Unformatted text preview: REPUBLIC ACT NO. 386
AN ACT TO ORDAIN AND INSTITUTE THE
CIVIL CODE OF THE PHILIPPINES
PRELIMINARY TITLE
CHAPTER 1
Effect and Application of Laws
Article 1. This Act shall be known as the "Civil
Code of the Philippines." (n)
Article 2. Laws shall take effect after fifteen
days following the completion of their
publication in the Official Gazette, unless it is
otherwise provided. This Code shall take
effect one year after such publication. (1a)
Article 3. Ignorance of the law excuses no
one from compliance therewith. (2) Article 9. No judge or court shall decline to
render judgment by reason of the silence,
obscurity or insufficiency of the laws. (6)
Article 10. In case of doubt in the
interpretation or application of laws, it is
presumed that the lawmaking body intended
right and justice to prevail. (n)
Article 11. Customs which are contrary to law,
public order or public policy shall not be
countenanced. (n)
Article 12. A custom must be proved as a
fact, according to the rules of evidence. (n)
Article 13. When the laws speak of years,
months, days or nights, it shall be understood
that years are of three hundred sixty-five days
each; months, of thirty days; days, of twentyfour hours; and nights from sunset to sunrise. Article 4. Laws shall have no retroactive
effect, unless the contrary is provided. (3) If months are designated by their name, they
shall be computed by the number of days
which they respectively have. Article 5. Acts executed against the
provisions of mandatory or prohibitory laws
shall be void, except when the law itself
authorizes their validity. (4a) In computing a period, the first day shall be
excluded, and the last day included. (7a) Article 6. Rights may be waived, unless the
waiver is contrary to law, public order, public
policy, morals, or good customs, or prejudicial
to a third person with a right recognized by
law. (4a) Article 14. Penal laws and those of public
security and safety shall be obligatory upon all
who live or sojourn in the Philippine territory,
subject to the principles of public international
law and to treaty stipulations. (8a) Article 7. Laws are repealed only by
subsequent ones, and their violation or nonobservance shall not be excused by disuse, or
custom or practice to the contrary. Article 15. Laws relating to family rights and
duties, or to the status, condition and legal
capacity of persons are binding upon citizens
of the Philippines, even though living abroad.
(9a) When the courts declared a law to be
inconsistent with the Constitution, the former
shall be void and the latter shall govern. Article 16. Real property as well as personal
property is subject to the law of the country
where it is stipulated. Administrative or executive acts, orders and
regulations shall be valid only when they are
not contrary to the laws or the Constitution.
(5a) However, intestate and testamentary
successions, both with respect to the order of
succession and to the amount of successional
rights and to the intrinsic validity of
testamentary provisions, shall be regulated by
the national law of the person whose
succession is under consideration, whatever
may be the nature of the property and
regardless of the country wherein said
property may be found. (10a) Article 8. Judicial decisions applying or
interpreting the laws or the Constitution shall
form a part of the legal system of the
Philippines. (n) Article 17. The forms and solemnities of
contracts, wills, and other public instruments
shall be governed by the laws of the country in
which they are executed.
When the acts referred to are executed before
the diplomatic or consular officials of the
Republic of the Philippines in a foreign
country, the solemnities established by
Philippine laws shall be observed in their
execution.
Prohibitive laws concerning persons, their acts
or property, and those which have for their
object public order, public policy and good
customs shall not be rendered ineffective by
laws or judgments promulgated, or by
determinations or conventions agreed upon in
a foreign country. (11a)
Article 18. In matters which are governed by
the Code of Commerce and special laws, their
deficiency shall be supplied by the provisions
of this Code. (16a) defendant, the latter shall be liable for
indemnity if through the act or event he was
benefited.
Article 24. In all contractual, property or other
relations, when one of the parties is at a
disadvantage on account of his moral
dependence, ignorance, indigence, mental
weakness, tender age or other handicap, the
courts must be vigilant for his protection.
Article 25. Thoughtless extravagance in
expenses for pleasure or display during a
period of acute public want or emergency may
be stopped by order of the courts at the
instance of any government or private
charitable institution.
