NEW CIVIL CODE OF THE PHILIPPINES

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 4. Laws shall have no retroactive effect, unless the contrary is provided. (3)

Article 5. Acts executed against the provisions of mandatory or prohibitory laws shall be void, except when the law itself
authorizes their validity. (4a)

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 7. Laws are repealed only by subsequent ones, and their violation or non-observance shall not be excused by
disuse, or custom or practice to the contrary.

When the courts declared 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 be valid only when they are not contrary to the laws or the
Constitution. (5a)

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 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 twenty-four hours; and nights from sunset to sunrise.
If months are designated by their name, they shall be computed by the number of days which they respectively

have. In computing a period, the first day shall be excluded, and the last day included. (7a)

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 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)

Article 16. Real property as well as personal property is subject to the law of the country where it is stipulated.

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 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)

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
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;

(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.

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.

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.
See
THE FAMILY CODE OF THE PHILIPPINES, As
Amended Executive Order 209
THE CHILD AND YOUTH WELFARE CODE, As
Amended Presidential Decree No. 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
provided in article 92; and

(7) Ship captains, airplane chiefs, military commanders, and consuls and vice-consuls in special cases
provided in articles 74 and 75. (4a)

Article 57. The marriage shall be solemnized publicly in the office of the judge in open court or of the mayor; or in the
church, chapel or temple, as the case may be, and not elsewhere, except in cases of marriages contracted on the point of
death or in remote places in accordance with article 72 of this Code, or in case of marriage referred to in article 76 or when
one of the parents or the guardian of the female or the latter herself if over eighteen years of age request it in writing, in
which cases the marriage may be solemnized at a house or place designated by said parent or guardian of the female or
by the latter herself in a sworn statement to that effect. (5a)

Article 58. Save marriages of an exceptional character authorized in Chapter 2 of this Title, but not those under article 75,
no marriage shall be solemnized without a license first being issued by the local civil registrar of the municipality where
either contracting party habitually resides. (7a)

Article 59. The local civil registrar shall issue the proper license if each of the contracting parties swears separately before
him or before any public official authorized to administer oaths, to an application in writing setting forth that such party has
the necessary qualifications for contracting marriage. The applicants, their parents or guardians shall not be required to
exhibit their residence certificates in any formality in connection with the securing of the marriage license. Such application
shall insofar as possible contain the following data:

(1) Full name of the contracting party;

 (2) Place of birth;

(3) Age, date of birth;

(4) Civil status (single, widow or widower, or divorced);

(5) If divorced, how and when the previous marriage was dissolved;

(6) Present residence;

(7) Degree of relationship of the contracting parties;

(8) Full name of the father;

(9) Residence of the father;

(10) Full name of the mother;

(11) Residence of the mother;

(12) Full name and residence of the guardian or person having charge, in case the contracting party has
neither father nor mother and is under the age of twenty years, if a male, or eighteen years if a female.
(7a)

Article 60. The local civil registrar, upon receiving such application, shall require the exhibition of the original baptismal or
birth certificates of the contracting parties or copies of such documents duly attested by the persons having custody of the
originals. These certificates or certified copies of the documents required by this article need not to be sworn to and shall
be exempt from the documentary stamp tax. The signature and official title of the person issuing the certificate shall be
sufficient proof of its authenticity.

If either of the contracting parties is unable to produce his baptismal or birth certificate or a certified copy of either because
of the destruction or loss of the original, or if it is shown by an affidavit of such party or of any other person that such
baptismal or birth certificate has not yet been received though the same has been requested of the person having custody
thereof at least fifteen days prior to the date of the application, such party may furnish in lieu thereof his residence
certificate for the current year or any previous years, to show the age stated in his application or, in the absence thereof, an
instrument drawn up and sworn to before the local civil registrar concerned or any public official authorized to solemnize
marriage. Such instrument shall contain the sworn declaration of two witnesses, of lawful age, of either sex, setting forth
the full name, profession, and residence of such contracting party and of his or her parents, if known, and the place and
date of birth of such party. The nearest of kin of the contracting parties shall be preferred as witnesses, and in their default,
persons well known in the province or the locality for their honesty and good repute.

The exhibition of baptismal or birth certificates shall not be required if the parents of the contracting parties appear
personally before the local civil registrar concerned and swear to the correctness of the lawful age of said parties, as stated
in the application, or when the local civil registrar shall, by merely looking at the applicants upon their personally appearing
before him, be convinced that either or both of them have the required age. (8a)

Article 61. In case either of the contracting parties is a widowed or divorced person, the same shall be required to furnish,
instead of the baptismal or birth certificate required in the last preceding article, the death certificate of the deceased
spouse or the decree of the divorce court, as the case may be. In case the death certificate cannot be found, the party
shall make an affidavit setting forth this circumstance and his or her actual civil status and the name and the date of the
death of the deceased spouse.
 In case either or both of the contracting parties, being neither widowed nor divorced, are less than twenty years of age as
regards the male and less than eighteen years as regards the female, they shall, in addition to the requirements of the
preceding articles, exhibit to the local civil registrar, the consent to their marriage, of their father, mother or guardian, or
persons having legal charge of them, in the order mentioned. Such consent shall be in writing, under oath taken with the
appearance of the interested parties before the proper local civil registrar or in the form of an affidavit made in the presence
of two witnesses and attested before any official authorized by law to administer oaths. (9a)

Article 62. Males above twenty but under twenty-five years of age, or females above eighteen but under twenty-three
years of age, shall be obliged to ask their parents or guardian for advice upon the intended marriage. If they do not obtain
such advice, or if it be unfavorable, the marriage shall not take place till after three months following the completion of the
publication of the application for marriage license. A sworn statement by the contracting parties to the effect that such
advice has been sought, together with the written advice given, if any, shall accompany the application for marriage
license. Should the parents or guardian refuse to give any advice, this fact shall be stated in the sworn declaration. (n)

Article 63. The local civil registrar shall post during ten consecutive days at the main door of the building where he has his
office a notice, the location of which shall not be changed once it has been placed, setting forth the full names and
domiciles of the applicants for a marriage license and other information given in the application. This notice shall request all
persons having knowledge of any impediment to the marriage to advise the local registrar thereof. The license shall be
issued after the completion of the publication, unless the local civil registrar receives information upon any alleged
impediment to the marriage. (10a)

Article 64. Upon being advised of any alleged impediment to the marriage, the local civil registrar shall forthwith make an
investigation, examining persons under oath. If he is convicted that there is an impediment to the marriage, it shall be his
duty to withhold the marriage license, unless he is otherwise ordered by a competent court. (n)

Article 65. The local civil registrar shall demand the previous payment of fees required by law or regulations for each
license issued. No other sum shall be collected, in the nature of a fee or tax of any kind, for the issuance of a marriage
license. Marriage licenses shall be issued free of charge to indigent parties, when both male and female do not each own
assessed real property in excess of five hundred pesos, a fact certified to, without cost, by the provincial treasurer, or in the
absence thereof, by a statement duly sworn to by the contracting parties before the local civil registrar. The license shall be
valid in any part of the Philippines; but it shall be good for no more than one hundred and twenty days from the date on
which it is issued and shall be deemed cancelled at the expiration of said period if the interested parties have not made use
of it. (11a)

Article 66. When either or both of the contracting parties are citizens or subjects of a foreign country, it shall be necessary,
before a marriage license can be obtained, to provide themselves with a certificate of legal capacity to contract marriage, to
be issued by their respective diplomatic or consular officials. (13a)

Article 67. The marriage certificate in which the contracting parties shall state that they take each other as husband and
wife, shall also contain:

(1) The full names and domiciles of the contracting parties;

(2) The age of each;

(3) A statement that the proper marriage license has been issued according to law and that the contracting
parties have the consent of their parents in case the male is under twenty or the female under eighteen
years of age; and

(4) A statement that the guardian or parent has been informed of the marriage, if the male is between the
ages of twenty and twenty-five years, and the female between eighteen and twenty-three years of age.
 (15a)

Article 68. It shall be the duty of the person solemnizing the marriage to furnish to either of the contracting parties one of
the three copies of the marriage contract referred to in article 55, and to send another copy of the document not later than
fifteen days after the marriage took place to the local civil registrar concerned, whose duty it shall be to issue the proper
receipt to any person sending a marriage contract solemnized by him, including marriages of an exceptional character. The
official, priest, or minister solemnizing the marriage shall retain the third copy of the marriage contract, the marriage license
and the affidavit of the interested party regarding the solemnization of the marriage in a place other than those mentioned
in article 57 if there be any such affidavit, in the files that he must keep. (16a)

Article 69. It shall be the duty of the local civil registrar to prepare the documents required by this Title, and to administer
oaths to all interested parties without any charge in both cases.

