Art. 1156.

An obligation is a juridical necessity

to give, to do or not to do. (n)

not been foreseen, by the provisions of this

Book. (1090)

Obligation: a juridical necessity to comply

with a assdwdr3rprestation. A legal relation
established between one person and another,
whereby one binds himself to the fulfillment of a
prestation which the former may demand of him.

Obligation must be clearly set forth in the law

(in the Civil Code or in special laws). regarding
obligations arising from law conflict with those in
special laws, the latter prevails unless the contrary
has been expressly stipulated in the Civil Code.

o Civil (enforceable in a court of justice) or natural. A

civil obligation is based on positive law, while natural
obligation is based on equity and natural law.

How to determine where such obligation

comes from: At the birth of an obligation, there is
always a concurrence between: 1) the law
establishing it and; 2) the act/condition upon which
the obligation is based/predicated.

Requisites of an obligation:

o A juridical/legal tie, which binds the parties into an

obligation, arising from either bilateral/unilateral acts;
o An active subject known as an obligee/creditor,
demands the fulfillment;
o
A passive subject known as an obligor/debtor
against whom it is juridically demandable;
o
The prestation, the object of the obligation.
Facultative: when obligor is allowed to
substitute another obligation for one which is due or
demandable. Real: when the obligation consists in
giving something. Personal: consists in doing/not
doing something. Divisible: capable of partial
performance.
Conditional: when the obligation is subject to
a condition which may be suspensive (the
happening/fulfillment results in the birth of the
obligation), or resolutory (the happening extinguishes
the obligation).
Art. 1157. Obligations arise from:
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
(5)

Law;
Contracts;
Quasi-contracts;
Acts or omissions punished by law; and
Quasi-delicts. (1089a)

Law: like the duty to pay taxes and support

ones family (Family Code The Family).
Contract: like the duty to repay a loan by
virtue of an agreement.
Quasi-contracts: not specified by law, like
the duty to refund an over-change of money
because of the quasi-contract of solutio indebiti or
undue payment.
Acts or omissions Punished by Law: like the
duty to return a stolen carabao.
Quasi-delicts/Torts: like the duty to repair
damage due to negligence.
-

o The law establishes the obligation, while the act

merely determines the moment it becomes
demandable. Here, the law is the source of the
obligation. However, if the law merely regulates, then
the act is the source.
Art. 1159. Obligations arising from contracts
have the force of law between the contracting
parties and should be complied with in good
faith. (1091a)
Law is not inferior to contracts; contracts
must first be valid to have the force of law. The
parties may establish their stipulations and terms,
provided they are not contrary to law, good customs,
etc. As long as (1306) is complied with, the contract
should be given effect.
Neither party may unilaterally escape his
obligations under the contract, unless assented by
the other party, or for causes sufficient in law and
pronounced adequate by a competent tribunal.
A contract is the meeting of the minds
between two persons whereby one binds himself, with
respect to the other, to give something or to render
some service. It is perfected by mere consent, and
after are bound to its fulfillment but also to all
consequences which according to their nature may be
in keeping with good faith, usage, and law:
consensual contracts.
o
Real contracts: deposit, pledge, commodatum,
reflected until the delivery of the object of the
obligation.
Whether the contract is consensual/real, from
the moment of perfection, obligations which may be
either reciprocal/unilateral arise.
Unlike other kinds of obligations, those arising
from contracts are governed primarily by the
agreement of the contracting parties. Compliance in
good faith means performance in accordance with
the stipulations and terms of

In reality, only two: law and contracts.

Art. 1158. Obligations derived from law are not

presumed. Only those expressly determined in
this Code or in special laws are demandable,
and shall be regulated by the precepts of the
law which establishes them; and as to what has

the contract, provided the contract be not contrary to

law, morals, good customs, public order/policy. In
default of agreement, rules found in the Civil Code
regulating such obligations are applicable.

Art. 1160. Obligations derived from quasicontracts shall be subject to the provisions of
Chapter 1, Title XVII, of this Book.
Quasi-contracts are those juridical relations
arising from lawful, voluntary, and unilateral acts, by
virtue of which parties become bound to each other,
based on the principle that no one shall be unjustly
enriched or benefited at the expense of another.

As a rule, civil action to recover damages

from the person criminally liable is not independent
from the criminal action. But there are totally
independent civil actions:

Negotiorum gestio: the relation that arises

whenever a person voluntarily takes charge of the
agency/management of the business/property of
another without any power/authority from the latter.
Once the gestor/officious manager has assumed such
agency/management, he is obliged to continue such
agency/management until the termination of the
affair and its incidents.

o where the law grants to the injured party the right

to institute a civil action which is entirely separate
and distinct from the criminal action.

