Persons and Family Relations | AY 2013-2014 Source: Rabuya Annotations
- it shall take effect after publication, with the 15-day period being
CIVIL CODE NOTES | Arts. 1-18
CHAPTER 1:
EFFECT AND APPLICATION OF LAWS
Art. 1. This Act shall be known as the "Civil Code of the
Philippines."
Code: A collection of laws of the same kind; a body of legal
provisions referring to a particular branch of law
Civil Code: A collection of laws which a) regulate the private
relations of members of a civil society and b) determines their
respective rights and obligations, with reference to persons,
things and civil acts.
RA 386
- approved by congress on August 30, 1949; made effective in
August 30, 1950, on the basis of the release of the OG for
"circulation" and not really its "publication" (Lara v. Del Rosario)
Not all civil laws are found in the Civil Code of the
Philippines.
Sources of the Civil Code:
1. Spanish Civil Code of 1889
2. codes, laws, judicial decisions, and works of other jurists in
other countries
3. doctrines laid down by the SC
4. Filipino customs and traditions
5. Philippine statutes
6. the Code Commission itself
CC Composition (content):
- 2,270 articles; 4 books
Book I - Persons
Book II - Property, Ownership and its Modifications
Book III- Different Modes of Acquiring Ownership
Book IV - Obligations and Contracts
- Book I provisions not repealed by the FC (1988)
Arts. 305-310 Funerals
Arts. 356-396 Care and Education of Children; Use of
Surnames; Absence;
Arts. 407-413 Civil Register
Art. 2. Laws shall take effect after 15 days following the
completion of their publication in either the Official Gazette or in
a newspaper of general circulation, unless otherwise provided.
General rule: After 15 days following the completion of
publication
Exception: When the law otherwise provides for its own
effectivity date
- The 15-day period may either be on the 15th day or on the 16th
day, depending on the language used by Congress
16th day: "after 15 days following its publication"
15th day: "15 days after its publication"
- when the law is silent, the general rule (effectivity on the 16th
day) applies
"Shall take effect immediately upon approval"
Reviewer Author: Maritoni B. Molina
Page 1 of 6
dispensed with
- "approval" does not mean on the day of enactment, disregarding
completely the publication requirement
Reduction or extension of 15-day period
- any provision in the law reducing or extending the usual 15-day
period shall be valid provided it be after publication
Publication requirement
- pre-Tanada v. Tuvera decision:
the SC ruled that publication in the OG is necessary only
in those cases where the legislation itself does not provide for its
effectivity date; that publication is determinant of the laws'
effectivity; that when a specific date is provided, publication is no
longer necessary
- Tanada v. Tuvera decision:
The SC ruled that ART. 2, CC does not preclude the
publication requirement even when the law itself provides for its
date of effectivity.
The clean object of the law is to give the general public
adequate notice of the various laws which are to regulate their
conduct.
Publication is the basis for the application of ART. 3 and
the maxim ignorantia legis non excusat.
The proviso "unless otherwise provided" only refers
to a law that has been duly published pursuant to the basic
constitutional requirements of due process.
Where to publish
- pre-EO 200 amending ART. 2:
The SC ruled that the publication must be effected in the
OG and not in any other medium.
- Pres. Aquino's EO 200 (1987):
Pursuant to this amendatory law, publication of laws
may now either be in the OG or in a newspaper of general
circulation.
Publication in full
- all or nothing
- incomplete publication would amount to no publication at all
since its purpose is to inform the public of the content of the laws
"Newspaper of general circulation"
- one published for the dissemination of local news and general
information
- one that has a bona fide subscription list of paying subscribers
- one that is published at regular intervals
- that there are other newspapers having larger circulation is
unimportant
"Laws"
- all laws, not only those of general application, for strictly
speaking, all laws relate to the people in general albeit there are
some that do not apply to them directly
EXCLUDED:
Municipal ordinances - they are covered by the LGC
SC decisions - lawyers in practice must keep abreast
of decisions
INCLUDED:
PDs and EOs
- whenever they are validly delegated by the legislature
or directly conferred by the Constitution
Administrative rules and regulations
- only those whose purpose is to enforce or implement
existing laws pursuant to a valid delegation
Persons and Family Relations | AY 2013-2014 Source: Rabuya Annotations
- with the exception of those that a) merely internal and
b) merely interpretative (i.e. LOIs)
Monetary Board Circulars
- those which serve as "fillers" to Central Bank Acts