The documents and affidavits filed in connection with applications for marriage licenses shall be exempt from the
documentary stamp tax. (17a)

Article 70. The local civil registrar concerned shall enter all applications for marriage licenses filed with him in a register
book strictly in the order in which the same shall be received. He shall enter in said register the names of the applicants,
the date on which the marriage license was issued, and such other data as may be necessary. (18a)

Article 71. All marriages performed outside the Philippines in accordance with the laws in force in the country where they
were performed, and valid there as such, shall also be valid in this country, except bigamous, polygamous, or incestuous
marriages as determined by Philippine law. (19a)
CHAPTER 2
Marriages of Exceptional Character

Article 72. In case either of the contracting parties is on the point of death or the female has her habitual residence at a
place more than fifteen kilometers distant from the municipal building and there is no communication by railroad or by
provincial or local highways between the former and the latter, the marriage may be solemnized without necessity of a
marriage license; but in such cases the official, priest, or minister solemnizing it shall state in an affidavit made before the
local civil registrar or any person authorized by law to administer oaths that the marriage was performed in articulo mortis
or at a place more than fifteen kilometers distant from the municipal building concerned, in which latter case he shall give
the name of the barrio where the marriage was solemnized. The person who solemnized the marriage shall also state, in
either case, that he took the necessary steps to ascertain the ages and relationship of the contracting parties and that there
was in his opinion no legal impediment to the marriage at the time that it was solemnized. (20)

Article 73. The original of the affidavit required in the last preceding article, together with a copy of the marriage contract,
shall be sent by the person solemnizing the marriage to the local civil registrar of the municipality where it was performed
within the period of thirty days, after the performance of the marriage. The local civil registrar shall, however, before filing
the papers, require the payment into the municipal treasury of the legal fees required in article 65. (21)

Article 74. A marriage in articulo mortis may also be solemnized by the captain of a ship or chief of an airplane during a
voyage, or by the commanding officer of a military unit, in the absence of a chaplain, during war. The duties mentioned in
the two preceding articles shall be complied with by the ship captain, airplane chief or commanding officer. (n)

Article 75. Marriages between Filipino citizens abroad may be solemnized by consuls and vice-consuls of the Republic of
the Philippines. The duties of the local civil registrar and of a judge or justice of the peace or mayor with regard to the
celebration of marriage shall be performed by such consuls and vice-consuls. (n)

Article 76. No marriage license shall be necessary when a man and a woman who have attained the age of majority and
who, being unmarried, have lived together as husband and wife for at least five years, desire to marry each other. The
 contracting parties shall state the foregoing facts in an affidavit before any person authorized by law to administer oaths.
The official, priest or minister who solemnized the marriage shall also state in an affidavit that he took steps to ascertain the
ages and other qualifications of the contracting parties and that he found no legal impediment to the marriage. (n)

Article 77. In case two persons married in accordance with law desire to ratify their union in conformity with the
regulations, rites, or practices of any church, sect, or religion it shall no longer be necessary to comply with the
requirements of Chapter 1 of this Title and any ratification so made shall merely be considered as a purely religious
ceremony. (23)

Article 78. Marriages between Mohammedans or pagans who live in the non-Christian provinces may be performed in
accordance with their customs, rites or practices. No marriage license or formal requisites shall be necessary. Nor shall the
persons solemnizing these marriages be obliged to comply with article 92.

However, twenty years after approval of this Code, all marriages performed between Mohammedans or pagans shall be
solemnized in accordance with the provisions of this Code. But the President of the Philippines, upon recommendation of
the Secretary of the Interior, may at any time before the expiration of said period, by proclamation, make any of said
provisions applicable to the Mohammedan and non-Christian inhabitants of any of the non-Christian provinces. (25a)

Article 79. Mixed marriages between a Christian male and a Mohammedan or pagan female shall be governed by the
general provision of this Title and not by those of the last preceding article, but mixed marriages between a Mohammedan
or pagan male and a Christian female may be performed under the provisions of the last preceding article if so desired by
the contracting parties, subject, however, in the latter case to the provisions of the second paragraph of said article. (26)

CHAPTER 3
Void and Voidable Marriages

Article 80. The following marriages shall be void from the beginning:

(1) Those contracted under the ages of sixteen and fourteen years by the male and female respectively,
even with the consent of the parents;

(2) Those solemnized by any person not legally authorized to perform marriages;

(3) Those solemnized without a marriage license, save marriages of exceptional character;

(4) Bigamous or polygamous marriages not falling under article 83, number 2;

(5) Incestuous marriages mentioned in article 81;

(6) Those where one or both contracting parties have been found guilty of the killing of the spouse of either
of them;

(7) Those between stepbrothers and stepsisters and other marriages specified in article 82. (n)

Article 81. Marriages between the following are incestuous and void from their performance, whether the relationship
between the parties be legitimate or illegitimate:

(1) Between ascendants and descendants of any degree;

 (2) Between brothers and sisters, whether of the full or half blood;

(3) Between collateral relatives by blood within the fourth civil degree. (28a)

Article 82. The following marriages shall also be void from the beginning:

(1) Between stepfathers and stepdaughters, and stepmothers and stepsons;

(2) Between the adopting father or mother and the adopted, between the latter and the surviving spouse of
the former, and between the former and the surviving spouse of the latter;

(3) Between the legitimate children of the adopter and the adopted. (28a)

Article 83. Any marriage subsequently contracted by any person during the lifetime of the first spouse of such person with
any person other than such first spouse shall be illegal and void from its performance, unless:

(1) The first marriage was annulled or dissolved; or

(2) The first spouse had been absent for seven consecutive years at the time of the second marriage without
the spouse present having news of the absentee being alive, or if the absentee, though he has been absent
for less than seven years, is generally considered as dead and believed to be so by the spouse present at
the time of contracting such subsequent marriage, or if the absentee is presumed dead according to articles
390 and 391. The marriage so contracted shall be valid in any of the three cases until declared null and void
by a competent court. (29a)

Article 84. No marriage license shall be issued to a widow till after three hundred days following the death of her husband,
unless in the meantime she has given birth to a child. (n)

Article 85. A marriage may be annulled for any of the following causes, existing at the time of the marriage:

(1) That the party in whose behalf it is sought to have the marriage annulled was between the ages of
sixteen and twenty years, if male, or between the ages of fourteen and eighteen years, if female, and the
marriage was solemnized without the consent of the parent, guardian or person having authority over the
party, unless after attaining the ages of twenty or eighteen years, as the case may be, such party freely
cohabited with the other and both lived together as husband and wife;

(2) In a subsequent marriage under article 83, number 2, that the former husband or wife believed to be
dead was in fact living and the marriage with such former husband or wife was then in force;

(3) That either party was of unsound mind, unless such party, after coming to reason, freely cohabited with
the other as husband or wife;

(4) That the consent of either party was obtained by fraud, unless such party afterwards, with full knowledge
of the facts constituting the fraud, freely cohabited with the other as her husband or his wife, as the case
may be;

(5) That the consent of either party was obtained by force or intimidation, unless the violence or threat
having disappeared, such party afterwards freely cohabited with the other as her husband or his wife, as the
case may be;

(6) That either party was, at the time of marriage, physically incapable of entering into the married state, and
 such incapacity continues, and appears to be incurable. (30a)

Article 86. Any of the following circumstances shall constitute fraud referred to in number 4 of the preceding

article: (1) Misrepresentation as to the identity of one of the contracting parties;

(2) Non-disclosure of the previous conviction of the other party of a crime involving moral turpitude, and the
penalty imposed was imprisonment for two years or more;

(3) Concealment by the wife of the fact that at the time of the marriage, she was pregnant by a man other
than her husband.

No other misrepresentation or deceit as to character, rank, fortune or chastity shall constitute such fraud as will give
grounds for action for the annulment of marriage. (n)
Article 87. The action for annulment of marriage must be commenced by the parties and within the periods as follows:

(1) For causes mentioned in number 1 of article 85, by the party whose parent or guardian did not give his or
her consent, within four years after attaining the age of twenty or eighteen years, as the case may be; or by
the parent or guardian or person having legal charge, at any time before such party has arrived at the age of
twenty or eighteen years;

(2) For causes mentioned in number 2 of article 85, by the spouse who has been absent, during his or her
lifetime; or by either spouse of the subsequent marriage during the lifetime of the other;

(3) For causes mentioned in number 3 of article 85, by the sane spouse, who had no knowledge of the
other's insanity; or by any relative or guardian of the party of unsound mind, at any time before the death of
either party;

(4) For causes mentioned in number 4, by the injured party, within four years after the discovery of the fraud;

(5) For causes mentioned in number 5, by the injured party, within four years from the time the force or
intimidation ceased;

(6) For causes mentioned in number 6, by the injured party, within eight years after the marriage. (31a)

Article 88. No judgment annulling a marriage shall be promulgated upon a stipulation of facts or by confession of
judgment.

In case of nonappearance of the defendant, the provisions of article 101, paragraph 2, shall be observed. (n)

Article 89. Children conceived or born of marriages which are void from the beginning shall have the same status, rights
and obligations as acknowledged natural children, and are called natural children by legal fiction.

