Let me present a few examples of recent decisions of the Supreme Court of the Philippines, which interpreted and applied these provisions on Human Relations. (956a), Art. Art. The title for prescription must be true and valid. 786. (760a), Art. If as regards a specified debt more than the amount thereof is ordered paid, the excess is not due, unless a contrary intention appears. The owner of a swarm of bees shall have a right to pursue them to another's land, indemnifying the possessor of the latter for the damage. (1971). 715. The aggrieved citizen is thus left without redress. (1936a), Art. The person so excluded shall not enjoy the usufruct and administration of the property thus inherited by his children. The grandchildren and other descendants shall inherit by right of representation, and if any one of them should have died, leaving several heirs, the portion pertaining to him shall be divided among the latter in equal portions. (n). Art. 741. 1064. An express acceptance must be made in a public or private document. Malice or bad faith is not necessary under this article because to make it such a requisite would defeat the main purpose of this article, which is the effective protection of individual rights. If a testamentary disposition admits of different interpretations, in case of doubt, that interpretation by which the disposition is to be operative shall be preferred. (862a), Art. Donations given to children shall be charged to their legitime. The words of a will are to receive an interpretation which will give to every expression some effect, rather than one which will render any of the expressions inoperative; and of two modes of interpreting a will, that is to be preferred which will prevent intestacy. Acceptance must be made during the lifetime of the donor and of the donee. 864. The latter binds a person with those from whom he descends. 826. In the second case, by giving the legatee an acquittance, should he request one. (884a). The rights to the succession are transmitted from the moment of the death of the decedent. 881. Art. For the exercise of civil rights and the fulfillment of civil obligations, the domicile of natural persons is the place of their habitual residence. Art. 1101. (n). 720. A compulsory heir who dies before the testator, a person incapacitated to succeed, and one who renounces the inheritance, shall transmit no right to his own heirs except in cases expressly provided for in this Code. (798a), Art. (1) Upon an injury to the rights of the plaintiff; Art. 1074. Article 32 expands this by allowing a person to claim damages against a private person who violates his constitutional rights, such as the right to privacy and free exercise of religion. Art. Art. In no case shall the donee be responsible for the debts exceeding the value of the property donated, unless a contrary intention clearly appears. After the payment of debts and charges, the personal property shall be assigned to the municipality or city where the deceased last resided in the Philippines, and the real estate to the municipalities or cities, respectively, in which the same is situated. (638a), Art. (1969), Art. The woman showed the employees the receipt, but they were not convinced, so they accompanied her to her office where her belongings were searched, her employer was informed of the supposed theft, and she was humiliated in front of clients. (888a). But if the thing bequeathed, though not belonging to the testator when he made the will, afterwards becomes his, by whatever title, the disposition shall take effect. When the testator dies leaving illegitimate children and no other compulsory heirs, such illegitimate children shall have a right to one-half of the hereditary estate of the deceased. (745, 752, 753, 754a), Art. Art. (782a). In case of a legal separation, the surviving spouse may inherit if it was the deceased who had given cause for the same. Accretion shall also take place among devisees, legatees and usufructuaries under the same conditions established for heirs. In the collateral line, ascent is made to the common ancestor and then descent is made to the person with whom the computation is to be made. (615a), Art. Upon the revocation or reduction of the donation by the birth, appearance or adoption of a child, the property affected shall be returned or its value if the donee has sold the same. 768. Art. Art. 2, 3, or 5 of Article 1032, it shall be necessary to wait until final judgment is rendered, and in the case falling under No. (n). (1061). The recognition of an illegitimate child does not lose its legal effect, even though the will wherein it was made should be revoked. (652). (923), Art. Their subsequent increase or deterioration and even their total loss or destruction, be it accidental or culpable, shall be for the benefit or account and risk of the donee. 