Article 26. Every person shall respect the
dignity, personality, privacy and peace of mind
of his neighbors and other persons. The
following and similar acts, though they may
not constitute a criminal offense, shall produce
a cause of action for damages, prevention and
other relief:
(1) Prying into the privacy of another's
residence; CHAPTER 2
Human Relations (n)
Article 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.
Article 20. Every person who, contrary to law,
wilfully or negligently causes damage to
another, shall indemnify the latter for the
same.
Article 21. Any person who wilfully causes
loss or injury to another in manner that is
contrary to morals, good customs or public
policy shall compensate the latter for the
damage.
Article 22. Every person who through an act
of performance by another, or any other
means, acquires or comes into possession of
something at the expense of the latter without
just or legal ground, shall return the same to
him.
Article 23. Even when an act or event
causing damage to another's property was not
due to the fault or negligence of the (2) Meddling with or disturbing the
private life or family relations of
another;
(3) Intriguing to cause another to be
alienated from his friends;
(4) Vexing or humiliating another on
account of his religious beliefs, lowly
station in life, place of birth, physical
defect, or other personal condition.
Article 27. Any person suffering material or
moral loss because a public servant or
employee refuses or neglects, without just
cause, to perform his official duty may file an
action for damages and other relief against
the latter, without prejudice to any disciplinary
administrative action that may be taken.
Article 28. Unfair competition in agricultural,
commercial or industrial enterprises or in labor
through the use of force, intimidation, deceit,
machination or any other unjust, oppressive or
highhanded method shall give rise to a right of
action by the person who thereby suffers
damage. Article 29. When the accused in a criminal
prosecution is acquitted on the ground that his
guilt has not been proved beyond reasonable
doubt, a civil action for damages for the same
act or omission may be instituted. Such action
requires only a preponderance of evidence.
Upon motion of the defendant, the court may
require the plaintiff to file a bond to answer for
damages in case the complaint should be
found to be malicious.
If in a criminal case the judgment of acquittal
is based upon reasonable doubt, the court
shall so declare. In the absence of any
declaration to that effect, it may be inferred
from the text of the decision whether or not
the acquittal is due to that ground.
Article 30. When a separate civil action is
brought to demand civil liability arising from a
criminal offense, and no criminal proceedings
are instituted during the pendency of the civil
case, a preponderance of evidence shall
likewise be sufficient to prove the act
complained of.
Article 31. When the civil action is based on
an obligation not arising from the act or
omission complained of as a felony, such civil
action may proceed independently of the
criminal proceedings and regardless of the
result of the latter.
Article 32. Any public officer or employee, or
any private individual, who directly or indirectly
obstructs, defeats, violates or in any manner
impedes or impairs any of the following rights
and liberties of another person shall be liable
to the latter for damages:
(1) Freedom of religion;
(2) Freedom of speech;
(3) Freedom to write for the press or to
maintain a periodical publication;
(4) Freedom from arbitrary or illegal
detention;
(5) Freedom of suffrage;
(6) The right against deprivation of
property without due process of law; (7) The right to a just compensation
when private property is taken for
public use;
(8) The right to the equal protection of
the laws;
(9) The right to be secure in one's
person, house, papers, and effects
against unreasonable searches and
seizures;
(10) The liberty of abode and of
changing the same;
(11) The privacy of communication
and correspondence;
(12) The right to become a member of
associations or societies for purposes
not contrary to law;
(13) The right to take part in a
peaceable assembly to petition the
Government for redress of grievances;
(14) The right to be a free from
involuntary servitude in any form;
(15) The right of the accused against
excessive bail;
(16) The right of the accused to be
heard by himself and counsel, to be
informed of the nature and cause of
the accusation against him, to have a
speedy and public trial, to meet the
witnesses face to face, and to have
compulsory process to secure the
attendance of witness in his behalf;
(17) Freedom from being compelled to
be a witness against one's self, or
from being forced to confess guilt, or
from being induced by a promise of
immunity or reward to make such
confession, except when the person
confessing becomes a State witness;
(18) Freedom from excessive fines, or
cruel and unusual punishment, unless
the same is imposed or inflicted in
accordance with a statute which has
not been judicially declared
unconstitutional; and
(19) Freedom of access to the courts. In any of the cases referred to in this
article, whether or not the defendant's
act or omission constitutes a criminal
offense, the aggrieved party has a
right to commence an entirely
separate and distinct civil action for
damages, and for other relief. Such
civil action shall proceed
independently of any criminal
prosecution (if the latter be instituted),
and may be proved by a
preponderance of evidence. If during the pendency of the civil action, an
information should be presented by the
prosecuting attorney, the civil action shall be
suspended until the termination of the criminal
proceedings.