Children conceived of voidable marriages before the decree of annulment shall be considered as legitimate; and children
conceived thereafter shall have the same status, rights and obligations as acknowledged natural children, and are also
called natural children by legal fiction. (n)

Article 90. When a marriage is annulled, the court shall award the custody of the children as it may deem best, and make
provision for their education and support. Attorney's fees and expenses incurred in the litigation shall be charged to the
conjugal partnership property, unless the action fails. (33a)
Article 91. Damages may be awarded in the following cases when the marriage is judicially annulled or declared void from
the beginning:

(1) If there has been fraud, force or intimidation in obtaining the consent of one of the contracting parties;

(2) If either party was, at the time of the marriage, physically incapable of entering into the married state, and
the other party was unaware thereof;

(3) If the person solemnizing the marriage was not legally authorized to perform marriages, and that fact was
known to one of the contracting parties, but he or she concealed it from the other;

(4) If a bigamous or polygamous marriage was celebrated, and the impediment was concealed from the
plaintiff by the party disqualified;

(5) If in an incestuous marriage, or a marriage between a stepbrother and a stepsister or other marriage
prohibited by article 82, the relationship was known to only one of the contracting parties but was not
disclosed to the other;

(6) If one party was insane and the other was aware thereof at the time of the marriage. (n)

CHAPTER 4
Authority to Solemnize Marriages

Article 92. Every priest, or minister, or rabbi authorized by his denomination, church, sect, or religion to solemnize
marriage shall send to the proper government office a sworn statement setting forth his full name and domicile, and that he
is authorized by his denomination, church, sect, or religion to solemnize marriage, attaching to said statement a certified
copy of his appointment. The director of the proper government office, upon receiving such sworn statement containing the
information required, and being satisfied that the denomination, church, sect, or religion of the applicant operates in the
Philippines, shall record the name of such priest or minister in a suitable register and issue to him an authorization to
solemnize marriage. Said priest or minister or rabbi shall be obliged to exhibit his authorization to the contracting parties, to
their parents, grandparents, guardians, or persons in charge demanding the same. No priest or minister not having the
required authorization may solemnize marriage. (34a)

Article 93. Freedom of religion shall be observed by public officials in the issuance of authorization to solemnize
marriages. Consequently, no public official shall attempt to inquire into the truth or validity of any religious doctrine held by
the applicant or by his church. (n)

Article 94. The public official in charge of registration of priests and ministers shall cancel the authorization issued to a
bishop, head, priest, rabbi, pastor or minister of the gospel of any denomination, church, sect, or religion, on his own
initiative or at the request of any interested party, upon showing that the church, sect or religion whose ministers have been
authorized to solemnize marriage is no longer in operation. The cancellation of the authorization granted to a priest, pastor
or minister shall likewise be ordered upon the request of the bishop, head, or lawful authorities of the denomination, church,
sect or religion to which he belongs. (35a)

Article 95. The public official in charge of registration of priests and ministers, with the approval of the proper head of
Department, is hereby authorized to prepare the necessary forms and to promulgate regulations for the purpose of
enforcing the provisions of this Title. Said official may also by regulations fix and collect fees for the authorization of priests
and ministers to solemnize marriages. (36a)
 Article 96. The existing laws which punish acts or omissions concerning the marriage license, solemnization of marriage,
authority to solemnize marriages, and other acts or omissions relative to the celebration of marriage shall remain and
continue to be in force. (n)

TITLE IV
LEGAL SEPARATION
Article 97. A petition for legal separation may be filed:

(1) For adultery on the part of the wife and for concubinage on the part of the husband as defined in the
Penal Code; or

(2) An attempt by one spouse against the life of the other. (n)

Article 98. In every case the court must take steps, before granting the legal separation, toward the reconciliation of the
spouses, and must be fully satisfied that such reconciliation is highly improbable. (n)

Article 99. No person shall be entitled to a legal separation who has not resided in the Philippines for one year prior to the
filing of the petition, unless the cause for the legal separation has taken place within the territory of this Republic. (Sec. 2a,
Act No. 2710).

Article 100. The legal separation may be claimed only by the innocent spouse, provided there has been no condonation of
or consent to the adultery or concubinage. Where both spouses are offenders, a legal separation cannot be claimed by
either of them. Collusion between the parties to obtain legal separation shall cause the dismissal of the petition. (3a, Act
No. 2710)

Article 101. No decree of legal separation shall be promulgated upon a stipulation of facts or by confession of judgment.

In case of non-appearance of the defendant, the court shall order the prosecuting attorney to inquire whether or not a
collusion between the parties exists. If there is no collusion, the prosecuting attorney shall intervene for the State in order to
take care that the evidence for the plaintiff is not fabricated. (n)

Article 102. An action for legal separation cannot be filed except within one year from and after the date on which the
plaintiff became cognizant of the cause and within five years from and after the date when such cause occurred. (4a, Act
2710)

Article 103. An action for legal separation shall in no case be tried before six months shall have elapsed since the filing of
the petition. (5a, Act 2710)

Article 104. After the filing of the petition for legal separation, the spouses shall be entitled to live separately from each
other and manage their respective property.

The husband shall continue to manage the conjugal partnership property but if the court deems it proper, it may appoint
another to manage said property, in which case the administrator shall have the same rights and duties as a guardian and
shall not be allowed to dispose of the income or of the capital except in accordance with the orders of the court. (6, Act
2710)

Article 105. During the pendency of legal separation proceedings the court shall make provision for the care of the minor
children in accordance with the circumstances and may order the conjugal partnership property or the income therefrom to
be set aside for their support; and in default thereof said minor children shall be cared for in conformity with the provisions
 of this Code; but the Court shall abstain from making any order in this respect in case the parents have by mutual
agreement, made provision for the care of said minor children and these are, in the judgment of the court, well cared for.
(7a, Act 2710)

Article 106. The decree of legal separation shall have the following effects:
(1) The spouses shall be entitled to live separately from each other, but marriage bonds shall not be
severed;

(2) The conjugal partnership of gains or the absolute conjugal community of property shall be dissolved and
liquidated, but the offending spouse shall have no right to any share of the profits earned by the partnership
or community, without prejudice to the provisions of article 176;

(3) The custody of the minor children shall be awarded to the innocent spouse, unless otherwise directed by
the court in the interest of said minors, for whom said court may appoint a guardian;

(4) The offending spouse shall be disqualified from inheriting from the innocent spouse by intestate
succession. Moreover, provisions in favor of the offending spouse made in the will of the innocent one shall
be revoked by operation of law. (n)

Article 107. The innocent spouse, after a decree of legal separation has been granted, may revoke the donations by
reason of marriage made by him or by her to the offending spouse. Alienation and mortgages made before the notation of
the complaint for revocation in the Registry of Property shall be valid.

This action lapses after four years following the date the decree became final. (n)

Article 108. Reconciliation stops the proceedings for legal separation and rescinds the decree of legal separation already
rendered.

The revival of the conjugal partnership of gains or of the absolute conjugal community of property shall be governed by
article 195. (10a. Act 2710)

TITLE V
RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS BETWEEN HUSBAND AND WIFE

Article 109. The husband and wife are obliged to live together, observe mutual respect and fidelity, and render mutual help
and support. (56a)

Article 110. The husband shall fix the residence of the family. But the court may exempt the wife from living with the
husband if he should live abroad unless in the service of the Republic. (58a)

Article 111. The husband is responsible for the support of the wife and the rest of the family. These expenses shall be met
first from the conjugal property, then from the husband's capital, and lastly from the wife's paraphernal property. In case
there is a separation of property, by stipulation in the marriage settlements, the husband and wife shall contribute
proportionately to the family expenses. (n)

Article 112. The husband is the administrator of the conjugal property, unless there is a stipulation in the marriage
settlements conferring the administration upon the wife. She may also administer the conjugal partnership in other cases
specified in this Code. (n)
 Article 113. The husband must be joined in all suits by or against the wife, except:
(1) When they are judicially separated;

(2) If they have in fact been separated for at least one year;

(3) When there is a separation of property agreed upon in the marriage settlements;

(4) If the administration of all the property in the marriage has been transferred to her, in accordance with
articles 196 and 197;

(5) When the litigation is between the husband and wife;

(6) If the suit concerns her paraphernal property;

(7) When the action is upon the civil liability arising from a criminal offense;

(8) If the litigation is incidental to the profession, occupation or business in which she is

engaged; (9) In any civil action referred to in articles 25 to 35; and

(10) In an action upon a quasi-delict.

In the cases mentioned in Nos. 7 to 10, the husband must be joined as a party defendant if the third paragraph of article
163 is applicable. (n)

Article 114. The wife cannot, without the husband's consent acquire any property by gratuitous title, except from her
ascendants, descendants, parents-in-law, and collateral relatives within the fourth degree. (n)

Article 115. The wife manages the affairs of the household. She may purchase things necessary for the support of the
family, and the conjugal partnership shall be bound thereby. She may borrow money for this purpose, if the husband fails to
deliver the proper sum. The purchase of jewelry and precious objects is voidable, unless the transaction has been
expressly or tacitly approved by the husband, or unless the price paid is from her paraphernal property. (62a)

Article 116. When one of the spouses neglects his or her duties to the conjugal union or brings danger, dishonor or
material injury upon the other, the injured party may apply to the court for relief.

The court may counsel the offender to comply with his or her duties, and take such measures as may be proper. (n)

Article 117. The wife may exercise any profession or occupation or engage in business. However, the husband may
object, provided:

(1) His income is sufficient for the family, according to its social standing, and

(2) His opposition is founded on serious and valid grounds.