- those which have "penal clause"
- with the exception of those which merely state
general policies as to how the law should be construed
Art. 3. Ignorance of the law excuses no one from compliance
therewith.
- Everyone is conclusively presumed to know the law
- ART. 3 is based on the constructive notice that the provisions of
the law are ascertainable from the public and official repository
when they are duly published
Ratio for presumption of knowledge
- expediency and necessity
- without ART. 3, evasion of the law would be facilitated and the
administration of justice defeated as persons can successfully
plead ignorance to escape the legal consequences of their acts
ART. 3 presupposes publication (ART. 2)
- without the publication requirement, there would be no basis for
the application of the maxim ignorantia legis non excusat
Laws covered
- Philippine laws: civil or penal; remedial or substantitve
- the article is limited to mandatory and prohibitory laws and
does not include those which are merely permissive
Foreign laws
- there is no conclusive presumption of knowledge of
foreign laws
- courts cannot take judicial notice of their existence for
they have to be alleged and proved as a fact first
- ignorance thereof amounts only to a mistake of fact
Doctrine of processual presumption
- if a foreign law is not properly pleaded and proved,
our courts shall presume that it is the same as our local
or domestic or internal law
Ignorance of law v. Ignorance of fact
- ignorance of the law shall not be excused, but ignorance of fact
may excuse a person from the legal consequences of his conduct
- mistake as to difficult legal questions has been given the same
effect as a mistake of fact
e.g. ART. 526, CC
"... mistake upon a doubtful or difficult question of law
may be the basis of good faith."
Art. 4. Laws shall have no retroactive effect, unless the contrary
is provided.
General rule:
- laws shall have prospective effect unless the contrary is
expressly provided
- Lex prospicit, non respicit: The law looks forward, not backward
"Retroactive law"
- one intended to affect a) transactions which occurred, or b)
rights which accrued before it became operative and
- one which ascribes to them effects not inherent in their nature
Reviewer Author: Maritoni B. Molina
Page 2 of 6
Ratio for prospectivity
- to make the law binding even before it has taken effect is to
contravene ART. 3 and to allow the arbitrary exercise of the
legislative power
Exceptions to the general rule:
1. laws which themselves provide for retroactivity
2. penal laws favorable to the accused
3. procedural or remedial laws
4. curative laws
5. laws creating new substantive rights
6. interpretative statutes
7. emergency laws
8. tax laws when expressly declared or is clearly the legislative
intent
2. Penal laws favorable to the accused
- ART. 22, RPC: penal laws shall have a retroactive effect insofar
as they favor the person guilty of a felony, who is not a habitual
delinquent (Rule No. 5, ART. 62, RPC), although at the time of
the publication of such laws a final sentence has been
promulgated and the convict is serving the same
3. Procedural or remedial laws
- ratio: no vested right may attach or arise from procedural
laws
"remedial statutes"
- statutes relating to remedies or modes of procedure which do
not create a new or take away a vested right, but operate only in
furtherance of the remedy or confirmation of already existing right
"statutes regulating the procedure of courts"
- applicable to pending and undetermined at the time of their
passage
"vested right"
- enforceable before the courts
- those that are completely and definitely settled in a person that
they are not subject to defeat or cancellation by the act of any
other private person
4. Curative laws
- necessarily retroactive because they are enacted to cure
defects in a prior law or to validate legal proceedings, instruments
or acts of public authorities which would otherwise be void for
want of conformity with existing legal requirements
- they make valid that which, before the enactment of the statute
was invalid
- their purpose is to give validity to acts done that would have
been invalid under existing laws
EXCEPTIONS:
1) those that violate Constitutional provisions
2) those that destroy vested rights of third persons
3) those that affect a judgment that is already final
5. Laws creating new substantive rights
EXCEPTIONS:
1) those that prejudices another acquired right from the
same origin
Exceptions to the exceptions
1. ex-post facto laws
2. those which, when retroactive effect is given, would result in
the impairment of obligation of contracts
1. Ex-post facto laws
- Sec. 22, ART. III, 1987 Constitution
- Elements: 1) refers to criminal matters, 2) retroactive, 3)
prejudicial to the accused
Persons and Family Relations | AY 2013-2014 Source: Rabuya Annotations
2. Non-impairment of obligation of contracts
