBLIGATION EX DELICTO

 ANNOTATION

However, not all felonies cause material

injury. Therefore, if there is no material
damage to be compensated or to be
indemnified, there is no civil liability to be
indemnified.
 Footnote: In my practice of law, I have not filed a case in court
without the corresponding civil liability.

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 OBLIGATION EX DELICTO

 ANNOTATION

 Proof or evidence required

 1. When civil liability for damage is made in the criminal case, proof
or evidence beyond reasonable doubt is required.

 2. When claim for damage is filed separately with the criminal

action, mere preponderance of evidence is enough.

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  OBLIGATION EX DELICTO

 ANNOTATION

 Effect if the guilty party died pending trial

 The civil obligation IS NOT EXTINGUISHED. The

injured party may file his claim against the estate of the
offended, but the heirs are not liable beyond the value of
the property they received from the decedent (Arts. 1178
and 1311 CCP)

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 OBLIGATION EX DELICTO
 ANNOTATION

 Effect if the guilty party is acquitted of the criminal case

The acquittal of the guilty party in the criminal

case filed DOES NOT EXTINGUISH the civil
liability unless it is stated in the judgment that
the fact from which the civil action might arise
did not exist. (Sec. 3, Rule III, Revised Rules
of Court)

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 RAPE under the OLD
ANTI-RAPE LAW
 Attendant circumstances –
force/violence/intimidation/un
due influence/of tender
age/woman is unconscious or is
demented
 Rape through penetration of the
MALE GENITALIA(PENIS) to the
FEMALE GENITALIA(VAGINA)
 Mere knocking at the doors of
the pudenda constitutes the
felony called rape
 Thus, only a man can
rape a woman; victim is
always FEMALE
 RAPE under the NEW ANTI-
RAPE LAW (RA 8353- A
SPECIAL LAW)
 1. Rape under the Old Anti-Rape
Law with the same attendant
circumstances
 2. Rape by SEXUAL ASSAULT
 With any of the attendant
circumstances –
force/intimidation/violence/u
ndue influence/of tender
age/victim is unconscious or is
demented
 A. P sexually attacking the
AO/OO
 B. I/O sexually attacking the
V/AO
 C. Finger/Tongue- considered an
object
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 4. OBLIGATION ex QUASI-
CONTRACTU
Concept
It is an obligation from a juridical relation
which arises from certain lawful, voluntary, and
unilateral acts, to the end that no one may be
unjustly enriched or benefited at the expense of
another.

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 OBLIGATION ex QUASI-
CONTRACTU
Legal Basis

Art. 2142. Certain lawful, voluntary and unilateral

act gives rise to the juridical relation of quasi-
contract to the end that no one shall be unjustly
enriched or benefited at the expense of another.

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 QUASI-CONTRACT

Elements
LUV
Lawful
Unilateral
Voluntary
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 QUASI-CONTRACT

Forms of Quasi – Contract

1. Art. 2144 – Negotiorum Gestio

2. Art. 2154 – Solutio Indebiti

3. Other forms

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 OBLIGATION ex QUASI-CONTRACTU

 Example 1

 Makunat, a merchant-farmer, and owner of a ten-

hectare agricultural land left for USA on a pleasure trip.
While enroute to USA, typhoon “Ligaya” devastated the
entire Philippines, including the land owned by
Makunat. Before the typhoon reached the Philippine
area of responsibility, Masigasig, a neighbor of
Makunat, employed six farmers to harvest the palay
planted on the land of Makunat. The expenses incurred
is Php 6,000.00.
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 OBLIGATION ex QUASI-CONTRACTU

 Example 2

Engot owes Switik P100,000 payable on

December 25, 2010. On December 25, 2007,
Engot, thinking that the obligation was already
due, paid Switik the full amount of the
obligation.
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 OBLIGATION ex QUASI-CONTRACTU

 EXTRA CHALLENGES 7 & 8

 1. Which of the examples mentioned is Negotiorum
Gestio? What are the obligations of the parties
involved? Legally explain.
 2. Which of the examples cited is Solutio Indebiti? What
are the obligations of the parties involved? Legally explain.

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 5.
OBLIGATION ex QUASI-
DELICTO
Arts. 2176 – 2194

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 QUASI-DELICT/TORT/CULPA
AQUILIANA
CONCEPT

Quasi-delict, or tort, or Culpa Aquiliana, is the wrong

committed against a person independent of contract
and without criminal intent.

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 QUASI-DELICT/TORT/CULPA
AQUILIANA
LEGAL BASIS
Art. 2176.
 “Whoever by act or omission causes damage to another, there
being fault or negligence, is obliged to pay for the damage done.
Such fault or negligence, if there is no pre-existing contractual
relation between the parties, is called a quasi-delict and is
governed by the provisions of this Chapter.”

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 QUASI-DELICT/TORCULPA AQUILIANA

 BASIS OF LIABILITY
 Manresa, a Spanish Commentator in Civil Law states that the liability
for quasi-delict is founded upon an indisputable principle of equity;
namely, the fault or negligence cannot prejudice anyone else besides
its author, and in no case should its consequences be borne by him
who, without will or fault on his part, becomes the victim of the result
or suffers the harm produced by such fault or negligence.

 He goes further and opined that a man is responsible not only for
his voluntary willful act executed consciously and intentionally, but
also for those acts performed without lack of foresight, care and
diligence, which caused material harm to society or to other
individuals.

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 QUASI-DELICT/TORT/CULPA
AQUILIANA

Elements
 Act or Omission
 Fault or Negligence (Art. 1173)
 Damage or Injury (Art. 2197)
 No PECR

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  QUASI-DELICT/TORT/CULPA AQUILIANA

 Kinds of Culpa
 Culpa Aquiliana or Civil Negligence/tort-negligence
INDEPENDENT of contract
 Culpa Contractual or Contractual Negligence- negligence in the
performance of an obligation and/or arising from contract
 Culpa Criminal or Criminal Negligence- negligence penalized by
the Revised Penal Code

STORY TELLING TIME

 “Heaven versus Hell”

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 QUASI-DELICT/TORT/CULPA
AQUILIANA

EXTRA CHALLENGES 9 & 10

 1. Was there tort in the story of Heaven?
Legally explain.

 2. Was there tort in the story of Hell?

Legally explain.

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 QUASI-DELICT/TORT/CULPA
AQUILIANA

Arts. 2180/2189/2190/2191/2193 – Doctrine of

Vicarious Liability
Art. 2187 – Product Liability Suit

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