Property

Question 1

Define Property as a Subject

Answer 1

It is a branch of civil law which classifies and defines the different kinds of appropriable objects, their acquisition and loss, and in general, treats of the nature and consequences of real rights

Question 2

What is a property?

Answer 2

All things which are or may be the object of appropriation?

Question 3

What are the classification of things?

Answer 3

1. Res Nullius- belonging to no one
   Reason: They have not yet been appropriated:
   a. Res Derelictae- abandoned by the owner with the intention of no longer owning them
   b. Ferae Naturae- free in their natural habitat
2. Re Communes- “belonging to everyone”, their use and enjoyment are given to all mankind
3. Res Alicujus- “belonging to someone”, objects, tangible or intangible, which are owned privately, either in a collective or individual capacity

Question 4

What is the difference between a thing and a property?

Answer 4

Thing- any object which exists and is capable of satisfying human needs, including those already possessed, those susceptible of appropriation, and common things which are physically or legally impossible to possess

Property- anything which is already an object of appropriation or found in the possession of man. It must be susceptible of appropriation

Question 5

What are the requisites/ classifications of property?

Answer 5

1. Utility- capacity to satisfy some human want. It endows property with value susceptible of pecuniary estimation.
2. Substantivity or individuality- quality of having existence apart from any other thing.
3. Appropriability- susceptibility of being possessed by men

Question 6

What are considered as immovable property?

Answer 6

(1) Land, buildings, roads and constructions of all kinds adhered to the soil;

(2) Trees, plants, and growing fruits, while they are attached to the land or form an integral part of an immovable;

(3) Everything attached to an immovable in a fixed manner, in such a way that it cannot be separated therefrom without breaking the material or deterioration of the object;

(4) Statues, reliefs, paintings or other objects for use or ornamentation, placed in buildings or on lands by the owner of the immovable in such a manner that it reveals the intention to attach them permanently to the tenements;

(5) Machinery, receptacles, instruments or implements intended by the owner of the tenement for an industry or works which may be carried on in a building or on a piece of land, and which tend directly to meet the needs of the said industry or works;

(6) Animal houses, pigeon-houses, beehives, fish ponds or breeding places of similar nature, in case their owner has placed them or preserves them with the intention to have them permanently attached to the land, and forming a permanent part of it; the animals in these places are included;

(7) Fertilizer actually used on a piece of land;

(8) Mines, quarries, and slag dumps, while the matter thereof forms part of the bed, and waters either running or stagnant;

(9) Docks and structures which, though floating, are intended by their nature and object to remain at a fixed place on a river, lake, or coast;

(10) Contracts for public works, and servitudes and other real rights over immovable property.

Question 7

What are considered as personal or movable property?

Answer 7

They are deemed to be personal property:
(1) Those movables susceptible of appropriation which are not included in the preceding article;

(2) Real property which by any special provision of law is considered as personalty;

(3) Forces of nature which are brought under control by science; and

(4) In general, all things which can be transported from place to place without impairment of the real property to which they are fixed.

They are also considered as personal property:
(1) Obligations and actions which have for their object movables or demandable sums; and

(2) Shares of stock of agricultural, commercial and industrial entities, although they may have real estate. (336a)

Question 8

Differentiate consumable or nonconsummable property

Answer 8

Movable property is either consumable or nonconsumable. To the first class belong those movables which cannot be used in a manner appropriate to their nature without their being consumed; to the second class belong all the others.

Question 9

Differentiate property of public dominion and property of private ownership

Answer 9

Public dominion- owned by the state in its public or sovereign capacity and intended for public use and not for the use of the state as a juridical person

Private ownership
a. Property owned by the State and its political subdivisions in their private capacity and is known as patrimonial property
b.Property belonging to private persons, either individually or collectively

Question 10

What are the characteristics of the Property of Public Dominion?

Answer 10

OI-PERA
1. OUTSIDE the commerce of man except insofar as they may be the object of repair or improvement or other similar things
2. INALIENABLE, however, when it is no longer needed for public use or service, it may be declared as patrimonial property
3. It cannot be acquired by PRESCRIPTION
4. It cannot be burdened by EASEMENTS
5. Is is not subject to ATTACHMENT or execution
6. It cannot be REGISTERED under the Property Registration Decree or PD no. 1529

Question 11

What are the considered as public dominion?

Answer 11

(1) Those intended for public use, such as roads, canals, rivers, torrents, ports and bridges constructed by the State, banks, shores, roadsteads, and others of similar character;

(2) Those which belong to the State, without being for public use, and are intended for some public service or for the development of the national wealth.

Question 11

What is considered as Patrimonial Property?