- Sec. 10, ART. III, 1987 Constitution
- a later law which enlarges, abridges, or in any other manner
changes the intent of the parties to the contract necessarily
impairs the contract itself and cannot be given retroactive effect
EXCEPTION:
- valid exercises of police power by the State
- police power legislation is applicable not only to future
contracts, but equally to those already in existence
- non-impairment clause and the vested rights clauses
must yield to the legitimate exercise of State police
power which seeks to promote health, morals, peace,
education, good order, safety, and general welfare of
the people
Art. 5. Acts executed against the provisions of prohibitory or
mandatory laws shall be void, unless the law itself authorizes
their validity.
Mandatory laws: those that command that something be done
Prohibitory laws: those that command that something should
not be done
Permissive laws: those that command that what it permits to
be done be tolerated or respected
General rule:
Acts executed against the provisions of mandatory or prohibitory
laws are void
Exceptions:
1. Express authorization of its validity from the law itself (e.g. lotto,
sweepstakes)
2. Act is valid but the violator is punished (e.g. ART. 351, RPC
Premature Marriages)
3. Act is merely voidable or valid until annulled (e.g. ART. 45, FC,
Voidable Marriages)
4. Act is nullified or voided but effects are deemed valid (ART. 36,
FC, Psychological Incapacity)
Art. 6. Rights may be waived unless the waiver is contrary to law,
public order, public policy, morals, or good customs, or
prejudicial to the third party with a right recognized by law.
Three elements of rights:
1. subject (persons) - only persons may be the subject of rights
a. active - one who is entitled to the demand the
enforcement of the right
b. passive - one who is duty-bound to suffer its
enforcement
2. object (things or services)
3. efficient cause - the fact that gives rise to the legal relation
Kinds of rights:
1. political rights - those referring to the participation of persons
in the government
2. civil rights - further classified into
a. rights of personality - sometimes called human rights
b. family rights
c. patrimonial rights
1) real
2) personal
Rights to personality and family rights are NOT subject to
waiver.
Reviewer Author: Maritoni B. Molina
Page 3 of 6
Patrimonial rights can generally be waived.
1) Real rights
- power belonging to a person over a specific thing, without a
passive subject individually determined against whom such right
may be personally exercised
- enforceable against the world
2) Personal rights
- power belonging to a person to demand of another, as a
definite passive subject, the fulfillment of a prestation to give,
to do, or not to do
renunciation = relinquishment + knowledge + intent
Requisites of a valid waver:
1. actual possession of the right to be renounced
2. capacity to make the renunciation
3. renunciation made in a clear and unequivocal manner
Art. 7. Laws are repealed only by subsequent ones, and their
violation or non-compliance shall not be excused by disuse,
custom, or practice to the contrary.
When the court declares a law to be inconsistent with the
Constitution, the former shall be void and the latter shall govern.
Administrative or executive acts, orders, and regulations shall
only be valid when they are not contrary to the laws or the
Constitution.
Ways of repealing laws
1. EXPRESS REPEAL
- that contained in a special provision of a subsequent law
- to be an express repeal, the specific provision/law to be
repealed must be identified
2. IMPLIED REPEAL
- takes place when the provisions of the subsequent law are
incompatible with those of an earlier law and there is no express
repeal
- the statement, "all laws or parts thereof which are inconsistent
with this Act are hereby repealed or modified accordingly,"
however, is not an express repealing clause because it fails to
identify or designate the act or acts that are intended to be
repealed
- the aforementioned statement is an example of unnecessary
statement of the principle of implied repeal
Implied repeals are not favored
- if both laws can be reasonably construed together, both will be
sustained
- every statute must be so interpreted and brought into accord
with other laws as to form a uniform system of jurisprudence
- hence, all doubts must be resolved against any implied repeal,
and all efforts should be exerted in order to harmonize and give
effect to all laws on the subject
- the legislature is presumed to know the existing laws on the
subject and not to have enacted inconsistent or conflicting
statutes
Requisites of implied repeal
1. the laws must cover the same subject matter
2. the latter must be repugnant to the earlier statute
- repugnancy is proof of the intended repeal
Persons and Family Relations | AY 2013-2014 Source: Rabuya Annotations
General vs. Special laws
General rules:
- special laws should prevail over general ones because they
evince legislative intent more clearly than the general ones
- a special law cannot be repealed, amended, or altered by a
subsequent general law by mere implication
General law enacted PRIOR to special law:
- the special law is considered the exception to the general law
- the general law remains good law, and there is no repeal, except
insofar as the special law is concerned
General law enacted AFTER special law:
- the special law remains good law UNLESS...
1) there is an express declaration to the contrary; or
2) there is a clear, necessary, and irreconcilable
conflict; or
3) the subsequent general law covers the whole
subject and is clearly intended to replace
the special law on the matter
Effect of repeal of repealing law
The effect is dependent on whether the previous repeal was
express or implied, regardless of how the repealing law itself was
repealed.
1. Express repeal
- the law first repealed shall not be thereby revived unless
expressly so provided
- law #1 is REVIVED only by way of an express provision
2. Implied repeal
- the prior law shall thereby be revived, unless the repealing law
provides otherwise
- law #1 is NOT REVIVED only by way of an express provision
Constitution
- fundamental law of the land to which all laws must yield
Power of judicial review
- vested in the SC under Sec. 1, ART. VIII
- it is the office and duty of the judiciary to enforce the constitution
- through which the SC may declare an act of the national
legislature invalid because it is in conflict with the fundamental
law of the land
Effect of the declaration of unconstitutionality
- the SC has already rejected the view that an unconstitutional act
confers no rights, imposes no duties, and affords no protection
whatsoever
- before an act is declared unconstitutional it is an "operative fact"
which can be the source of rights and duties
Art. 8. Judicial decisions applying or interpreting the law or the
Constitution shall form part of the legal system of the Philippines.
Principle of separation of powers: The judicial department has
no power to enact laws because the same is the exclusive
province of the legislative department
- as evidence of what the law means, judicial decisions of the SC
only form part of the legal system but they are not laws; they do,
however, have the force of laws
Reviewer Author: Maritoni B. Molina
Page 4 of 6
- only the decisions of the SC establish jurisprudence or
doctrines in this jurisdiction
- the application or interpretation placed by the SC upon a law is
part of the law as of the date of its enactment since the Court's
application or interpretation merely establishes the
contemporaneous legislative intent
- while decisions of subordinate courts are only persuasive in
nature, this does not preclude CA decisions on points of law still
undecided in the Philippines from serving as guides to the inferior
courts
Doctrine of Stare Decicis
- when the Court has once laid down a principle of law as
applicable to a certain state of facts, it will adhere to that principle
and apply it to all future cases where the facts are substantially
the same
- enjoins adherence to judicial precedents
- only SC decisions establish jurisprudence or doctrine in this
jurisdiction
ART. 4 in relation to ART. 8
- the principle of prospectivity of statutes, original or amendatory,
shall apply to judicial decisions, which, although in themselves
are not laws, are nevertheless evidence of what the law means
Art. 9. No court or judge shall decline to render judgment by
reason of silence, obscurity or insufficiency of the laws.
- applicable to criminal prosecutions
- instead of declining to render judgment, the judge must dismiss
the criminal action on the basis of the rule nullum crimen nulla
poena sine lege
Application of ARTS. 10, 11, 12
- if the law is silent or is obscure or insufficient with respect to a
particular controversy, the judge shall apply the custom of the
place, and in default thereof, the general principles of law and
justice
Art. 10. In case of doubt in the interpretation or application of
laws, it is presumed that the law-making body intended right and
justice to prevail.
- ART. 10 is to be applied only in case of doubt, disregarding
the feeling of sympathy or pity for the accused, because dura lex
sed lex
- the remedy is elsewhere:
1) clemency from the executive
2) amendment of the law by the legislative
- equity, defined as 'justice outside equality' is applied only in the
absence of and never against statutory law or judicial rules of
procedure
Art. 11. Customs which are contrary to law, public order, or public
policy shall not be countenanced.
Persons and Family Relations | AY 2013-2014 Source: Rabuya Annotations Page 5 of 6
2. Laws of preferential application
Art. 12. Customs shall be proved as a fact according to the rules
3. Principles of public international law
of evidence.

