DEFINITIONS

Art. 414. All things which are or may be the object of appropriation are considered either:(1) Immovable or real property; or(2) Movable or personal property. (333)

Concepts of Things and Property Things Any object that exists and is capable of satisfying some human needs Includes both objects that are already possessed or owned (res alicujus) and those that are susceptible of appropriation Property (Bienes) Refers to any thing which is already the object of appropriation or is found in the possession of man

Real Rights vs. Personal Rights Real Right is the right of interest belonging to a person over a specific thing without a definite passive subject against whom such right may be personally enforced Personal Right is the right or power of a person (creditor or obligee (to demand from another (debtor or obligor) as a definite passive subject, the fulfillment of the latters obligation

DISTINCTIONREAL RIGHTPERSONAL RIGHT

By number of persons who take party in the legal relationThere is a definite active subject who has a right against all persons generally as an indefinite passive subjectThere is a definite active subject and a definite passive subject

By the subject-matterThe object is generally a corporeal thingThe object is always an incorporeal thing

By the manner in which the will of the active subject actsThe active subject acts directlyThe active subject acts indirectly through the promise of the obligor

By the causes of their creationAre created by mode and titleAre created merely by title

By the modes of their extinctionExtinguished by the loss or destruction of the thing over which it is exercised Survives the subject matter

By the nature of the actions arising from the juridical relation Directed against the whole world, giving rise to real actions (action in rem) against third personsThe right is binding or enforceable only against a particular person, the debtor, giving rise to personal actions (action in personam) against such debtor

Art. 427. Ownership may be exercised over things or rights. (n)

Ownership defined Ownership is that independent right of a person to the exclusive enjoyment and control of a thing including its disposition and recovery subject only to the restrictions or limitations established by law and the rights of others

Art. 712. Ownership is acquired by occupation and by intellectual creation.Ownership and other real rights over property are acquired and transmitted by law, by donation, by estate and intestate succession, and in consequence of certain contracts, by tradition.They may also be acquired by means of prescription. (609a)

Art. 713. Things appropriable by nature which are without an owner, such as animals that are the object of hunting and fishing, hidden treasure and abandoned movables, are acquired by occupation.

Concept of Occupation Occupation The appropriation of things appropriable by nature which are without an owner A mode of acquiring dominion by seizure of things corporeal which have no owner, with the intention of acquiring them, and according to the rules laid down by law

Occupation and Possession Distinguished

OCCUPATIONPOSSESSION

A mode of acquiring ownershipMerely raises the presumption of ownership when it is exercised in the concept of owner

Refers only to corporeal personal propertyMay be exercised over any kind of property, whether real or personal, corporeal or incorporeal

Requires that the object thereof be without an ownerMay refer to property owned by somebody

Requires that there be an intent to acquire ownershipMay be had in the concept of mere holder

May not take place without some form of possessionMay exist without occupation

Is of short durationIs generally of longer duration

By itself cannot lead to another mode of acquisitionMay lead to another mode which is presciption

Ways by which occupation may be effected1. By hunting and fishing2. By finding of movables which never had any owner3. By finding of movables which have been abandoned by the owner4. By finding of hidden treasure

CLASSIFICATIONS1. Based on mobility

Art. 415. The following are immovable property(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. (334a)Classes of Immovable or Real Property1. By nature it cannot be carried from place to place (i.e. lands, roads, trees)2. By Incorporation it is attached to an immovable in a fixed manner to be an integral part thereof (i.e. buildings, walls or fences, statues, animal houses)3. By destination it is placed in an immovable for the utility to the activity carried thereon (i.e. machinery installed in the building to meet the needs of an industry in the building, and docks on a river)4. By analogy or by law it is so classified by express provision of law because it is regarded as united to the immovable property

NCC 415 (5) Requisites It must be placed by the owner of the tenement or his agent The industry or works must be carried on in a building or on a piece of land It must tend directly to meet the needs of said industry or works essential and principal elements of an industry The machinery, etc. need not be owned by the owner as long as all the requisites are present

Art. 416. The following things 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 personal property; (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. (335a)

Art. 417. The following 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)

Art. 426. Whenever by provision of the law, or an individual declaration, the expression "immovable things or property," or "movable things or property," is used, it shall be deemed to include, respectively, the things enumerated in Chapter 1 and Chapter 2.Whenever the word "muebles," or "furniture," is used alone, it shall not be deemed to include money, credits, commercial securities, stocks and bonds, jewelry, scientific or artistic collections, books, medals, arms, clothing, horses or carriages and their accessories, grains, liquids and merchandise, or other things which do not have as their principal object the furnishing or ornamenting of a building, except where from the context of the law, or the individual declaration, the contrary clearly appears. (346a)