1026. (1066a), Art. (822), Art. In order that the State may take possession of the property mentioned in the preceding article, the pertinent provisions of the Rules of Court must be observed. The father or mother of illegitimate children of the three classes mentioned, shall inherit from them in the manner and to the extent established by this Code. The time for prescription for all kinds of actions, when there is no special provision which ordains otherwise, shall be counted from the day they may be brought. The words of a will are to be taken in their ordinary and grammatical sense, unless a clear intention to use them in another sense can be gathered, and that other can be ascertained. The Court held that while the employees had the right to ensure the item was paid for, that did not justify the excessive means employed by the employees against the woman. (n), Art. The will of an alien who is abroad produces effect in the Philippines if made with the formalities prescribed by the law of the place in which he resides, or according to the formalities observed in his country, or in conformity with those which this Code prescribes. The ownership of a piece of land cannot be acquired by occupation. Art. A legacy of generic personal property shall be valid even if there be no things of the same kind in the estate. Art. The representative does not succeed the person represented but the one whom the person represented would have succeeded. When the widow or widower survives with legitimate parents or ascendants and with illegitimate children, such surviving spouse shall be entitled to one-eighth of the hereditary estate of the deceased which must be taken from the free portion, and the illegitimate children shall be entitled to one-fourth of the estate which shall be taken also from the disposable portion. When the widow or widower survives with legitimate children or their descendants and illegitimate children or their descendants, whether legitimate or illegitimate, such widow or widower shall be entitled to the same share as that of a legitimate child. 946. A partition, judicial or extra-judicial, may also be rescinded on account of lesion, when any one of the co-heirs received things whose value is less, by at least one-fourth, than the share to which he is entitled, considering the value of the things at the time they were adjudicated. Art. Death is not defined in the Civil Code. Art. (993a), Art. Article 20 was enacted to fill in any gaps in the law. If among persons having the same names and surnames, there is a similarity of circumstances in such a way that, even with the use of the other proof, the person instituted cannot be identified, none of them shall be an heir. When the widow or widower survives with legitimate parents or ascendants, the surviving spouse shall be entitled to one-half of the estate, and the legitimate parents or ascendants to the other half. Art. 1114. Even though forbidden by the testator, the co-ownership terminates when any of the causes for which partnership is dissolved takes place, or when the court finds for compelling reasons that division should be ordered, upon petition of one of the co-heirs. General Provisions Article 1732. (633). (881a). (n), Art. 1090. The ownership of movables prescribes through uninterrupted possession for four years in good faith. 743. Possession is interrupted for the purposes of prescription, naturally or civilly. 957. The Court held that such conduct amounted to a violation of Article 19 because even if the seller still had the right to tell the water supplier to cut off the buyer’s water supply, such right was exercised in bad faith to the prejudice of the buyer. Art. 733. (1930a). Should any question arise among the co-heirs upon the obligation to bring to collation or as to the things which are subject to collation, the distribution of the estate shall not be interrupted for this reason, provided adequate security is given. 2. 847. The execution of a codicil referring to a previous will has the effect of republishing the will as modified by the codicil. (1067a), Art. The legacy or devise of a thing which at the time of the execution of the will already belonged to the legatee or devisee shall be ineffective, even though another person may have some interest therein. The following are incapable of succeeding: (1) The priest who heard the confession of the testator during his last illness, or the minister of the gospel who extended spiritual aid to him during the same period; (2) The relatives of such priest or minister of the gospel within the fourth degree, the church, order, chapter, community, organization, or institution to which such priest or minister may belong; (3) A guardian with respect to testamentary dispositions given by a ward in his favor before the final accounts of the guardianship have been approved, even if the testator should die after the approval thereof; nevertheless, any provision made by the ward in favor of the guardian when the latter is his ascendant, descendant, brother, sister, or spouse, shall be valid; (4) Any attesting witness to the execution of a will, the spouse, parents, or children, or any one claiming under such witness, spouse, parents, or children; (5) Any physician, surgeon, nurse, health officer or druggist who took care of the testator during his last illness; (6) Individuals, associations and corporations not permitted by law to inherit. Art. Art. 898. Against a title recorded in the Registry of Property, ordinary prescription of ownership or real rights shall not take place to the prejudice of a third person, except in virtue of another title also recorded; and the time shall begin to run from the recording of the latter. A tacit acceptance is one resulting from acts by which the intention to accept is necessarily implied, or which one would have no right to do except in the capacity of an heir. If the bequest should not be of a specific and determinate thing, but is generic or of quantity, its fruits and interests from the time of the death of the testator shall pertain to the legatee or devisee if the testator has expressly so ordered. 