"Customs"
- rules of conduct formed by repetition of acts, uniformly observed
as a social rule, legally binding and obligatory
Requisites in the application of customs (PUG-CON)
1. Plurality of acts, or various resolutions of a juridical question
raised repeatedly in life;
2. Uniformity, or identity of acts or various solutions to the
juridical question
3. General practice by the great mass of the social group
4. Continued performance of these acts for a long period of time
5. general conviction that the practice corresponds to a juridical
necessity or that it is Obligatory
6. the practice must Not be contrary to law, morals or public
order
- customs are not subject to judicial notice because they must be
proven as a fact, according to the rules of evidence
Art. 13. When the law speaks of years, months, days, or nights,
it shall be understood that years are of 365 days each; months
of 30 days; days of 24 hours; and nights from sunset to sunrise.
If months are designated by their name, they shall be computed
by the number of days they respectively have.
In computing a period, the first day shall be excluded and the last
day excluded.
Note: ART. 13 has been superseded by E.O. No. 292 or The
Revised Administrative Code of 1987 (CIR v. Primetown
Property Group, Inc., G.R. No. 162155, August 28, 2007).
Sec. 31. Legal Periods. Year shall be understood to be
twelve (12) calendar months; month of thirty (30) days, unless
it refers to a specific calendar month in which case it shall be
computed according to the number of days the specific month
contains; day, to a day of twenty-four (24) hours; and night,
from sunset to sunrise. (E.O. 292 (1987), Book I)
If the last day falls on a Saturday, Sunday or Legal Holiday:
The effect will be dependent on whether the rule arises from a
contract or from the Rules of Court
1.Ordinary contract - the agreement of the parties prevails
because the agreement of the parties thereto has the force of law
between them
2. Rules of Court / Court order / Statute - the time shall not run
until the next working day
Art. 14. Penal laws and those of public security and safety shall
be obligatory on all who live and sojourn in the Philippine territory,
subject to the principles of public international law and to treaty
stipulations.
- embodiment of one of the three main characteristics of criminal
law, which is GENERALITY
Art. 15. Laws relating to family rights and duties, or to the
status, condition, and legal capacity of persons are binding
upon the citizens of the Philippines, even though living abroad.
Divorce between Filipinos is not valid
- Philippine law does not provide absolute divorce
- a marriage between two Filipinos cannot be dissolved even by
divorce decreed abroad because of ART. 15 in relation to ART.
17
Tenchavez v. Escano
On the question of the validity of the absolute divorce obtained in
Nevada USA
- At the time the divorce decree was issued, Escano, like her
husband, was still a Filipino citizen subject to Philippine law and
ART. 15, CC
- For Philippine Courts to recognize and give recognition or effect
to a foreign decree of absolute divorce between Filipino citizens
would be a patent violation of the declared public policy of the
state, ART. 17 (3), CC
- Even more, the grant of effectivity in this jurisdiction to such
divorces would give rise to an irritating and scandalous
discrimination in favor of wealthy citizens
Divorces obtained by foreigners
- recognition of divorce decrees inadvertently causes possible
legal consequences e.g. loss of standing to sue
Van Dorn v. Romillo, Jr.
- the Nevada divorce decree released the private respondent
from the marriage from the standards of American law, under
which divorces dissolves the marriage
- pursuant to his national law, private respondent is no longer the
husband of petitioner and thus has no standing to sue in the case
below as petitioner's husband
- petitioner should not be discriminated in her own country if the
ends of justice are to be served
Legal standing of persons to sue for adultery
- a foreigner spouse married to a Filipino citizen who obtains a
decree of divorce is no longer the latter's husband thereafter and
thus loses the standing to sue for adultery
Pilapil v. Ibay-Somera
- In mixed marriages involving a Filipino and a foreigner, ART. 26
of the FC allows the former to contract a subsequent marriage in
case the divorce is validly obtained abroad by the alien spouse
capacitating him or her to remarry
- Without ART. 26 (2), FC, the Filipino spouse remains married to
the divorced foreign spouse
- This law, however, applies only when it is the foreign
spouse who obtains the divorce and not otherwise
Legal capacity
- with respect to foreigners, their national law shall govern with
respect to their legal capacity, following the national principle
embodied in ART. 15