In case of disagreement on this question, the parents and grandparents as well as the family council, if any, shall be
consulted. If no agreement is still arrived at, the court will decide whatever may be proper and in the best interest of the
family. (n)
TITLE VI
PROPERTY RELATIONS BETWEEN HUSBAND AND WIFE
 CHAPTER 1
General Provisions

Article 118. The property relations between husband and wife shall be governed in the following

order: (1) By contract executed before the marriage;

(2) By the provisions of this Code; and

(3) By custom. (1315a)

Article 119. The future spouses may in the marriage settlements agree upon absolute or relative community of property, or
upon complete separation of property, or upon any other regime. In the absence of marriage settlements, or when the
same are void, the system of relative community or conjugal partnership of gains as established in this Code, shall govern
the property relations between husband and wife. (n)

Article 120. A minor who according to law may contract marriage, may also execute his or her marriage settlements; but
they shall be valid only if the persons designated by law to give consent to the marriage of the minor take part in the ante
nuptial agreement. In the absence of the parents or of a guardian, the consent to the marriage settlements will be given by
the family council. (1318a)

Article 121. In order that any modification in the marriage settlements may be valid, it must be made before the celebration
of the marriage, subject to the provisions of Art. 191. (1319a)

Article 122. The marriage settlements and any modification thereof shall be governed by the Statute of Frauds, and
executed before the celebration of the marriage. They shall not prejudice third persons unless they are recorded in the
Registry of Property. (1321a)

Article 123. For the validity of marriage settlements executed by any person upon whom a sentence of civil interdiction has
been pronounced, the presence and participation of the guardian shall be indispensable, who for this purpose shall be
designated by a competent court, in accordance with the provisions of the Rules of Court. (1323a)

Article 124. If the marriage is between a citizen of the Philippines and a foreigner, whether celebrated in the Philippines or
abroad, the following rules shall prevail:

(1) If the husband is a citizen of the Philippines while the wife is a foreigner, the provisions of this Code shall
govern their relations;

(2) If the husband is a foreigner and the wife is a citizen of the Philippines, the laws of the husband's country
shall be followed, without prejudice to the provisions of this Code with regard to immovable property.
(1325a)

Article 125. Everything stipulated in the settlements or contracts referred to in the preceding articles in consideration of a
future marriage shall be rendered void and without effect whatever, if the marriage should not take place. However, those
stipulations that do not depend upon the celebration of the marriage shall be valid. (1326a)

CHAPTER 2
Donations by Reason of Marriage
 Article 126. Donations by reasons of marriage are those which are made before its celebration, in consideration of the
same and in favor of one or both of the future spouses. (1327)

Article 127. These donations are governed by the rules on ordinary donations established in Title III of Book III, except as
to their form which shall be regulated by the Statute of Frauds; and insofar as they are not modified by the following
articles. (1328a)

Article 128. Minors may make and receive donations in their ante-nuptial contract, provided they are authorized by the
persons who are to give their consent to the marriage of said minors. (1329a)

Article 129. Express acceptance is not necessary for the validity of these donations. (1330)

Article 130. The future spouses may give each other in their marriage settlements as much as one-fifth of their present
property, and with respect to their future property, only in the event of death, to the extent laid down by the provisions of
this Code referring to testamentary succession. (1331a)

Article 131. The donor by reason of marriage shall release the property donated from mortgages and all other
encumbrances upon the same, with the exception of easements, unless in the marriage settlements or in the contracts the
contrary has been stipulated. (1332a)

Article 132. A donation by reason of marriage is not revocable, save in the following cases:

(1) If it is conditional and the condition is not complied with;

(2) If the marriage is not celebrated;

(3) When the marriage takes place without the consent of the parents or guardian, as required by

law; (4) When the marriage is annulled, and the donee acted in bad faith;

(5) Upon legal separation, the donee being the guilty spouse;

(6) When the donee has committed an act of ingratitude as specified by the provisions of this Code on
donations in general. (1333a)

Article 133. Every donation between the spouses during the marriage shall be void. This prohibition does not apply when
the donation takes effect after the death of the donor.

Neither does this prohibition apply to moderate gifts which the spouses may give each other on the occasion of any family
rejoicing. (1334a)
Article 134. Donations during the marriage by one of the spouses to the children whom the other spouse had by another
marriage, or to persons of whom the other spouse is a presumptive heir at the time of the donation are voidable, at the
instance of the donor's heirs after his death. (1335a)

CHAPTER 3
Paraphernal Property

Article 135. All property brought by the wife to the marriage, as well as all property she acquires during the marriage, in
 accordance with article 148, is paraphernal. (1381a)

Article 136. The wife retains the ownership of the paraphernal property. (1382)

Article 137. The wife shall have the administration of the paraphernal property, unless she delivers the same to the
husband by means of a public instrument empowering him to administer it.

In this case, the public instrument shall be recorded in the Registry of Property. As for the movables, the husband shall give
adequate security. (1384a)

Article 138. The fruits of the paraphernal property form part of the assets of the conjugal partnership, and shall be subject
to the payment of the expenses of the marriage.

The property itself shall also be subject to the daily expenses of the family, if the property of the conjugal partnership and
the husband's capital are not sufficient therefor. (1385a)

Article 139. The personal obligations of the husband can not be enforced against the fruits of the paraphernal property,
unless it be proved that they redounded to the benefit of the family. (1386)

Article 140. A married woman of age may mortgage, encumber, alienate or otherwise dispose of her paraphernal property,
without the permission of the husband, and appear alone in court to litigate with regard to the same. (n)

Article 141. The alienation of any paraphernal property administered by the husband gives a right to the wife to require the
constitution of a mortgage or any other security for the amount of the price which the husband may have received. (1390a)

CHAPTER 4
Conjugal Partnership of Gains

SECTION 1
General Provisions

Article 142. By means of the conjugal partnership of gains the husband and wife place in a common fund the fruits of their
separate property and the income from their work or industry, and divide equally, upon the dissolution of the marriage or of
the partnership, the net gains or benefits obtained indiscriminately by either spouse during the marriage. (1392a)
Article 143. All property of the conjugal partnership of gains is owned in common by the husband and wife. (n)

Article 144. When a man and a woman live together as husband and wife, but they are not married, or their marriage is
void from the beginning, the property acquired by either or both of them through their work or industry or their wages and
salaries shall be governed by the rules on co-ownership. (n)

Article 145. The conjugal partnership shall commence precisely on the date of the celebration of the marriage. Any
stipulation to the contrary shall be void. (1393)

Article 146. Waiver of the gains or of the effects of this partnership during marriage cannot be made except in case of
judicial separation.
When the waiver takes place by reason of separation, or after the marriage has been dissolved or annulled, the same shall
appear in a public instrument, and the creditors shall have the right which article 1052 grants them. (1394a)

Article 147. The conjugal partnership shall be governed by the rules on the contract of partnership in all that is not in
conflict with what is expressly determined in this Chapter. (1395)

SECTION 2
Exclusive Property of Each Spouse

Article 148. The following shall be the exclusive property of each spouse:

(1) That which is brought to the marriage as his or her own;

(2) That which each acquires, during the marriage, by lucrative title;

(3) That which is acquired by right of redemption or by exchange with other property belonging to only one of
the spouses;

(4) That which is purchased with exclusive money of the wife or of the husband. (1396)

Article 149. Whoever gives or promises capital to the husband shall not be subject to warranty against eviction, except in
case of fraud. (1397)

Article 150. Property donated or left by will to the spouses, jointly and with designation of determinate shares, shall pertain
to the wife as paraphernal property, and to the husband as capital, in the proportion specified by the donor or testator, and
in the absence of designation, share and share alike, without prejudice to what is provided in article 753. (1398a)

Article 151. If the donations are onerous, the amount of the charges shall be deducted from the paraphernal property or
from the husband's capital, whenever they have been borne by the conjugal partnership. (1399a)

Article 152. If some credit payable in a certain number of years, or a life pension, should pertain to one of the spouses, the
provisions of articles 156 and 157 shall be observed to determine what constitutes the paraphernal property and what
forms the capital of the husband. (1400a)
SECTION 3
Conjugal Partnership Property

Article 153. The following are conjugal partnership property:

(1) That which is acquired by onerous title during the marriage at the expense of the common fund, whether
the acquisition be for the partnership, or for only one of the spouses;

(2) That which is obtained by the industry, or work, or as salary of the spouses, or of either of them;

(3) The fruits, rents or interests received or due during the marriage, coming from the common property or
from the exclusive property of each spouse. (1401)

Article 154. That share of the hidden treasure which the law awards to the finder or the proprietor belongs to the conjugal
partnership. (n)
 Article 155. Things acquired by occupation, such as fishing and hunting, pertain to the conjugal partnership of gains. (n)

Article 156. Whenever an amount or credit payable in a certain number of years belongs to one of the spouses, the sums
which may be collected by installments due during the marriage shall not pertain to the conjugal partnership, but shall be
considered capital of the husband or of the wife, as the credit may belong to one or the other spouse. (1402)

Article 157. The right to an annuity, whether perpetual or of life, and the right of usufruct, belonging to one of the spouses
shall form a part of his or her separate property, but the fruits, pensions and interests due during the marriage shall belong
to the partnership.

The usufruct which the spouses have over the property of their children, though of another marriage, shall be included in
this provision. (1403a)

Article 158. Improvements, whether for utility or adornment, made on the separate property of the spouses through
advancements from the partnership or through the industry of either the husband or the wife, belong to the conjugal
partnership.