2. Based on consumability

Art. 418. 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. (337)

Art. 562. Usufruct gives a right to enjoy the property of another with the obligation of preserving its form and substance, unless the title constituting it or the law otherwise provides. (467)

3. Based on fungibility

Fungibles and Non-fungibles A thing is fungible if it can be substituted by another thing of the same kind, quantity and quality and non-fungible if not replaceable in such equivalents

Art. 1953. A person who receives a loan of money or any other fungible thing acquires the ownership thereof, and is bound to pay to the creditor an equal amount of the same kind and quality. (1753a)

Art. 1954. A contract whereby one person transfers the ownership of non-fungible things to another with the obligation on the part of the latter to give things of the same kind, quantity, and quality shall be considered a barter. (n)

Art. 1955. The obligation of a person who borrows money shall be governed by the provisions of Articles 1249 and 1250 of this Code.If what was loaned is a fungible thing other than money, the debtor owes another thing of the same kind, quantity and quality, even if it should change in value. In case it is impossible to deliver the same kind, its value at the time of the perfection of the loan shall be paid. (1754a)

4. Based on ownershipa. Owned by the Stateb. Property owned by the LGUsc. Private or patrimonial property

Art. 419. Property is either of public dominion or of private ownership. (338)

Property Classified According to Ownership1. Public Dominion property owned by the State (or its political subdivisions) in its public or sovereign capacity and intended for public uses and not for the use of the State as a juridical person2. Private Ownership or property owned by:a. The State in its private capacity, and is known as patrimonial propertyb. Private persons, either individually or collectively

Art. 420. The following things are property of public dominion:(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. (339a)

Three Kinds of Property of Public Dominion1. Property intended for public use2. Property which is not for public use but intended for some public service3. Property intended for the development of national wealth

Art. 421. All other property of the State, which is not of the character stated in the preceding article, is patrimonial property. (340a)

Patrimonial Property Property of the State owned by it in its private or proprietary capacity

Art. 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. (341a)

Art. 423. The property of provinces, cities, and municipalities is divided into property for public use and patrimonial property. (343)

Art. 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. (344a)

Art. 425. Property of private ownership, besides the patrimonial property of the State, provinces, cities, and municipalities, consists of all property belonging to private persons, either individually or collectively.

Art. 638. The banks of rivers and streams, even in case they are of private ownership, are subject throughout their entire length and within a zone of three meters along their margins, to the easement of public use in the general interest of navigation, floatage, fishing and salvage.Estates adjoining the banks of navigable or floatable rivers are, furthermore, subject to the easement of towpath for the exclusive service of river navigation and floatage.If it be necessary for such purpose to occupy lands of private ownership, the proper indemnity shall first be paid. (553a)`5. Based on the Constitutiona. Public agricultural landb. Mineral landc. Timber landd. National Parks

Note: All of the above are considered part of national wealth

Article XII, Section 3. Lands of the public domain are classified into agricultural, forest or timber, mineral lands and national parks. Agricultural lands of the public domain may be further classified by law according to the uses to which they may be devoted. Alienable lands of the public domain shall be limited to agricultural lands. Private corporations or associations may not hold such alienable lands of the public domain except by lease, for a period not exceeding twenty-five years, renewable for not more than twenty-five years, and not to exceed one thousand hectares in area. Citizens of the Philippines may lease not more than five hundred hectares, or acquire not more than twelve hectares thereof by purchase, homestead, or grant.Taking into account the requirements of conservation, ecology, and development, and subject to the requirements of agrarian reform, the Congress shall determine, by law, the size of lands of the public domain which may be acquired, developed, held, or leased and the conditions therefor.

PROTECTING PROPERTY1. Basic Distinctiona. Real Right vs. Personal Rightb. Real vs. Personal Action

Rule 2, Sec. 1. Venue of real actions.Actions affecting title to or possession of real property, or interest therein, shall be commenced and tried in the proper court which has jurisdiction over the area wherein the real property involved, or a portion thereof, is situated.Forcible entry and detainer actions shall be commenced and tried in the municipal trial court of the municipality or city wherein the real property involved, or a portion thereof, is situated.

Rule 2, Sec. 2. Venue of personal actions.All other actions may be commenced and tried where the plaintiff or any of the principal plaintiffs resides, or where the defendant or any of the principal defendants resides, or in the case of a non-resident defendant where he may be found, at the election of the plaintiff.