Exceptions to the rule:

1. Treaty stipulations
Reviewer Author: Maritoni B. Molina
Persons and Family Relations | AY 2013-2014 Source: Rabuya Annotations Page 6 of 6
Art. 16. Real property, as well as personal property, is subject to
* The intrinsic validity of the wil of the decedent shall be
the law of the country where it is situated.
governed by his national law
However, intestate and testamentary succession, both with
respect to the order of succession, amount of successional
rights, and intrinsic validity of the testamentary provisions, shall Art. 18. In matters which are governed by the Code of
be regulated by the national law of the person whose succession Commerce and special laws, their deficiency shall be supplied
is under consideration, whatever may be the nature of the by the provisions of this Code.
property and regardless of the country wherein said property may
be found.

Lex Rei Sitae Law of the country where it is situated

Exceptions to Lex Rei Sitae ART. 16 (2)

- renders inapplicable the principle of lex rei sitae, even if real and
personal properties are involved, in the matter of intestate and
testate succession

ART. 1039, CC
- The national law of the decedent likewise governs the capacity
of the heir to succeed
- in addition to ART. 16 (2) subject matters which shall be
governed by the national law of the person whose succession is
under consideration

- any provision disregarding one's national law shall be void

Renvoi doctrine Referring back

- the problem arises when there is doubt as to whether a
reference to a foreign law is a) a reference to the internal law of
said foreign law or b) to the whole of the foreign law, including its
conflict rules
In re: Testate Estate of Edward Christensen
- The court considered the whole foreign law, including
its conflict rules
- since the conflicts rule of CA refers back the matter to
the Philipines (place of domicile), our courts have no
alternative but to accept the referring back to our
Courts

Art. 17. The forms and solemnities of wills, contracts, and other
public instruments are 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 Philippines in a foreign country, the
solemnities established by Philippine laws shall be observed.

Prohibitive laws concerning persons, their acts or property, or

those whose object are public order or public policy, shall not
be rendered ineffective by laws and judgments promulgated or
by determinations and conventions agreed upon in a foreign
country.

Lex Loci Celebrationis Law of the place of execution

- governs extrinsic validity of the forms and solemnities of
contracts, wills and other public instruments

Lex Loci Contractus Law of the contract

a. Lex Loci Voluntatis - place voluntarily agreed upon
b. Lex Loci Intentionis - place intended by the parties
expressly or impliedly
- governs the intrinsic validity of the contract

Reviewer Author: Maritoni B. Molina