Answer 11

a. Property owned by the State and its political subdivisions in their private capacity

b. Article 421. All other property of the State, which is not of the character stated in the preceding article, is patrimonial property.

c. Article 422. Property of public dominion, when no longer intended for public use or for public service, shall form part of the patrimonial property of the State.

d. Article 423. The property of provinces, cities, and municipalities is divided into property for public use and patrimonial property.

Question 12

What constitutes the property for public use in the provinces, municipalities and cities?

Answer 12

Article 424. Property for public use, in the provinces, cities, and municipalities, consist of the provincial roads, city streets, municipal streets, the squares, fountains, public waters, promenades, and public works for public service paid for by said provinces, cities, or municipalities

All other property possessed by any of them is patrimonial and shall be governed by this Code, without prejudice to the provisions of special laws.

Question 13

What is an ownership?

Answer 13

It 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 law

Question 14

What are the subject matter of ownership?

Answer 14

1. Thing- usually refers to a corporeal property; or
2. Right- whether real or personal, usually refers to an incorporeal property

Question 15

what are the modes of acquiring ownership?

Answer 15

1. Original Modes
   a. Occupation
   b. Work which includes Intellectual creation
2. Derivative Modes
   a. Law
   b. Tradition
   c. Donation
   d. Prescription
   e. Succession

Question 16

What are the seven attributes of ownership?

Answer 16

PUF-A2-DV
1. Jus Possidendi- the right to possess

2. Jus Utendi- The right to use and enjoy; it may also include the right to exclude any person from enjoyment and disposal of the thing
3. Jus Fruendi- The right to enjoy the fruits (natural, industrial, and civil); possessor in good faith, usufructuary, and antichretic creditor are entitled to the fruits even if they are not the owner
4. Jus Accessionis- The right to accessories; the general rule is that all accessions and accessories are included in the obligation to deliver a determinate thing although they may not have been mentioned
5. Jus Abutendi- The right to abuse (or even destroy) or to consume a thing by its use, subject to the provisions of law
6. Jus Disponendi- includes the following rights (DATE-Not)
   a. To DESTROY
   b. To ALIENATE
   c. To TRANSFORM
   d. To ENCUMBER
   e. NOT to dispose
7. Jus Vindicandi- right of action against the holder and possessor of the thig or right in order to recover it

Question 17

What are the characteristics of ownership?

Answer 17

EG-PIE
1. ELASTIC- power/s may be reduced and thereafter automatically recovered upon the cessation of the limiting rights

2. General- the right to make use of all the possibilities or utility of the thing owned, except those attached to other real rights existing thereon
3. Perpetual- ownership lasts as long as the thing exists. It cannot be extinguished by non-use but only by adverse possession
4. Independent- it exists without necessity of any other right
5. Exclusive- there can only be one ownership over a thing at a time; there may be two or more owners but only one ownership

Question 18

What are the rights of the owners?

Answer 18

Article 429. The owner or lawful possessor of a thing has the right to exclude any person from the enjoyment and disposal thereof. For this purpose, he may use such force as may be reasonably necessary to repel or prevent an actual or threatened unlawful physical invasion or usurpation of his property. (n)

Article 430. Every 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.

Question 19

What are the prohibitions of the owner?

Answer 19

Article 431. The owner of a thing cannot make use thereof in such manner as to injure the rights of a third person. (n)

Article 432. The owner of a thing has no right to prohibit the interference of another with the same, if the interference is necessary to avert an imminent danger and the threatened damage, compared to the damage arising to the owner from the interference, is much greater. The owner may demand from the person benefited indemnity for the damage to him. (n)

Question 20

What is the rule regarding actual possession?

Answer 20

Article 433. Actual possession under claim of ownership raises disputable presumption of ownership. The true owner must resort to judicial process for the recovery of the property.

Question 21

What is the rule regarding the action to recover?

Answer 21

Article 434. In an action to recover, the property must be identified, and the plaintiff must rely on the strength of his title and not on the weakness of the defendant’s claim.

Question 22

What is the rule with regard to the deprivation of property?

Answer 22

Article 435. No person shall be deprived of his property except by competent authority and for public use and always upon payment of just compensation.

Should this requirement be not first complied with, the courts shall protect and, in a proper case, restore the owner in his possession.

Question 23

What is rule regarding condemnation of property and the freedom to construct?

Answer 23

Article 436. When any property is condemned or seized by competent authority in the interest of health, safety or security, the owner thereof shall not be entitled to compensation, unless he can show that such condemnation or seizure is unjustified. (n) ARTICLE 437. The owner of a parcel of land is the owner of its surface and of everything under it, and he can construct thereon any works or make any plantations and excavations which he may deem proper, without detriment to servitudes and subject to special laws and ordinances. He cannot complain of the reasonable requirements of aerial navigation.

Question 24

What is rule regarding hidden treasure?

Answer 24

Article 438. Hidden treasure belongs to the owner of the land, building, or other property on which it is found.

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. If the finder is a trespasser, he shall not be entitled to any share of the treasure.

