The Civil Code of the Philippines
Republic Act No. 386
Which provisions are explained in plain language?
Title Preliminary: Preliminary Title
Chapter 1: EFFECT AND APPLICATION OF LAWS
Chapter 2: HUMAN RELATIONS
- Article 19: Abuse of rightsEvery person must, in the exercise of his rights and in the performance of his duties, act with justice, give everyone his due, and…
- Article 20: Damages for acts contrary to lawEvery person who, contrary to law, willfully or negligently causes damage to another, shall indemnify the latter for the same.
- Article 21: Acts contrary to morals, good customs or public policyAny person who willfully causes loss or injury to another in a manner that is contrary to morals, good customs or public policy shall…
- Article 22: Unjust enrichmentEvery person who through an act of performance by another, or any other means, acquires or comes into possession of something at the…
- Article 26: Respect for privacy and peace of mind of neighborsEvery person shall respect the dignity, personality, privacy and peace of mind of his neighbors and other persons. The following and…
Book II: PROPERTY, OWNERSHIP, AND ITS MODIFICATIONS
Title II: OWNERSHIP
Chapter 1: OWNERSHIP IN GENERAL
Chapter 2: RIGHT OF ACCESSION
Section 2: Right of Accession with Respect to Immovable Property
Title VII: EASEMENTS OR SERVITUDES
Chapter 2: LEGAL EASEMENTS
Book III: DIFFERENT MODES OF ACQUIRING OWNERSHIP
Title I: OCCUPATION
Title III: DONATION
Chapter 2: PERSONS WHO MAY GIVE OR RECEIVE A DONATION
Chapter 4: REVOCATION AND REDUCTION OF DONATIONS
Title IV: SUCCESSION
Chapter 1: GENERAL PROVISIONS
Chapter 2: TESTAMENTARY SUCCESSION
Section 1: Wills
Section 3: Forms of Wills
- Article 805: Notarial will formalitiesEvery will, other than a holographic will, must be subscribed at the end thereof by the testator himself or by the testator’s name written…
- Article 810: Holographic willA person may execute a holographic will which must be entirely written, dated, and signed by the hand of the testator himself. It is…
Section 8: Allowance and Disallowance of Wills
Section 2: Institution of Heir
Section 5: Legitime
- Article 887: Who are compulsory heirsThe following are compulsory heirs: (1) Legitimate children and descendants, with respect to their legitimate parents and ascendants; (2)…
- Article 888: Legitime of legitimate childrenThe legitime of legitimate children and descendants consists of one-half of the hereditary estate of the father and of the mother. The…
Chapter 3: LEGAL OR INTESTATE SUCCESSION
Section 2: Order of Intestate Succession
Section 3: Illegitimate Children
Title V: PRESCRIPTION
Chapter 3: PRESCRIPTION OF ACTIONS
- Article 1144: Ten years to sue on a written contractThe following actions must be brought within ten years from the time the right of action accrues: (1) Upon a written contract; (2) Upon an…
- Article 1145: Six years for oral contractsThe following actions must be commenced within six years: (1) Upon an oral contract; (2) Upon a quasi-contract.