Buildings constructed, at the expense of the partnership, during the marriage on land belonging to one of the spouses, also
pertain to the partnership, but the value of the land shall be reimbursed to the spouse who owns the same. (1404a)

Article 159. Whenever the paraphernal property or the husband's capital consists, in whole or in part, of livestock existing
upon the dissolution of the partnership, the number of animals exceeding that brought to the marriage shall be deemed to
be of the conjugal partnership. (1405a)

Article 160. All property of the marriage is presumed to belong to the conjugal partnership, unless it be proved that it
pertains exclusively to the husband or to the wife. (1407)

SECTION 4
Charges Upon and Obligation of the Conjugal Partnership
Article 161. The conjugal partnership shall be liable for:

(1) All debts and obligations contracted by the husband for the benefit of the conjugal partnership, and those
contracted by the wife, also for the same purpose, in the cases where she may legally bind the partnership;

(2) Arrears or income due, during the marriage, from obligations which constitute a charge upon property of
either spouse or of the partnership;

(3) Minor repairs or for mere preservation made during the marriage upon the separate property of either the
husband or the wife; major repairs shall not be charged to the partnership;

(4) Major or minor repairs upon the conjugal partnership property;

(5) The maintenance of the family and the education of the children of both husband and wife, and of
legitimate children of one of the spouses;

(6) Expenses to permit the spouses to complete a professional, vocational or other course. (1408a)

Article 162. The value of what is donated or promised to the common children by the husband, only for securing their
future or the finishing of a career, or by both spouses through a common agreement, shall also be charged to the conjugal
partnership, when they have not stipulated that it is to be satisfied from the property of one of them, in whole or in part.
(1409)

Article 163. The payment of debts contracted by the husband or the wife before the marriage shall not be charged to the
conjugal partnership.

Neither shall the fines and pecuniary indemnities imposed upon them be charged to the partnership.

However, the payment of debts contracted by the husband or the wife before the marriage, and that of fines and
indemnities imposed upon them, may be enforced against the partnership assets after the responsibilities enumerated in
article 161 have been covered, if the spouse who is bound should have no exclusive property or if it should be insufficient;
but at the time of the liquidation of the partnership such spouse shall be charged for what has been paid for the purpose
above-mentioned. (1410)

Article 164. Whatever may be lost during the marriage in any kind of gambling, betting or game, whether permitted or
prohibited by law, shall be borne by the loser, and shall not be charged to the conjugal partnership. (1411a)

SECTION 5
Administration of the Conjugal Partnership

Article 165. The husband is the administrator of the conjugal partnership. (1412a)

Article 166. Unless the wife has been declared a non compos mentis or a spendthrift, or is under civil interdiction or is
confined in a leprosarium, the husband cannot alienate or encumber any real property of the conjugal partnership without
the wife's consent. If she refuses unreasonably to give her consent, the court may compel her to grant the same.
This article shall not apply to property acquired by the conjugal partnership before the effective date of this Code. (1413a)

Article 167. In case of abuse of powers of administration of the conjugal partnership property by the husband, the courts,
on petition of the wife, may provide for receivership, or administration by the wife, or separation of property. (n)

Article 168. The wife may, by express authority of the husband embodied in a public instrument, administer the conjugal
partnership property. (n)

Article 169. The wife may also by express authority of the husband appearing in a public instrument, administer the latter's
estate. (n)

Article 170. The husband or the wife may dispose by will of his or her half of the conjugal partnership profits. (1414a)

Article 171. The husband may dispose of the conjugal partnership property for the purposes specified in articles 161 and
162. (1415a)

Article 172. The wife cannot bind the conjugal partnership without the husband's consent except in cases provided by law.
(1416a)

Article 173. The wife may, during the marriage, and within ten years from the transaction questioned, ask the courts for the
annulment of any contract of the husband entered into without her consent, when such consent is required, or any act or
contract of the husband which tends to defraud her or impair her interest in the conjugal partnership property. Should the
 wife fail to exercise this right, she or her heirs, after the dissolution of the marriage, may demand the value of property
fraudulently alienated by the husband. (n)

Article 174. With the exception of moderate donations for charity, neither husband nor wife can donate any property of the
conjugal partnership without the consent of the other. (n)

SECTION 6
Dissolution of the Conjugal Partnership

Article 175. The conjugal partnership of gains terminates:

(1) Upon the death of either spouse;

(2) When there is a decree of legal separation;

(3) When the marriage is annulled;

(4) In case of judicial separation of property under article 191. (1417a)

Article 176. In case of legal separation, the guilty spouse shall forfeit his or her share of the conjugal partnership profits,
which shall be awarded to the children of both, and the children of the guilty spouse had by a prior marriage. However, if
the conjugal partnership property came mostly or entirely from the work or industry, or from the wages and salaries, or from
the fruits of the separate property of the guilty spouse, this forfeiture shall not apply.
In case there are no children, the innocent spouse shall be entitled to all the net profits. (n)

Article 177. In case of annulment of the marriage, the spouse who acted in bad faith or gave cause for annulment shall
forfeit his or her share of the conjugal partnership profits. The provision of the preceding article shall govern. (n)

Article 178. The separation in fact between husband and wife without judicial approval, shall not affect the conjugal
partnership, except that:

(1) The spouse who leaves the conjugal home or refuses to live therein, without just cause, shall not have a
right to be supported;

(2) When the consent of one spouse to any transaction of the other is required by law, judicial authorization
shall be necessary;

(3) If the husband has abandoned the wife without just cause for at least one year, she may petition the
court for a receivership, or administration by her of the conjugal partnership property, or separation of
property. (n)

SECTION 7
Liquidation of the Conjugal Partnership

Article 179. Upon the dissolution of the conjugal partnership, an inventory shall be formed, but such inventory shall not be
necessary:
 (1) If, after the dissolution of the partnership, one of the spouses should have renounced its effects and
consequences in due time; or

(2) When separation of property has preceded the dissolution of the partnership. (1418a)

Article 180. The bed and bedding which the spouses ordinarily use shall not be included in the inventory. These effects, as
well as the clothing for their ordinary use, shall be delivered to the surviving spouse. (1420)

Article 181. The inventory having been completed, the paraphernal property shall first be paid. Then, the debts and
charges against the conjugal partnership shall be paid. (1422a)

Article 182. The debts, charges and obligations of the conjugal partnership having been paid; the capital of the husband
shall be liquidated and paid to the amount of the property inventoried. (1423a)

Article 183. The deductions from the inventoried property having been made as provided in the two preceding articles, the
remainder of said property shall constitute the credit of the conjugal partnership. (1424)

Article 184. The loss or deterioration of the movables belonging to either spouse, although through fortuitous event, shall
be paid from the conjugal partnership of gains, should there be any.

Those suffered by real property shall not be reimbursable in any case, except those on paraphernal property administered
by the husband, when the losses were due to his fault. He shall pay for the same. (1425a)
Article 185. The net remainder of the conjugal partnership of gains shall be divided equally between the husband and the
wife or their respective heirs, unless a different basis of division was agreed upon in the marriage settlements. (1426a)

Article 186. The mourning apparel of the widow shall be paid for out of the estate of the deceased husband. (1427a)

Article 187. With regard to the formation of the inventory, rules for appraisal and sale of property of the conjugal
partnership, and other matters which are not expressly determined in the present Chapter, the Rules of Court on the
administration of estates of deceased persons shall be observed. (1428a)

Article 188. From the common mass of property support shall be given to the surviving spouse and to the children during
the liquidation of the inventoried property and until what belongs to them is delivered; but from this shall be deducted that
amount received for support which exceeds the fruits or rents pertaining to them. (1430)

Article 189. Whenever the liquidation of the partnership of two or more marriages contracted by the same person should
be carried out at the same time, in order to determine the capital of each partnership all kinds of proof in the absence of
inventories shall be admitted; and in case of doubt, the partnership property shall be divided between the different
partnerships in proportion to the duration of each and to the property belonging to the respective spouses. (1431)

CHAPTER 5
Separation of Property of the Spouses and Administration of Property by the Wife During the Marriage

Article 190. In the absence of an express declaration in the marriage settlements, the separation of property between
spouses during the marriage shall not take place save in virtue of a judicial order. (1432a)

Article 191. The husband or the wife may ask for the separation of property, and it shall be decreed when the spouse of
the petitioner has been sentenced to a penalty which carries with it civil interdiction, or has been declared absent, or when
 legal separation has been granted.

In case of abuse of powers of administration of the conjugal partnership property by the husband, or in case of
abandonment by the husband, separation of property may also be ordered by the court, according to the provisions of
articles 167 and 178, No. 3.

In all these cases, it is sufficient to present the final judgment which has been entered against the guilty or absent spouse.
(1433a)

The husband and the wife may agree upon the dissolution of the conjugal partnership during the marriage, subject to
judicial approval. All the creditors of the husband and of the wife, as well as of the conjugal partnership shall be notified of
any petition for judicial approval or the voluntary dissolution of the conjugal partnership, so that any such creditors may
appear at the hearing to safeguard his interests. Upon approval of the petition for dissolution of the conjugal partnership,
the court shall take such measures as may protect the creditors and other third persons.

After dissolution of the conjugal partnership, the provisions of articles 214 and 215 shall apply. The provisions of this Code
concerning the effect of partition stated in articles 498 to 501 shall be applicable. (1433a)

Article 192. Once the separation of property has been ordered, the conjugal partnership shall be dissolved, and its
liquidation shall be made in conformity with what has been established by this Code.
However, without prejudice to the provisions of article 292, the husband and the wife shall be reciprocally liable for their
support during the separation, and for the support and education of their children; all in proportion to their respective
property.

The share of the spouse who is under civil interdiction or absent shall be administered in accordance with the Rules of
Court. (1434a)

Article 193. The complaint for separation and the final judgment declaring the same, shall be noted and recorded in the
proper registers of property, if the judgment should refer to immovable property. (1437)

Article 194. The separation of property shall not prejudice the rights previously acquired by creditors.