Article 36. Pre-judicial questions, which must
be decided before any criminal prosecution
may be instituted or may proceed, shall be
governed by rules of court which the Supreme
Court shall promulgate and which shall not be
in conflict with the provisions of this Code. The indemnity shall include moral damages.
Exemplary damages may also be adjudicated.
The responsibility herein set forth is not
demandable from a judge unless his act or
omission constitutes a violation of the Penal
Code or other penal statute.
Article 33. In cases of defamation, fraud, and
physical injuries a civil action for damages,
entirely separate and distinct from the criminal
action, may be brought by the injured party.
Such civil action shall proceed independently
of the criminal prosecution, and shall require
only a preponderance of evidence.
Article 34. When a member of a city or
municipal police force refuses or fails to
render aid or protection to any person in case
of danger to life or property, such peace officer
shall be primarily liable for damages, and the
city or municipality shall be subsidiarily
responsible therefor. The civil action herein
recognized shall be independent of any
criminal proceedings, and a preponderance of
evidence shall suffice to support such action.
Article 35. When a person, claiming to be
injured by a criminal offense, charges another
with the same, for which no independent civil
action is granted in this Code or any special
law, but the justice of the peace finds no
reasonable grounds to believe that a crime
has been committed, or the prosecuting
attorney refuses or fails to institute criminal
proceedings, the complaint may bring a civil
action for damages against the alleged
offender. Such civil action may be supported
by a preponderance of evidence. Upon the
defendant's motion, the court may require the
plaintiff to file a bond to indemnify the
defendant in case the complaint should be
found to be malicious. See
THE FAMILY CODE OF THE PHILIPPINES, As Amended Executive Order 209
Presidential Decree THE CHILD AND YOUTH WELFARE CODE, As Amended 603 BOOK I
PERSONS
TITLE I
CIVIL PERSONALITY
CHAPTER 1
General Provisions
Article 37. Juridical capacity, which is the
fitness to be the subject of legal relations, is
inherent in every natural person and is lost
only through death. Capacity to act, which is
the power to do acts with legal effect, is
acquired and may be lost. (n)
Article 38. Minority, insanity or imbecility, the
state of being a deaf-mute, prodigality and
civil interdiction are mere restrictions on
capacity to act, and do not exempt the
incapacitated person from certain obligations,
as when the latter arise from his acts or from
property relations, such as easements. (32a)
Article 39. The following circumstances,
among others, modify or limit capacity to act:
age, insanity, imbecility, the state of being a
deaf-mute, penalty, prodigality, family
relations, alienage, absence, insolvency and
trusteeship. The consequences of these
circumstances are governed in this Code,
other codes, the Rules of Court, and in special
laws. Capacity to act is not limited on account
of religious belief or political opinion. A married woman, twenty-one years of age or
over, is qualified for all acts of civil life, except
in cases specified by law. (n) CHAPTER 2
Natural Persons
Article 40. Birth determines personality; but
the conceived child shall be considered born
for all purposes that are favorable to it,
provided it be born later with the conditions
specified in the following article. (29a)
Article 41. For civil purposes, the foetus is
considered born if it is alive at the time it is
completely delivered from the mother's womb.
However, if the foetus had an intra-uterine life
of less than seven months, it is not deemed
born if it dies within twenty-four hours after its
complete delivery from the maternal womb.
(30a)
Article 42. Civil personality is extinguished by
death.