- Article 1155: How prescription of actions is interruptedThe prescription of actions is interrupted when they are filed before the court, when there is a written extrajudicial demand by the…
Book IV: OBLIGATIONS AND CONTRACTS
Title I: OBLIGATIONS
Chapter 2: NATURE AND EFFECT OF OBLIGATIONS
- Article 1169: Delay and demandThose obliged to deliver or to do something incur in delay from the time the obligee judicially or extrajudicially demands from them the…
- Article 1174: Fortuitous eventsExcept in cases expressly specified by the law, or when it is otherwise declared by stipulation, or when the nature of the obligation…
Chapter 3: DIFFERENT KINDS OF OBLIGATIONS
Title II: CONTRACTS
Chapter 3: FORM OF CONTRACTS
Chapter 7: VOIDABLE CONTRACTS
Title VI: SALES
Chapter 1: NATURE AND FORM OF THE CONTRACT
Chapter 4: OBLIGATIONS OF THE VENDOR
Chapter 7: EXTINGUISHMENT OF SALE
Title VIII: LEASE
Chapter 2: LEASE OF RURAL AND URBAN LANDS
Section 2: Rights and Obligations of the Lessor and the Lessee
Title X: AGENCY
Chapter 1: NATURE, FORM AND KINDS OF AGENCY
Title XI: LOAN
Chapter 2: SIMPLE LOAN OR Mutuum
Title XV: GUARANTY
Title XVII: EXTRA-CONTRACTUAL OBLIGATIONS
Chapter 1: QUASI-CONTRACTS
Chapter 2: QUASI-DELICTS
- Article 2176: Quasi-delict: liability for fault or negligenceWhoever by act or omission causes damage to another, there being fault or negligence, is obliged to pay for the damage done. Such fault or…
- Article 2180: Liability of employers, parents and schools for othersThe obligation imposed by article 2176 is demandable not only for one’s own acts or omissions, but also for those of persons for whom one…
What questions about the Civil Code are answered here?
- Do Children Have to Pay a Dead Parent's Debts?Heirs do not pay a parent's debts from their own money: under Article 1311 they answer only up to the value of what they inherit. How estate debts work.
- You Built on Someone Else's Land in Good Faith: What Now?If you built a house on land that turns out to belong to someone else, Article 448 gives the landowner two options. Who is a builder in good faith.
- Can a Co-Owner Sell His Share of Inherited Land?Yes, but only his undivided share, and the other co-owners or co-heirs may buy it back within 30 days or one month from written notice of the sale.
- Can a Donation Be Taken Back?A donation can be revoked for the birth or adoption of a child, an unmet condition, or ingratitude. The grounds and deadlines in Articles 760 to 769.
- Can a Lender Keep Your Collateral If You Do Not Pay?A clause letting a lender take mortgaged land automatically on default is pactum commissorium and void. What Article 2088 and the Supreme Court cases say.
- Can a Minor Sign a Contract in the Philippines?A contract signed by a person under 18 is voidable: valid until annulled in court. If both parties are minors it is unenforceable. The four-year deadline.
- Can an Heir Force the Others to Divide the Property?No heir has to stay in co-ownership: Articles 494 and 1083 let any co-heir demand partition, by agreement or in court. The limits and what courts check.
- Can Parents Disinherit a Child in the Philippines?Only in a valid will that states one of the eight legal causes in Article 919. Saying it out loud or leaving a child out of a sale does not disinherit.
- The Other Party Did Not Pay: Can You Cancel the Contract?Article 1191 lets the injured party cancel (rescind) a reciprocal contract for a substantial breach, with damages. When rescission is allowed and when not.
- Can You Go to Jail for Unpaid Debt in the Philippines?No one can be jailed for an unpaid debt under the 1987 Constitution. What a lender can lawfully do: demand, barangay, court, and when a crime is different.
- Can You Use Force to Protect Your Property?Article 429 lets an owner use reasonable force to stop an actual or threatened invasion of property. Once possession is lost, the owner must go to court.
- A Child Was Left Out of the Will: What Happens?Leaving a child completely out of a will is preterition under Article 854: the institution of heirs is annulled. What changes if the child got something.
- A Co-Owner Sold to a Stranger: Your Right to Buy It BackWhen a co-owner sells his share to a stranger, the other co-owners may buy it back within 30 days from the seller's written notice. How redemption works.
- Does a Deed of Sale of Land Need to Be Notarized?A sale of land binds buyer and seller even without a notary, but the Civil Code wants a public document. What notarization changes, and what not.
- Donating Land: Does It Need a Notarized Deed?A donation of land is valid only in a public document, with the donee's acceptance made in public form while the donor is alive. What Article 749 requires.
- Extrajudicial Settlement of Estate: Requirements and RisksHeirs can divide an estate without court if there is no will and no debts: a public deed, a bond, three weeks of publication and a two-year risk window.
- Force Majeure: When You Are Not Liable for Delay or LossUnder Article 1174, no one is liable for events that could not be foreseen or avoided, unless the law, the contract or the obligation says otherwise.