(1438) Article 195. The separation of property ceases:

(1) Upon reconciliation of the spouses, in case of legal separation;

(2) When the civil interdiction terminates;

(3) When the absent spouse appears;

(4) When the court, at the instance of the wife, authorizes the husband to resume the administration of the
conjugal partnership, the court being satisfied that the husband will not again abuse his powers as an
administrator;

(5) When the husband, who has abandoned the wife, rejoins her.

In the above cases, the property relations between the spouses shall be governed by the same rules as before the
separation, without prejudice to the acts and contracts legally executed during the separation.

The spouses shall state, in a public document, all the property which they return to the marriage and which shall constitute
 the separate property of each.

This public document shall be recorded in the Registry of Property.

In the cases referred to in this article, all the property brought in shall be deemed to be newly contributed, even though all
or some may be the same which existed before the liquidation effected by reason of the separation. (1439a)

Article 196. With the conjugal partnership subsisting, the administration of all classes of property in the marriage may be
transferred by the courts to the wife:

(1) When she becomes the guardian of her husband;

(2) When she asks for the declaration of his absence;

(3) In case of civil interdiction of the husband.

The courts may also confer the administration to the wife, with such limitation as they may deem advisable, if the husband
should become a fugitive from justice or be in hiding as a defendant in a criminal case, or if, being absolutely unable to
administer, he should have failed to provide for administration. (1441a)

Article 197. The wife to whom the administration of all the property of the marriage is transferred shall have, with respect to
said property, the same powers and responsibility which the husband has when he is the administrator, but always subject
to the provisions of the last paragraph of the preceding article. (1442a)

CHAPTER 6
System of Absolute Community

Article 198. In case the future spouses agree in the marriage settlements that the system of absolute community shall
govern their property relations during marriage, the following provisions shall be of supplementary application.

Article 199. In the absence of stipulation to the contrary, the community shall consist of all present and future property of
the spouses not excepted by law.

Article 200. Neither spouse may renounce any inheritance without the consent of the other. In case of conflict, the court
shall decide the question, after consulting the family council, if there is any.

Article 201. The following shall be excluded from the community:

(1) Property acquired by gratuitous title by either spouse, when it is provided by the donor or testator that it
shall not become a part of the community;

(2) Property inherited by either husband or wife through the death of a child by a former marriage, there
being brothers or sisters of the full blood of the deceased child;

(3) A portion of the property of either spouse equivalent to the presumptive legitime of the children by a
former marriage;

(4) Personal belongings of either spouse.

 However, all the fruits and income of the foregoing classes of property shall be included in the community.

Article 202. Antenuptial debts of either spouse shall not be paid from the community, unless the same have redounded to
the benefit of the family.

Article 203. Debts contracted by both spouses or by one of them with the consent of the other shall be paid from the
community. If the common property is insufficient to cover common debts, the same may be enforced against the separate
property of the spouses, who shall be equally liable.

Article 204. Debts contracted by either spouse without the consent of the other shall be chargeable against the community
to the extent that the family may have been benefited thereby.

Article 205. Indemnities that must be paid by either spouse on account of a crime or of a quasi-delict shall be paid from the
common assets, without any obligation to make reimbursement.

Article 206. The ownership, administration, possession and enjoyment of the common property belong to both spouses
jointly. In case of disagreement, the courts shall settle the difficulty.

Article 207. Neither spouse may alienate or encumber any common property without the consent of the other. In case of
unjustifiable refusal by the other spouse, the courts may grant the necessary consent.

Article 208. The absolute community of property shall be dissolved on any of the grounds specified in article 175.

Article 209. When there is a separation in fact between husband and wife, without judicial approval, the provisions of
article 178 shall apply.

Article 210. Upon the dissolution and liquidation of the community, the net assets shall be divided equally between the
husband and the wife or their heirs. In case of legal separation or annulment of marriage, the provisions of articles 176
and 177 shall apply to the net profits acquired during the marriage.

Article 211. Liquidation of the absolute community shall be governed by the Rules of Court on the administration of the
estate of deceased persons.

CHAPTER 7
System of Complete Separation of Property

Article 212. Should the future spouses agree in the marriage settlements that their property relations during marriage shall
be based upon the system of complete separation of property, the following provisions shall supplement the marriage
settlements. ARTICLE 213. Separation of property may refer to present or future property or both. It may be total or partial.
In the latter case, the property not agreed upon as separate shall pertain to the conjugal partnership of gains.

Article 214. Each spouse shall own, dispose of, possess, administer and enjoy his or her own separate estate, without the
consent of the other. All earnings from any profession, business or industry shall likewise belong to each spouse.

Article 215. Each spouse shall proportionately bear the family expenses.
 TITLE VII
THE FAMILY(n)

CHAPTER 1
The Family as an Institution

Article 216. The family is a basic social institution which public policy cherishes and

protects. Article 217. Family relations shall include those:

(1) Between husband and wife;

(2) Between parent and child;

(3) Among other ascendants and their descendants;

(4) Among brothers and sisters.

Article 218. The law governs family relations. No custom, practice or agreement which is destructive of the family shall be
recognized or given any effect.

Article 219. Mutual aid, both moral and material, shall be rendered among members of the same family. Judicial and
administrative officials shall foster this mutual assistance.

Article 220. In case of doubt, all presumptions favor the solidarity of the family. Thus, every intendment of law or facts
leans toward the validity of marriage, the indissolubility of the marriage bonds, the legitimacy of children, the community of
property during marriage, the authority of parents over their children, and the validity of defense for any member of the
family in case of unlawful aggression.

Article 221. The following shall be void and of no effect:

(1) Any contract for personal separation between husband and wife;

(2) Every extra-judicial agreement, during marriage, for the dissolution of the conjugal partnership of gains or
of the absolute community of property between husband and wife;

(3) Every collusion to obtain a decree of legal separation, or of annulment of marriage;

(4) Any simulated alienation of property with intent to deprive the compulsory heirs of their legitime.

Article 222. No suit shall be filed or maintained between members of the same family unless it should appear that earnest
efforts toward a compromise have been made, but that the same have failed, subject to the limitations in article 2035.

CHAPTER 2
The Family Home (n)
 SECTION 1
General Provisions

Article 223. The family home is the dwelling house where a person and his family reside, and the land on which it is
situated. If constituted as herein provided, the family home shall be exempt from execution, forced sale or attachment,
except as provided in articles 232 and 243.

Article 224. The family home may be established judicially or extrajudicially.

SECTION 2
Judicial Constitution of the Family Home

Article 225. The family home may be constituted by a verified petition to the Court of First Instance by the owner of the
property, and by approval thereof by the court.

Article 226. The following shall be beneficiaries of the family home;

(1) The person establishing the same;

(2) His or her spouse;

(3) His or her parents, ascendants, descendants, brothers and sisters, whether the relationship be legitimate
or otherwise, who are living in the family home and who depend upon him for support.

Article 227. The family home may also be set up by an unmarried person who is the head of a family or household.

Article 228. If the petitioner is married, the family home may be selected from the conjugal partnership or community
property, or from the separate property of the husband, or, with the consent of the wife, from her paraphernal
property.

Article 229. The petition shall contain the following particulars:

(1) Description of the property;

(2) An estimate of its actual value;

(3) A statement that the petitioner is actually residing in the premises;

(4) The encumbrances thereon;

(5) The names and addresses of all the creditors of the petitioner and of all mortgagees and other persons
who have an interest in the property;

(6) The names of the other beneficiaries specified in article 226.

Article 230. Creditors, mortgagees and all other persons who have an interest in the estate shall be notified of the petition,
and given an opportunity to present their objections thereto. The petition shall, moreover, be published once a week for
three consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation.

Article 231. If the court finds that the actual value of the proposed family home does not exceed twenty thousand pesos, or
thirty thousand pesos in chartered cities, and that no third person is prejudiced, the petition shall be approved. Should any
 creditor whose claim is unsecured, oppose the establishment of the family home, the court shall grant the petition if the
debtor gives sufficient security for the debt.

Article 232. The family home, after its creation by virtue of judicial approval, shall be exempt from execution, forced sale,
or attachment, except:
(1) For nonpayment of taxes; or

(2) In satisfaction of a judgment on a debt secured by a mortgage constituted on the immovable before or
after the establishment of the family home.

In case of insolvency of the person constituting the family home, the property shall not be considered one of the assets to
be taken possession of by the assignee for the benefit of creditors.

Article 233. The order of the court approving the establishment of the family home shall be recorded in the Registry of
Property.

Article 234. When there is danger that a person obliged to give support may lose his or her fortune because of grave
mismanagement or on account of riotous living, his or her spouse, if any, and a majority of those entitled to be supported
by him or by her may petition the Court of First Instance for the creation of the family home.

Article 235. The family home may be sold, alienated or encumbered by the person who has constituted the same, with the
consent of his or her spouse, and with the approval of the court. However, the family home shall under no circumstances
be donated as long as there are beneficiaries. In case of sale, the price or such portion thereof as may be determined by
the court shall be used in acquiring property which shall be formed into a new family home. Any sum of money obtained
through an encumbrance on the family home shall be used in the interest of the beneficiaries. The court shall take
measures to implement the last two provisions.

Article 236. The family home may be dissolved upon the petition of the person who has constituted the same, with the
written consent of his or her spouse and of at least one half of all the other beneficiaries who are eighteen years of age or
over. The court may grant the petition if it is satisfactorily shown that the best interest of the family requires the dissolution
of the family home.

Article 237. In case of legal separation or annulment of marriage, the family home shall be dissolved, and the property
shall cease to be exempt from execution, forced sale or attachment.