Rule 14, Sec. 6. Service in person on defendant. Whenever practicable, the summons shall be served handing a copy thereof to the defendant in person, or, if he refuses to receive and sign for it, by tendering it to him. (7a)

Rule 14, Sec. 7. Substituted service. If, for justifiable causes, the defendant cannot be served within a reasonable time as provided in the preceding section, service may be effected:(a) by leaving copies of the summons at the defendants residence with some person of suitable age and discretion then residing therein, or (b) by leaving the copies at defendants office or regular place of business with some competent person in charge thereof. (8a)

Rule 14, Sec. 14. Service upon defendant whose identity or whereabouts are unknown.In any action where the defendant is designated as an unknown owner, or the like, or whenever his whereabouts are unknown and cannot be ascertained by diligent inquiry, service may, by leave of court, be effected upon him by publication in a newspaper of general circulation and in such places and for such time as the court may order. (16a)

Rule 14, Sec. 15. Extraterritorial service.When the defendant does not reside and is not found in the Philippines, and the action affects the personal status of the plaintiff or relates to, or the subject of which is, property within the Philippines, in which the defendant has or claims a lien or interest, actual or contingent; or in which the relief demanded consists, wholly or in part, in excluding the defendant from any interest therein, or the property of the defendant has been attached within the Philippines, service may, by leave of court, be effected out of the Philippines by personal service as under section 6; or by publication in a newspaper of general circulation in such places and for such time as the court may order, in which case a copy of the summons and order of the court shall be sent by registered mail to the last known address of the defendant, or in any other manner the court may deem sufficient. Any order granting such leave shall specify a reasonable time, which shall not be less than sixty (60) days after notice, within which the defendant must answer. (17a)

Rule 14, Sec. 16. Residents temporarily out of the Philippines.When any action is commenced against a defendant who ordinarily resides within the Philippines, but who is temporarily out of it, service may, by leave of court, be also effected out of the Philippines, as under the preceding section. (18a)

Rule 47, Sec. 2. Grounds for annulment.The annulment may be based only on the grounds of extrinsic fraud and lack of jurisdiction.Extrinsic fraud shall not be a valid ground if it was availed of, or could have been availed of, in a motion for new trial or petition for relief. (n)

c. Action in rem, action in personam, action quasi in rem

SHAFFER V. HEITER When the defendant is a non-resident alien who is not in the Philippines Even if there is no property, an in personam judgment can be rendered as long as there are minimum points of contact Even if there is property, a quasi-in rem judgment cannot be rendered if the property is completely unrelated to the case

2. Remediesa. Self-help

Art. 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)

Principle of Self-Help Requisites Owner or lawful possessor the person defending his property must be the owner or lawful possessor Reasonable force he must only use such force as may be reasonably necessary to repel or prevent an invasion or usurpation of his property; otherwise, he shall be liable for damages No delay the doctrine of self-help can only be exercised at the time of an actual or threatened dispossession or immediately after the dispossession to regain possession Actual or threatened physical invasion or usurpation the person who force is employed has acted or is acting wrongfully or unlawfully

Note: Once delay has taken place, even if excusable, the owner of lawful possessor must resort to judicial process for the recovery of the property for he is no longer justified in taking the law into his own hands

Art. 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. (388)

Art. 716. 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. If the owner has not pursued the swarm, or ceases to do so within two consecutive days, the possessor of the land may occupy or retain the same. The owner of domesticated animals may also claim them within twenty days to be counted from their occupation by another person. This period having expired, they shall pertain to him who has caught and kept them. (612a)

b. Accion interdictal

Art. 1147. The following actions must be filed within one year:(1) For forcible entry and detainer;(2) For defamation. (n)

DE LA PAZ V. PANIS Forcible entry summary action to recover material or physical possession of real property when the person who originally held it was deprived of possession by force, intimidation, threat, strategy or stealth Unlawful detainer filed when possession by a landlord, vendor, vendee or other person against whom the possession of any land or building is unlawfully withheld after the expiration or termination of the right to hold possession, by virtue of any contract, express or implied Difference: time when possession became unlawful in forcible entry, it is from the time of entry, while in unlawful detainer, possession which is at first lawful later becomes illegal, as when the lease contract has expired and the lessee refuses to vacate the premises despite the demand.

c. Accion publiciana

Art. 536. In no case may possession be acquired through force or intimidation as long as there is a possessor who objects thereto. He who believes that he has an action or a right to deprive another of the holding of a thing, must invoke the aid of the competent court, if the holder should refuse to deliver the thing. (441a)