971. 880. 923. In case of a legal separation, if the surviving spouse gave cause for the separation, he or she shall not have any of the rights granted in the preceding articles. Art. If the revocation is based upon noncompliance with any of the conditions imposed in the donation, the donee shall return not only the property but also the fruits thereof which he may have received after having failed to fulfill the condition. If a periodical pension, or a certain annual, monthly, or weekly amount is bequeathed, the legatee may petition the court for the first installment upon the death of the testator, and for the following ones which shall be due at the beginning of each period; such payment shall not be returned, even though the legatee should die before the expiration of the period which has commenced. 827. It was intended by the Code Commission that the many grievances not redressed and the many injustices committed in the relations among men be righted and given some adequate legal remedy. The making of a will is a strictly personal act; it cannot be left in whole or in part of the discretion of a third person, or accomplished through the instrumentality of an agent or attorney. These articles apply either when first, one commits an act in violation of some legal provision, or second, and more relevantly, one commits an act that does not violate any positive law but nevertheless violates rudimentary rights of the party aggrieved. On the other hand, an independent civil action would afford the proper remedy by a mere preponderance of evidence. (429a), Art. (981), Art. The action for rescission on account of lesion shall prescribe after four years from the time the partition was made. (764). One who has compulsory heirs may dispose of his estate provided he does not contravene the provisions of this Code with regard to the legitime of said heirs. 736. The hereditary rights granted by the two preceding articles to illegitimate children shall be transmitted upon their death to their descendants, who shall inherit by right of representation from their deceased grandparent. Hidden treasure belongs to the owner of the land, building, or other property on which it is found. Technical words in a will are to be taken in their technical sense, unless the context clearly indicates a contrary intention, or unless it satisfactorily appears that he was unacquainted with such technical sense. Article 1733. 1121. This article deals with the extinguishment of civil personality. Download PDF. Every renunciation or compromise as regards a future legitime between the person owing it and his compulsory heirs is void, and the latter may claim the same upon the death of the former; but they must bring to collation whatever they may have received by virtue of the renunciation or compromise. If the testator should institute his brothers and sisters, and he has some of full blood and others of half blood, the inheritance shall be distributed equally unless a different intention appears. (1931a). When a number of dispositions appearing in a holographic will are signed without being dated, and the last disposition has a signature and a date, such date validates the dispositions preceding it, whatever be the time of prior dispositions. This Act shall be known as the Civil Code of the Philippines. 795. Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines - The Official Gazette is the official journal of the Republic of the Philippines. (1) The author with regard to his literary, dramatic, historical, legal, philosophical, scientific or other work; (2) The composer; as to his musical composition; (3) The painter, sculptor, or other artist, with respect to the product of his art; (4) The scientist or technologist or any other person with regard to his discovery or invention. (983a), Art. CIVIL CODE OF THE PHILIPPINES PRELIMINARY TITLE Chapter 1 EFFECT AND APPLICATION OF LAWS Article 1. (770a), Art. 817. The scientist or technologist has the ownership of his discovery or invention even before it is patented. (635). 726. 836. The heir, charged with a legacy or devise, or the executor or administrator of the estate, must deliver the very thing bequeathed if he is able to do so and cannot discharge this obligation by paying its value. (876a), Art. Civil Code - is a compilation of existing laws, scientifically arranged into books, titles, chapters, and subheads and promulgated by legislative authority. 1084. Should the provisions of the preceding article be impracticable, if the property donated was immovable, the co-heirs shall be entitled to receive its equivalent in cash or securities, at the rate of quotation; and should there be neither cash or marketable securities in the estate, so much of the other property as may be necessary shall be sold at public auction. (1950a), Art. 749. (840a), Art. Art. Prescription already running before the effectivity of this Code shall be governed by laws previously in force; but if since the time this Code took effect the entire period herein required for prescription should elapse, the present Code shall be applicable, even though by the former laws a longer period might be required. 