Article 238. Upon the death of the person who has set up the family home, the same shall continue, unless he desired
otherwise in his will. The heirs cannot ask for its partition during the first ten years following the death of the person
constituting the same, unless the court finds powerful reasons therefor.

Article 239. The family home shall not be subject to payment of the debts of the deceased, unless in his will the contrary is
stated. However, the claims mentioned in article 232 shall not be adversely affected by the death of the person who has
established the family home.

SECTION 3
Extra-judicial Creation of the Family Home

Article 240. The family home may be extrajudicially constituted by recording in the Registry of Property a public instrument
wherein a person declares that he thereby establishes a family home out of a dwelling place with the land on which it is
situated.
 Article 241. The declaration setting up the family home shall be under oath and shall contain:
(1) A statement that the claimant is the owner of, and is actually residing in the premises;

(2) A description of the property;

(3) An estimate of its actual value; and

(4) The names of the claimant's spouse and the other beneficiaries mentioned in article 226.

Article 242. The recording in the Registry of Property of the declaration referred to in the two preceding articles is the
operative act which creates the family home.

Article 243. The family home extrajudicially formed shall be exempt from execution, forced sale or attachment, except:

(1) For nonpayment of taxes;

(2) For debts incurred before the declaration was recorded in the Registry of Property;

(3) For debts secured by mortgages on the premises before or after such record of the declaration;

(4) For debts due to laborers, mechanics, architects, builders, material-men and others who have rendered
service or furnished material for the prosecution of the building.

Article 244. The provisions of articles 226 to 228 and 235 to 238 are likewise applicable to family homes extrajudicially
established.

Article 245. Upon the death of the person who has extrajudicially constituted the family home, the property shall not be
liable for his debts other than those mentioned in article 243. However, he may provide in his will that the family home shall
be subject to payment of debts not specified in article 243.

Article 246. No declaration for the extrajudicial establishment of the family home shall be recorded in the Registry of
Property if the estimated actual value of the building and the land exceeds the amount stated in article 231.

Article 247. When a creditor whose claim is not mentioned in article 243 obtains a judgment in his favor, and he has
reasonable grounds to believe that the family home of the judgment debtor is worth more than the amount mentioned in
article 231, he may apply to the Court of First Instance for an order directing the sale of the property under execution.

Article 248. The hearing on the petition, appraisal of the value of the family home, the sale under execution and other
matters relative to the proceedings shall be governed by such provisions in the Rules of Court as the Supreme Court shall
promulgate on the subject, provided they are not inconsistent with this Code.

Article 249. At the sale under execution referred to in the two preceding articles, no bid shall be considered unless it
exceeds the amount specified in article 231. The proceeds of the sale shall be applied in the following order:

(1) To the amount mentioned in article 231;

(2) To the judgment and the costs.

The excess, if any, belongs to the person constituting the family home.
Article 250. The amount mentioned in article 231 thus received by the person who has established the family home, or as
 much thereof as the court may determine, shall be invested in constitution of a new family home. The court shall take
measures to enforce this provision.

Article 251. In case of insolvency of the person creating the family home, the claims specified in article 243 may be
satisfied notwithstanding the insolvency proceedings.

If the assignee has reasonable grounds to believe that the actual value of the family home exceeds the amount fixed in
article 231, he may take action under the provisions of articles 247, 248 and 249.

CHAPTER 3
The Family Council (n)

Article 252. The Court of First Instance may, upon application of any member of the family, a relative, or a friend, appoint a
family council, whose duty it shall be to advise the court, the spouses, the parents, guardians and the family on important
family questions.

Article 253. The family council shall be composed of five members, who shall be relatives of the parties concerned. But the
court may appoint one or two friends of the family.

Article 254. The family council shall elect its chairman, and shall meet at the call of the latter or upon order of the court.

TITLE VIII
PATERNITY AND FILIATION

CHAPTER 1
Legitimate Children

Article 255. Children born after one hundred and eighty days following the celebration of the marriage, and before three
hundred days following its dissolution or the separation of the spouses shall be presumed to be legitimate.

Against this presumption no evidence shall be admitted other than that of the physical impossibility of the husband's having
access to his wife within the first one hundred and twenty days of the three hundred which preceded the birth of the child.

This physical impossibility may be caused:

(1) By the impotence of the husband;

(2) By the fact that the husband and wife were living separately, in such a way that access was not

possible; (3) By the serious illness of the husband. (108a)

Article 256. The child shall be presumed legitimate, although the mother may have declared against its legitimacy or may
have been sentenced as an adulteress. (109)
 Article 257. Should the wife commit adultery at or about the time of the conception of the child, but there was no physical
impossibility of access between her and her husband as set forth in article 255, the child is prima facie presumed to be
illegitimate if it appears highly improbable, for ethnic reasons, that the child is that of the husband. For the purposes of this
article, the wife's adultery need not be proved in a criminal case. (n)

Article 258. A child born within one hundred eighty days following the celebration of the marriage is prima facie presumed
to be legitimate. Such a child is conclusively presumed to be legitimate in any of these cases:

(1) If the husband, before the marriage, knew of the pregnancy of the wife;

(2) If he consented, being present, to the putting of his surname on the record of birth of the

child; (3) If he expressly or tacitly recognized the child as his own. (110a)

Article 259. If the marriage is dissolved by the death of the husband, and the mother contracted another marriage within
three hundred days following such death, these rules shall govern:

(1) A child born before one hundred eighty days after the solemnization of the subsequent marriage is
disputably presumed to have been conceived during the former marriage, provided it be born within three
hundred days after the death of the former husband:

(2) A child born after one hundred eighty days following the celebration of the subsequent marriage is prima
facie presumed to have been conceived during such marriage, even though it be born within three hundred
days after the death of the former husband. (n)

Article 260. If after a judgment annulling a marriage, the former wife should believe herself to be pregnant by the former
husband, she shall, within thirty days from the time she became aware of her pregnancy, notify the former husband or his
heirs of that fact. He or his heirs may ask the court to take measures to prevent a simulation of birth.

The same obligation shall devolve upon a widow who believes herself to have been left pregnant by the deceased
husband, or upon the wife who believes herself to be pregnant by her husband from whom she has been legally separated.
(n)

Article 261. There is no presumption of legitimacy or illegitimacy of a child born after three hundred days following the
dissolution of the marriage or the separation of the spouses. Whoever alleges the legitimacy or the illegitimacy of such child
must prove his allegation. (n)

Article 262. The heirs of the husband may impugn the legitimacy of the child only in the following cases:

(1) If the husband should die before the expiration of the period fixed for bringing his

action;

(2) If he should die after the filing of the complaint, without having desisted from the same;

(3) If the child was born after the death of the husband. (112)

Article 263. The action to impugn the legitimacy of the child shall be brought within one year from the recording of the birth
in the Civil Register, if the husband should be in the same place, or in a proper case, any of his heirs.
 If he or his heirs are absent, the period shall be eighteen months if they should reside in the Philippines; and two years
if abroad. If the birth of the child has been concealed, the term shall be counted from the discovery of the fraud. (113a)

Article 264. Legitimate children shall have the right:

(1) To bear the surnames of the father and of the mother;

(2) To receive support from them, from their ascendants and in a proper case, from their brothers and
sisters, in conformity with article 291;

(3) To the legitime and other successional rights which this Code recognizes in their favor. (114)

CHAPTER 2
Proof of Filiation of Legitimate Children

Article 265. The filiation of legitimate children is proved by the record of birth appearing in the Civil Register, or by an
authentic document or a final judgment. (115)

Article 266. In the absence of the titles indicated in the preceding article, the filiation shall be proved by the continuous
possession of status of a legitimate child. (116)

Article 267. In the absence of a record of birth, authentic document, final judgment or possession of status, legitimate
filiation may be proved by any other means allowed by the Rules of Court and special laws. (117a)

Article 268. The action to claim his legitimacy may be brought by the child during all his lifetime, and shall be transmitted to
his heirs if he should die during his minority or in a state of insanity. In these cases the heirs shall have a period of five
years within which to institute the action.

The action already commenced by the child is transmitted upon his death to the heirs, if the proceeding has not yet lapsed.
(118)

CHAPTER 3
Legitimated Children

Article 269. Only natural children can be legitimated. Children born outside wedlock of parents who, at the time of the
conception of the former, were not disqualified by any impediment to marry each other, are natural. (119a)

Article 270. Legitimation shall take place by the subsequent marriage between the parents. (120a)

Article 271. Only natural children who have been recognized by the parents before or after the celebration of the marriage,
or have been declared natural children by final judgment, may be considered legitimated by subsequent marriage.

If a natural child is recognized or judicially declared as natural, such recognition or declaration shall extend to his or her
brothers or sisters of the full blood: Provided, That the consent of the latter shall be implied if they do not impugn the
recognition within four years from the time of such recognition, or in case they are minors, within four years following the
attainment of majority. (121a)
 Article 272. Children who are legitimated by subsequent marriage shall enjoy the same rights as legitimate children.