Art. 555. A possessor may lose his possession:(1) By the abandonment of the thing;(2) By an assignment made to another either by onerous or gratuitous title;(3) By the destruction or total loss of the thing, or because it goes out of commerce;(4) By the possession of another, subject to the provisions of Article 537, if the new possession has lasted longer than one year. But the real right of possession is not lost till after the lapse of ten years. (460a)

Modes of Losing Possession1. By Abandonment Abandonment is the voluntary renunciation of all rights which a person has over a thing thereby allowing a third person to acquire ownership or possession thereof by means of occupancy2. By Assignment Assignment is the complete transmission of the thing or right to another by any lawful manner. It may either be by onerous or gratuitous title.3. By the destruction or total loss, or withdrawal from commerce 4. By possession of another for more than one year refers to possession de facto (possession as a fact or material possession) and not de jure (legal right or real right of possession)5. By recovery by lawful owner or possessor through action reinvidicatoria or an action to recover the better right to possession

d. Accion reinvidicatoria

Art. 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. (n)

Art. 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. (n)

e. Action for reconveyance

Art. 1456. If property is acquired through mistake or fraud, the person obtaining it is, by force of law, considered a trustee of an implied trust for the benefit of the person from whom the property comes.

Art. 1144. The following actions must be brought within ten years from the time the right of action accrues:(1) Upon a written contract;(2) Upon an obligation created by law;(3) Upon a judgment. (n)

f. Quieting of title

Art. 476. Whenever there is a cloud on title to real property or any interest therein, by reason of any instrument, record, claim, encumbrance or proceeding which is apparently valid or effective but is in truth and in fact invalid, ineffective, voidable, or unenforceable, and may be prejudicial to said title, an action may be brought to remove such cloud or to quiet the title.An action may also be brought to prevent a cloud from being cast upon title to real property or any interest therein.

Cloud on Title Meaning A cloud on title is a semblance of title, either legal or equitable, or a claim or a right in real property, appearing in some legal form but which is in fact, invalid or which would be inequitable to enforce Requisites There is an instrument, record, claim, encumbrance, or proceeding which is apparently valid or defective Such instrument, etc. is, in truth and in fact, invalid, ineffective, voidable or unenforceable (despite its prima facie appearance of validity or legal efficacy), or has been extinguished or terminated, or has been barred by extinctive presciption Such instrument, etc. may be prejudicial to said title

Note: An action to quite title applies only to real property and not to personal property

Art. 477. The plaintiff must have legal or equitable title to, or interest in the real property which is the subject matter of the action. He need not be in possession of said property.

Title and Possession of the Plaintiff Legal Title may consist in full ownership or in naked ownership which is registered in the name of the defendant Equitable Title beneficial interest in the property the legal title of which pertains to another (i.e. homesteader) Interest in the real property is any interest short of ownership (i.e. interest of a mortagagee or a usufructuary)

Art. 478. There may also be an action to quiet title or remove a cloud therefrom when the contract, instrument or other obligation has been extinguished or has terminated, or has been barred by extinctive prescription.

Art. 479. The plaintiff must return to the defendant all benefits he may have received from the latter, or reimburse him for expenses that may have redounded to the plaintiff's benefit.

Art. 480. The principles of the general law on the quieting of title are hereby adopted insofar as they are not in conflict with this Code.

Art. 481. The procedure for the quieting of title or the removal of a cloud therefrom shall be governed by such rules of court as the Supreme Court shall promulgated.

Rule 63, Sec. 2. Parties.All persons who have or claim any interest which would be affected by the declaration shall be made parties; and no declaration shall, except as otherwise provided in these Rules, prejudice the rights of persons not parties to the action. (2a, R64)

g. Replevin

Rule 60, Sec. 1. Application.A party praying for the recovery of possession of personal property may, at the commencement of the action or at any time before answer, apply for an order for the delivery of such property to him, in the manner hereinafter provided

ActionVenueSummonPrayerBasisPrescription

(FEUD)Real ActionIn personamPossessionPrior physical possessionOne (1) year

PublicianaReal ActionIn personamPossessionReal right of Possession10 years(NCC 555(4))

ReinvidicatoriaReal ActionIn personamPossessionOwnershipGF: 10 yearsBF: 30 years(NCC 1137)

ReconveyanceReal ActionIn personamTitleOwnership10 years (NCC 1456)

Quieting of TitleReal ActionQuasi-in remQuieting of TitleOwnershipImprescriptible

ReplevinReal ActionIn personamPossessionOwnershipGF: 4 yearsBF: 8 years

PAGE 1 PROPERTY / PROF. SOLOMON F. LUMBA / FIRST SEMESTER, AY 2012-2013KIM L. BALAUAG / D2015