- Bought a Defective Item? Warranty Against Hidden DefectsA seller answers for hidden defects even without knowing of them. Return the item or get a lower price, with damages, within six months from delivery.
- Holographic Will in the Philippines: RequirementsA holographic will must be entirely handwritten, dated and signed by the testator. No witnesses or notary are needed, but it must still go through probate.
- How Many Years Can You Collect a Debt? Prescription of ActionsA lender has 10 years to sue on a written loan and 6 on an oral one. When the period starts, and how a demand or the barangay interrupts it.
- How to Evict a Tenant Who Will Not LeaveHow to evict a tenant in the Philippines: demand to pay and vacate, the 15-day or 5-day wait, barangay first, then unlawful detainer within a year.
- Can an Illegitimate Child Inherit? Share and LimitsYes, once filiation is proved. Each gets half the legitime of a legitimate child, and after Aquino v. Aquino (2021) may inherit from a grandparent.
- Who Inherits If There Is No Will in the Philippines?With no will, the Civil Code decides: children and spouse first, then parents, then siblings and relatives up to the fifth degree, and last the State.
- Is 5% Monthly Interest Legal in the Philippines?There is no fixed interest ceiling, but courts have struck down 5% a month as unconscionable. How the twice-the-legal-rate test works in court.
- Are You Liable as Co-Maker of Someone's Loan?A co-maker who signs jointly and severally is a surety: the lender may collect the whole loan from him without suing the borrower first. What the law says.
- Do You Need to Send a Demand Letter Before Suing?Under Article 1169, a debtor is usually in delay only after a demand, but not always. Why a written demand matters for delay, interest and prescription.
- Is a Verbal Agreement Binding in the Philippines?Most verbal agreements bind, but the Statute of Frauds needs a signed writing for some. Which ones, how they are ratified, and the 6-year limit.
- Your Lease Has Expired: Can You Stay?If you stay 15 days after your lease ends and the owner accepts it, an implied new lease starts, usually month to month. When a notice to vacate ends it.
- What Is the Legal Interest Rate in the Philippines?The legal interest rate is 6% a year since July 1, 2013 (BSP Circular No. 799, Nacar). When it applies, when it starts, and unwritten interest.
- How Is Inheritance Divided Under a Will? Legitime SharesA will cannot take away the legitime. Children share half the estate, the spouse and children born outside marriage get fixed shares, the rest is free.
- Sent Money to the Wrong Account: Can You Get It Back?A person who receives money by mistake has a duty to return it under Articles 22 and 2154 of the Civil Code. What the law and the Supreme Court cases say.
- Notarial Will in the Philippines: RequirementsA notarial will needs the testator's signature, three witnesses, numbered and signed pages, an attestation clause and acknowledgment before a notary.
- Is a Promissory Note Valid Without a Notary?A signed promissory note can bind the borrower even if not notarized. What the Civil Code requires, written interest, and how long a lender can sue.
- Item Bought on Installment Was Repossessed: The Recto LawUnder the Recto Law, a seller who forecloses the chattel mortgage on an item sold on installment cannot collect the unpaid balance. What the rules say.
- Right of Way in the Philippines: Landlocked Lot RulesAn owner of a lot with no adequate road access can demand a right of way through a neighbor's land, at the least damaging point, after paying indemnity.
- Sale With Right to Repurchase (Pacto de Retro): Is It a Loan?A pacto de retro sale is presumed a loan with a mortgage if, for example, the seller stays on the land or the price is too low. What Article 1602 says.
- The Same Land Was Sold to Two Buyers: Who Owns It?When one seller sells the same land to two buyers, Article 1544 favors the first to register in good faith. How the double sale rule works, with cases.
- How Much Does a Surviving Spouse Inherit?With no will, a surviving spouse gets the same share as each legitimate child, or one-half with parents or siblings. The spouse's legitime under a will.
- When Do You Need a Special Power of Attorney?Selling or mortgaging land, borrowing money or leasing land for over a year through an agent needs a special power of attorney (Article 1878).
General information, not legal advice. For your case, ask a lawyer, the Public Attorney's Office (PAO) or the agency.
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