If the things found be of interest to science or the arts, the State may acquire them at their just price, which shall be divided in conformity with the rule stated.

Question 25

What is a treasure?

Answer 25

Article 439. By treasure is understood, for legal purposes, any hidden and unknown deposit of money, jewelry, or other precious objects, the lawful ownership of which does not appear.

Question 26

What is accession?

Answer 26

The right by virtue of which the owner of a thing becomes the owner of everything that is produced thereby or which is incorporated or attached thereto, either naturally or artificially.

Question 27

Differentiate accession and accessories

Answer 27

As to definition, Accession refers to the fruits of, or additions to, or improvements upon, a thing while Accessories are things joined to or included with the principal thing for the latter’s embellishment, better use, or completion.

As to relation to the Principal, Accession is not necessary to the principal thing while Accessories must go together with the principal.

Question 28

What are the kinds of fruits?

Answer 28

Article 442. Natural fruits are the spontaneous products of the soil, and the young and other products of animals.

Industrial fruits are those produced by lands of any kind through cultivation or labor.

Civil fruits are the rents of buildings, the price of leases of lands and other property and the amount of perpetual or life annuities or other similar income.

Question 29

What is the obligation incurred to those who receives the fruits?

Answer 29

Article 443. He who receives the fruits has the obligation to pay the expenses made by a third person in their production, gathering, and preservation. (

Question 30

What are the indicators for natural or industrial fruits?

Answer 30

Article 444. Only such as are manifest or born are considered as natural or industrial fruits.

With respect to animals, it is sufficient that they are in the womb of the mother, although unborn.

Question 31

What are the classifications of Accession?

Answer 31

a. Accession Discreta- the right pertaining to the owner of a thing over everything produced thereby

Requisites:
1. Increase or addition of original thing
2. At repeated intervals
3. by Inherent forces

b. Accession Continua- the right pertaining to the owner of a thing over everything that is incorporated or attached thereto, either naturally or artificially, by external forces

Question 32

What are the basic principles of Accession Continua?

Answer 32

GONE-BAD
a. He who is in GOOD faith may be held responsible but will not be penalized;
b. To the OWNER of a thing belongs the extension or increase of such thing
c. Bad Faith of one party NEUTRALIZES the bad faith of the other
d. There should be no unjust ENRICHMENT at the expense of others
e. BAD faith involves liability for damages;
f. Accessory follows liability for damages;
g. Accession exists only if the incorporation is such that separation would either seriously DAMAGE the thing or DIMINISH its value.

Question 33

What are rights of owner of the fruits?

Answer 33

GR: To the owner of the principal belongs the natural, industrial and civil fruits.

XPN: (PULA)
a. Possessor in good faith
b. Usufructuary
c. Lessee of rural lands; or
d. in Possession of an Antichretic creditor

Question 34

Surface rights

Answer 34

ARTICLE 437. The owner of a parcel of land is the owner of its surface and of everything under it, and he can construct thereon any works or make any plantations and excavations which he may deem proper, without detriment to servitudes and subject to special laws and ordinances. He cannot complain of the reasonable requirements of aerial navigation. (

Question 35

Hidden Treasure

Answer 35

Article 438. Hidden treasure belongs to the owner of the land, building, or other property on which it is found.

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. If the finder is a trespasser, he shall not be entitled to any share of the treasure.

If the things found be of interest to science or the arts, the State may acquire them at their just price, which shall be divided in conformity with the rule stated. (351a)

Article 439. By treasure is understood, for legal purposes, any hidden and unknown deposit of money, jewelry, or other precious objects, the lawful ownership of which does not appear.

Question 36

Right of Accession

Answer 36

Article 440. The ownership of property gives the right by accession to everything which is produced thereby, or which is incorporated or attached thereto, either naturally or artificially.

Question 37

Accession vs Accessories

Question 38

Classifications of Accession

Answer 38

Accession Discreta

Accession Continua

Question 39

Kinds of Fruits

Answer 39

Article 442. Natural fruits are the spontaneous products of the soil, and the young and other products of animals.

Industrial fruits are those produced by lands of any kind through cultivation or labor.

Civil fruits are the rents of buildings, the price of leases of lands and other property and the amount of perpetual or life annuities or other similar income.

Question 40

Obligation of those who receive the fruits

Answer 40

Article 443. He who receives the fruits has the obligation to pay the expenses made by a third person in their production, gathering, and preservation.

Question 41

General Rule: Right of Accession of Immovable property

Answer 41

Article 445. Whatever is built, planted or sown on the land of another and the improvements or repairs made thereon, belong to the owner of the land, subject to the provisions of the following articles (447-456)

Question 42

Presumption over Right of Accession

Answer 42

Article 446. All works, sowing, and planting are presumed made by the owner and at his expense, unless the contrary is proved.