Solution indebiti: the relation that arises

whenever a person unduly delivers a thing through
mistake to another who has no right to receive it.
Once delivery has been made, person to whom it was
delivered has the obligation to return it.
Even if no express consent, contract through
presumptive consent is provided by law.
Art. 1161. Civil obligations arising from
offenses shall be governed by the penal laws,
subject to the provisions of Article 2177, and of
pertinent provisions of Chapter 2, Preliminary
Title, on Human Relations, and of Title XVII of
this Book, regulating damages. (1092a)
As a rule, every person liable for a felony is
also civilly liable. The purpose of criminal liability is to
punish the offender, while the purpose of the second
is to repair damages suffered by the aggrieved party.
Generally, the basis of civil liability is criminal liability.
Under the Revised Rules of Criminal
Procedure, a civil action for recovery of civil liability
arising from the offense charged is impliedly
instituted with the criminal action unless
o Express waiver of civil action
o Reservation of the right to institute it separately
o Institution of the civil action prior to the criminal
action
Independent civil action, under (31,32,33,34,
2177) of the Civil Code.
Uninstituted civil action cannot be begun
once criminal action commences. And once criminal
action is instituted, pending civil action is suspended
at whatever stage before final judgment (The pending
action may be consolidated.). Extinction of the penal
action does not extinguish civil liability unless the
extinction proceeds from a declaration in a final
judgment that the fact from which the civil might
arises did not rise.
Except for (31-34, 2176) of CC, reserverd civil
action cannot be instituted pending criminal action
judgment. Pending criminal judgment, prescription of
civil action which cannot be instituted separately or
whose proceeding has been suspended shall not run.

o where the civil action is based on an obligation not

arising from the act/omission complained of as an
offense/felony

In such cases, civil action may be an

obligation arising from the law, contract, quasicontract, or quasi-delict. Culpa aquiliana or quasidelict, where the injured party can always institute a
civil action to recover damages independently of the
criminal action, regardless of the latters result; the
cause of the civil action is no longer from the criminal
liability of the defendant, but a quasi-delict.
5 exceptional cases:
o
Interference by public officers or employees
or by private individuals with civil rights and liberties
o
Defamation
o
Physical injuries
o
Fraud
o
Refusal/neglect of a city or municipal police
officer to render aid/protection in case of danger to
life or property
Proviso in Section 2 of Rule 111 with
reference to the five exceptions is contrary to the
letter and spirit of the said articles. It is an
unauthorized amendment of substantive law.
Section 2 of Rules of Court: xxx In no case,
however, may the offended party recover damages
twice for the same act/omission charged/convicted.
Provided, the foregoing actions may only be allowed if
there is a reservation, or were filed ahead of the
criminal action.
Art. 1162. Obligations derived from quasidelicts shall be governed by the provisions of
Chapter 2, Title XVII of this Book, and by
special laws. (1093a)
Quasi-delicts refer to all those obligations
which do not arise from law, contracts, quasicontracts, or criminal offenses. It can also be defined
as the fault or negligence of a person, who, by his act
or omission, connected or unconnected with, but
independent from, any contractual relation, causes
damage to another person.
Other persons liable for quasi-delicts, aside
from the person directly responsible for the damage,
are:
o
Parents with respect to damages caused by
their minor children who live in their company
o
Guardians with respect to damages caused by
their minor wards/incapacitated persons under their
authority and who live with them

o
Owners
and
managers
of
an
establishment/enterprise with respect to damages
caused by their employees in the service of branches
o
Employers with respect to damages caused
by their employees and household helpers acting
within the scope of their assigned tasks, even though
the former are not engaged in any business/industry
o
The State, when it acts through a special
agent; but not when the damage has been caused by
the official to whom the task properly pertains;
o
Teachers or heads of establishments of arts
and trades, pupils and students or apprentices, so
long as they remain in their custody.
Reequisites of liability:
o
The fault or negligence of the defendant
o
The damage suffered or incurred by the
plaintiff
o
The relation of the cause and effect between
the fault or negligence of the defendant and the
damage incurred by the plaintiff.
Quasi-delicts and crimes: quasi-delicts are of
private concern; damages are reparatory; quasidelicts have only civil liability; and crimes are not as
broad as quasi-delicts, for crimes are punished only if
there is a law clearly covering them, while quasidelicts include all acts in which any kind of fault or
negligence intervenes.
Scope of quasi-delicts: In Elcano v. Hill
holding, quasi-delicts include acts criminal in
character or in violation of the penal law, whether
voluntary or negligent. Not only acts punishable by
law, but also acts criminal in character xxx
o
Not overlapping with CC: First, negligent
acts/omissions not punishable as criminal offenses;
Second, intentional quasi-delicts or torts, such as

those regulated by Arts. 19,21,22,26-28, and 1314 of

the Civil Code;
Third, the so-called strict liability torts, where there is
neither negligence nor intent to cause damage/injury,
Art. 23 of the Civil Code or in case of actionable
nuisances under Arts. 694 and 705 of the Civil Code.
o
Overlapping
with
CC:
First,
criminal
negligence; Second, acts or omissions punishable as
RPC crimes but CC expressly declares a separate and
independent civil action.
o
Elcano: It is the masters or employers who
principally reap the profits resulting from the services
of their employees. Employer and employee become
one personality by the merging of the person of the
employee in that of him who employs and utilizes
him.

Culpa aquiliana is of an ancient origin, having

always had its own foundation and individuality
separate from criminal negligence. Includes voluntary
and negligent acts which may be punished by law.
The three requisites for res judicata: 1) must
be a final judgment; 2) must have been rendered by a
Court having jurisdiction over the subject matter and
the parties; 3) must be a judgment on the merits; and
4) must be, between the first and second actions,
identity of parties, identity of subject matter and
identity of cause of action.
o
Two factors that a cause of action must
consist of: 1) plaintiffs primary right; and 2)
defendants delict or wrongful act or omission which
violated plaintiffs primary right.
Death of accused on appeal: total extinction
of both civil and criminal liabilities arising from the
act/omission/delict, etc. for there no longer is an
accused. However, purely civil independent actions
are governed by the Rules on Civil Procedure.