938. Art. 785. (1069a). In the line, as many degrees are counted as there are generations or persons, excluding the progenitor. 1095. 926. If the only survivor is the widow or widower, she or he shall be entitled to one-half of the hereditary estate of the deceased spouse, and the testator may freely dispose of the other half. 841. (643). Art. The Civil Code incorporated into the positive law of the Philippines very many claims that had remained only within the sphere of natural law. (n). (714), Art. (933), Art. 980. Real actions over immovables prescribe after thirty years. (878a). Art. (1065a), Art. Impossible conditions and those contrary to law or good customs shall be considered as not imposed and shall in no manner prejudice the heir, even if the testator should otherwise provide. (773a), Art. 845. Within thirty days after the court has issued an order for the distribution of the estate in accordance with the Rules of Court, the heirs, devisees and legatees shall signify to the court having jurisdiction whether they accept or repudiate the inheritance. The old possession is not revived if a new possession should be exercised by the same adverse claimant. 873. In the general scheme of the Philippine legal system envisioned by the Commission responsible for drafting the New Civil Code, intentional and malicious acts, with certain exceptions, are to be governed by the Revised Penal Code while negligent acts or omissions are to be covered by Article 2176 of the Civil Code. However since the Philippine legal system is a combination of civil law and common law, courts apply statutes as well as resort to the doctrine of precedent. The prescription of actions is interrupted when they are filed before the court, when there is a written extrajudicial demand by the creditors, and when there is any written acknowledgment of the debt by the debtor. If the institution, devise or legacy should be conditional, the time of the compliance with the condition shall also be considered. 806. Should one only of them survive, he or she shall succeed to the entire estate of the child. Article 1. A mere charge on the estate of the testator for the payment of debts due at the time of the testator's death does not prevent his creditors from being competent witnesses to his will. An inheritance is deemed accepted: (1) If the heirs sells, donates, or assigns his right to a stranger, or to his co-heirs, or to any of them; (2) If the heir renounces the same, even though gratuitously, for the benefit of one or more of his co-heirs; (3) If he renounces it for a price in favor of all his co-heirs indiscriminately; but if this renunciation should be gratuitous, and the co-heirs in whose favor it is made are those upon whom the portion renounced should devolve by virtue of accretion, the inheritance shall not be deemed as accepted. The heirs to whom the inheritance accrues shall succeed to all the rights and obligations which the heir who renounced or could not receive it would have had. (651), Art. 892. (613a), Art. 730. Civil Code of the Philippines Annotated: Arts. (1048). (n), Art. The donee who collates in kind an immovable which has been given to him must be reimbursed by his co-heirs for the improvements which have increased the value of the property, and which exist at the time the partition if effected. In 2010, Carlos Celdran, a Filipino tour guide and an advocate of reproductive health rights, disrupted an ongoing mass in order to express his disdain with the Catholic Church. 772. 968. 972. The representative is called to the succession by the law and not by the person represented. (n), Art. “ though the foregoing is also an unquestioned rule, yet, it is necessary to embody it in the code, so that it may tip the scales in favor… Art. 1105. (792a). The fixing of an event or the imposition of a suspensive condition, which may take place beyond the natural expectation of life of the donor, does not destroy the nature of the act as a donation inter vivos, unless a contrary intention appears. (1077a), Art. Should brother and sisters of the full blood survive together with brothers and sisters of the half blood, the former shall be entitled to a share double that of the latter. 887. 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. 918. 13 Replies. 1005. A right, although legal because recognized or granted by law, may nevertheless become a source of some illegality. The second heir shall acquire a right to the succession from the time of the testator's death, even though he should die before the fiduciary. (n), Art. 729. THIS ACT SHALL BE KNOWN AS THE “CIVIL CODE OF THE PHILIPPINES.” Sources of the Civil Code A. It is a general sanction for all other provisions of law which do not especially provide their own sanction. Nevertheless, the right of usufruct, or an allowance or some personal prestation may be devised or bequeathed to any person for the time during which he or she should remain unmarried or in widowhood. (778), Art. REPUBLIC ACT NUMBER 386. The legitime reserved for the legitimate parents shall be divided between them equally; if one of the parents should have died, the whole shall pass to the survivor. The compulsory heirs shall not be liable for the charge beyond the amount of the free portion given them. A testamentary provision