The effect of death upon the rights and
obligations of the deceased is determined by
law, by contract and by will. (32a)
Article 43. If there is a doubt, as between two
or more persons who are called to succeed
each other, as to which of them died first,
whoever alleges the death of one prior to the
other, shall prove the same; in the absence of
proof, it is presumed that they died at the
same time and there shall be no transmission
of rights from one to the other. (33) CHAPTER 3
Juridical Persons
Article 44. The following are juridical persons:
(1) The State and its political
subdivisions;
(2) Other corporations, institutions and
entities for public interest or purpose,
created by law; their personality
begins as soon as they have been
constituted according to law; (3) Corporations, partnerships and
associations for private interest or
purpose to which the law grants a
juridical personality, separate and
distinct from that of each shareholder,
partner or member. (35a)
Article 45. Juridical persons mentioned in
Nos. 1 and 2 of the preceding article are
governed by the laws creating or recognizing
them.
Private corporations are regulated by laws of
general application on the subject.
Partnerships and associations for private
interest or purpose are governed by the
provisions of this Code concerning
partnerships. (36 and 37a)
Article 46. Juridical persons may acquire and
possess property of all kinds, as well as incur
obligations and bring civil or criminal actions,
in conformity with the laws and regulations of
their organization. (38a)
Article 47. Upon the dissolution of
corporations, institutions and other entities for
public interest or purpose mentioned in No. 2
of article 44, their property and other assets
shall be disposed of in pursuance of law or the
charter creating them. If nothing has been
specified on this point, the property and other
assets shall be applied to similar purposes for
the benefit of the region, province, city or
municipality which during the existence of the
institution derived the principal benefits from
the same. (39a) TITLE II
CITIZENSHIP AND DOMECILE
Article 48. The following are citizens of the
Philippines:
(1) Those who were citizens of the
Philippines at the time of the adoption
of the Constitution of the Philippines;
(2) Those born in the Philippines of
foreign parents who, before the
adoption of said Constitution, had
been elected to public office in the
Philippines; (3) Those whose fathers are citizens
of the Philippines;
(4) Those whose mothers are citizens
of the Philippines and, upon reaching
the age of majority, elect Philippine
citizenship;
(5) Those who are naturalized in
accordance with law. (n)
Article 49. Naturalization and the loss and
reacquisition of citizenship of the Philippines
are governed by special laws. (n)
Article 50. For the exercise of civil rights and
the fulfillment of civil obligations, the domicile
of natural persons is the place of their habitual
residence. (40a)
Article 51. When the law creating or
recognizing them, or any other provision does
not fix the domicile of juridical persons, the
same shall be understood to be the place
where their legal representation is established
or where they exercise their principal
functions. (41a) TITLE III
MARRIAGE CHAPTER 1
Requisites of Marriage
Article 52. Marriage is not a mere contract but
an inviolable social institution. Its nature,
consequences and incidents are governed by
law and not subject to stipulation, except that
the marriage settlements may to a certain
extent fix the property relations during the
marriage. (n)
Article 53. No marriage shall be solemnized
unless all these requisites are complied with:
(1) Legal capacity of the contracting
parties;
(2) Their consent, freely given;
(3) Authority of the person performing
the marriage; and (4) A marriage license, except in a
marriage of exceptional character
(Sec. 1a, art. 3613).
Article 54. Any male of the age of sixteen
years or upwards, and any female of the age
of fourteen years or upwards, not under any of
the impediments mentioned in articles 80 to
84, may contract marriage. (2)
Article 55. No particular form for the
ceremony of marriage is required, but the
parties with legal capacity to contract marriage
must declare, in the presence of the person
solemnizing the marriage and of two
witnesses of legal age, that they take each
other as husband and wife. This declaration
shall be set forth in an instrument in triplicate,
signed by signature or mark by the contracting
parties and said two witnesses and attested
by the person solemnizing the marriage.
In case of a marriage on the point of death,
when the dying party, being physically unable,
cannot sign the instrument by signature or
mark, it shall be sufficient for one of the
witnesses to the marriage to sign in his name,
which fact shall be attested by the minister
solemnizing the marriage. (3)
Article 56. Marriage may be solemnized by:
(1) The Chief Justice and Associate
Justices of the Supreme Court;
(2) The Presiding Justice and the
Justices of the Court of Appeals;
(3) Judges of the Courts of First
Instance;
(4) Mayors of cities and municipalities;
(5) Municipal judges and justices of
the peace;
(6) Priests, rabbis, ministers of the
gospel of any denomination, church,
religion or sect, duly registered, as
pro...
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