in favor of a disqualified person, even though made under the guise of an onerous contract, or made through an intermediary, shall be void. (n), Art. If only one legitimate child or descendant of the deceased survives, the widow or widower shall be entitled to one-fourth of the hereditary estate. In the partition of the estate, equality shall be observed as far as possible, dividing the property into lots, or assigning to each of the co-heirs things of the same nature, quality and kind. Ownership and other real rights over immovables also prescribe through uninterrupted adverse possession thereof for thirty years, without need of title or of good faith. The statement of a false cause for the institution of an heir shall be considered as not written, unless it appears from the will that the testator would not have made such institution if he had known the falsity of such cause. The Civil Code of the Philippines is the governing law on agency. If the estate should not be sufficient to cover all the legacies or devises, their payment shall be made in the following order: (2) Legacies or devises declared by the testator to be preferential; (5) Legacies or devises of a specific, determinate thing which forms a part of the estate; Art. In order that representation may take place, it is necessary that the representative himself be capable of succeeding the decedent. 719. This fourth shall be taken from the free portion of the estate. (3) If the devise or legacy consists of a usufruct or life annuity, whose value may be considered greater than that of the disposable portion, the compulsory heirs may choose between complying with the testamentary provision and delivering to the devisee or legatee the part of the inheritance of which the testator could freely dispose. 852. (655a), Art. 731. Art. This action shall prescribe after four years from the noncompliance with the condition, may be transmitted to the heirs of the donor, and may be exercised against the donee's heirs. (n), Art. A child already conceived at the time of the death of the decedent is capable of succeeding provided it be born later under the conditions prescribed in article 41. Voluntary heirs upon whom some condition has been imposed cannot demand a partition until the condition has been fulfilled; but the other co-heirs may demand it by giving sufficient security for the rights which the former may have in case the condition should be complied with, and until it is known that the condition has not been fulfilled or can never be complied with, the partition shall be understood to be provisional. 61a48365-61f2-4f9d-8189-27e413ae863d.jpeg. 782. One usual example when Article 21 applies is for a breach of promise to marry as long as one party has paid for preparations when the marriage was called off. Art. Art. (1000). If the property donated was movable, the co-heirs shall only have a right to select an equivalent of other personal property of the inheritance at its just price. Under Article 434 of the Civil Code, to successfully maintain an action to recover the ownership of a real property, the person who claims a better right to it must prove two (2) things: first, the identity of the land claimed; and second, his title thereto. Art. (834a), Art. The latter, on the other hand, is not obliged to warrant the things donated, save when the donation is onerous, in which case the donor shall be liable for eviction to the concurrence of the burden. (644a). (986), Art. (861a). 1053. Art. When the grandchildren, who survive with their uncles, aunts, or cousins, inherit from their grandparents in representation of their father or mother, they shall bring to collation all that their parents, if alive, would have been obliged to bring, even though such grandchildren have not inherited the property. If a person, who is called to the same inheritance as an heir by will and ab intestato, repudiates the inheritance in his capacity as a testamentary heir, he is understood to have repudiated it in both capacities. (989), Art. The inheritance includes all the property, rights and obligations of a person which are not extinguished by his death. Art. (872). (953, 837a), Art. (756, 853, 674a). 1004. A direct line is that constituted by the series of degrees among ascendants and descendants. (877a). 1132. (1) When the parents have abandoned their children or induced their daughters to live a corrupt or immoral life, or attempted against their virtue; (2) When the parent or ascendant has been convicted of an attempt against the life of the testator, his or her spouse, descendants, or ascendants; (3) When the parent or ascendant has accused the testator of a crime for which the law prescribes imprisonment for six years or more, if the accusation has been found to be false; (4) When the parent or ascendant has been convicted of adultery or concubinage with the spouse of the testator; (5) When the parent or ascendant by fraud, violence, intimidation, or undue influence causes the testator to make a will or to change one already made; (6) The loss of parental authority for causes specified in this Code; (7) The refusal to support the children or descendants without justifiable cause; (8) An attempt by one of the parents against the life of the other, unless there has been a reconciliation between them. 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