(122) Article 273. Legitimation shall take effect from the time of the child's birth. (123a)

Article 274. The legitimation of children who died before the celebration of the marriage shall benefit their descendants.
(124)

Article 275. Legitimation may be impugned by those who are prejudiced in their rights, when it takes place in favor of those
who do not have the legal condition of natural children or when the requisites laid down in this Chapter are not complied
with. (128a)

CHAPTER 4
Illegitimate Children

SECTION 1
Recognition of Natural Children

Article 276. A natural child may be recognized by the father and mother jointly, or by only one of them. (129)

Article 277. In case the recognition is made by only one of the parents, it shall be presumed that the child is natural, if the
parent recognizing it had legal capacity to contract marriage at the time of the conception. (130)

Article 278. Recognition shall be made in the record of birth, a will, a statement before a court of record, or in any authentic
writing. (131a)

Article 279. A minor who may not contract marriage without parental consent cannot acknowledge a natural child, unless
the parent or guardian approves the acknowledgment or unless the recognition is made in a will. (n)

Article 280. When the father or the mother makes the recognition separately, he or she shall not reveal the name of the
person with whom he or she had the child; neither shall he or she state any circumstance whereby the other parent may be
identified. (132a)

Article 281. A child who is of age cannot be recognized without his consent.

When the recognition of a minor does not take place in a record of birth or in a will, judicial approval shall be

necessary. A minor can in any case impugn the recognition within four years following the attainment of his majority.

(133a) Article 282. A recognized natural child has the right:

(1) To bear the surname of the parent recognizing him;

(2) To receive support from such parent, in conformity with article 291;

(3) To receive, in a proper case, the hereditary portion which is determined in this Code.
 (134) Article 283. In any of the following cases, the father is obliged to recognize the child as his natural

child:

(1) In cases of rape, abduction or seduction, when the period of the offense coincides more or less with that
of the conception;

(2) When the child is in continuous possession of status of a child of the alleged father by the direct acts of
the latter or of his family;

(3) When the child was conceived during the time when the mother cohabited with the supposed

father; (4) When the child has in his favor any evidence or proof that the defendant is his father. (n)

Article 284. The mother is obliged to recognize her natural child:

(1) In any of the cases referred to in the preceding article, as between the child and the

mother; (2) When the birth and the identity of the child are clearly proved. (136a)

Article 285. The action for the recognition of natural children may be brought only during the lifetime of the presumed
parents, except in the following cases:

(1) If the father or mother died during the minority of the child, in which case the latter may file the action
before the expiration of four years from the attainment of his majority;

(2) If after the death of the father or of the mother a document should appear of which nothing had been
heard and in which either or both parents recognize the child.

In this case, the action must be commenced within four years from the finding of the document. (137a)

Article 286. The recognition made in favor of a child who does not possess all the conditions stated in article 269, or in
which the requirements of the law have not been fulfilled, may be impugned by those who are prejudiced by such
recognition. (137)

SECTION 2
Other Illegitimate Children

Article 287. Illegitimate children other than natural in accordance with article 269 and other than natural children by legal
fiction are entitled to support and such successional rights as are granted in this Code. (n)

Article 288. Minor children mentioned in the preceding article are under the parental authority of the mother. (n)
Article 289. Investigation of the paternity or maternity of children mentioned in the two preceding articles is permitted under
the circumstances specified in articles 283 and 284. (n)
 TITLE IX
SUPPORT

Article 290. Support is everything that is indispensable for sustenance, dwelling, clothing and medical attendance,
according to the social position of the family.

Support also includes the education of the person entitled to be supported until he completes his education or training for
some profession, trade or vocation, even beyond the age of majority. (142a)

Article 291. The following are obliged to support each other to the whole extent set forth in the preceding article:

(1) The spouses;

(2) Legitimate ascendants and descendants;

(3) Parents and acknowledged natural children and the legitimate or illegitimate descendants of the latter;

(4) Parents and natural children by legal fiction and the legitimate and illegitimate descendants of the

latter; (5) Parents and illegitimate children who are not natural.

Brothers and sisters owe their legitimate and natural brothers and sisters, although they are only of the half-blood, the
necessaries for life, when by a physical or mental defect, or any other cause not imputable to the recipients, the latter
cannot secure their subsistence. This assistance includes, in a proper case, expenses necessary for elementary education
and for professional or vocational training. (143a)

Article 292. During the proceedings for legal separation, or for annulment of marriage, the spouses and children, shall be
supported from the conjugal partnership property. After the final judgment of legal separation, or of annulment of marriage,
the obligation of mutual support between the spouses ceases. However, in case of legal separation, the court may order
that the guilty spouse shall give support to the innocent one, the judgment specifying the terms of such order. (n)

Article 293. In an action for legal separation or annulment of marriage, attorney's fees and expenses for litigation shall be
charged to the conjugal partnership property, unless the action fails. (n)

Article 294. The claim for support, when proper and two or more persons are obliged to give it, shall be made in the
following order:

(1) From the spouse;

(2) From the descendants of the nearest degree;

(3) From the ascendants, also of the nearest degree;

(4) From the brothers and sisters.

Among descendants and ascendants the order in which they are called to the intestate succession of the person who has a
right to claim support shall be observed. (144)

Article 295. When the obligation to give support falls upon two or more persons, the payment of the same shall be divided
between them in proportion to the resources of each.
However, in case of urgent need and by special circumstances, the judge may order only one of them to furnish the support
provisionally, without prejudice to his right to claim from the other obligors the share due from them.

When two or more recipients at the same time claim support from one and the same person legally obliged to give it, and
the latter should not have sufficient means to satisfy all, the order established in the preceding article shall be followed,
unless the concurrent obligees should be the spouse and a child subject to parental authority, in which case the latter
shall be preferred. (145)

Article 296. The amount of support, in the cases referred to in the five numbers of article 291, shall be in proportion to the
resources or means of the giver and to the necessities of the recipient. (146a)

Article 297. Support in the cases referred to in the preceding article shall be reduced or increased proportionately,
according to the reduction or increase of the needs of the recipient and the resources of the person obliged to furnish the
same. (147) ARTICLE 298. The obligation to give support shall be demandable from the time the person who has a right to
receive the same needs it for maintenance, but it shall not be paid except from the date it is extrajudicially demanded.

Payment shall be made monthly in advance, and when the recipient dies, his heirs shall not be obliged to return what he
has received in advance. (148a)

Article 299. The person obliged to give support may, at his option, fulfill his obligation either by paying the allowance fixed,
or by receiving and maintaining in his house the person who has a right to receive support. The latter alternative cannot be
availed of in case there is a moral or legal obstacle thereto. (149a)

Article 300. The obligation to furnish support ceases upon the death of the obligor, even if he may be bound to give it in
compliance with a final judgment. (150)

Article 301. The right to receive support cannot be renounced; nor can it be transmitted to a third person. Neither can it be
compensated with what the recipient owes the obligor.

However, support in arrears may be compensated and renounced, and the right to demand the same may be transmitted
by onerous or gratuitous title. (151)

Article 302. Neither the right to receive legal support nor any money or property obtained as such support or any pension
or gratuity from the government is subject to attachment or execution. (n)

Article 303. The obligation to give support shall also cease:

(1) Upon the death of the recipient;

(2) When the resources of the obligor have been reduced to the point where he cannot give the support
without neglecting his own needs and those of his family;

(3) When the recipient may engage in a trade, profession, or industry, or has obtained work, or has
improved his fortune in such a way that he no longer needs the allowance for his subsistence;

(4) When the recipient, be he a forced heir or not, has committed some act which gives rise to
disinheritance;

(5) When the recipient is a descendant, brother or sister of the obligor and the need for support is caused by
his or her bad conduct or by the lack of application to work, so long as this cause subsists. (152a)
Article 304. The foregoing provisions shall be applicable to other cases where, in virtue of this Code or of any other law, by
will, or by stipulation there is a right to receive support, save what is stipulated, ordered by the testator or provided by law
for the special case. (153a)

TITLE X
FUNERALS (n)

Article 305. The duty and the right to make arrangements for the funeral of a relative shall be in accordance with the order
established for support, under article 294. In case of descendants of the same degree, or of brothers and sisters, the oldest
shall be preferred. In case of ascendants, the paternal shall have a better right.

Article 306. Every funeral shall be in keeping with the social position of the deceased.

Article 307. The funeral shall be in accordance with the expressed wishes of the deceased. In the absence of such
expression, his religious beliefs or affiliation shall determine the funeral rites. In case of doubt, the form of the funeral shall
be decided upon by the person obliged to make arrangements for the same, after consulting the other members of the
family.

Article 308. No human remains shall be retained, interred, disposed of or exhumed without the consent of the persons
mentioned in articles 294 and 305.

Article 309. Any person who shows disrespect to the dead, or wrongfully interferes with a funeral shall be liable to the
family of the deceased for damages, material and moral.

Article 310. The construction of a tombstone or mausoleum shall be deemed a part of the funeral expenses, and shall be
chargeable to the conjugal partnership property, if the deceased is one of the spouses.

TITLE XI
Parental Authority

CHAPTER 1
General Provisions

Article 311. The father and mother jointly exercise parental authority over their legitimate children who are not
emancipated. In case of disagreement, the father's decision shall prevail, unless there is a judicial order to the contrary.

Children are obliged to obey their parents so long as they are under parental power, and to observe respect and reverence
toward them always.

Recognized natural and adopted children who are under the age of majority are under the parental authority of the father or
mother recognizing or adopting them, and are under the same obligation stated in the preceding paragraph.

Natural children by legal fiction are under the joint authority of the father and mother, as provided in the first paragraph of
this article. (154a)

Article 312. Grandparents shall be consulted by all members of the family on all important family questions. (n)
Article 313. Parental authority cannot be renounced or transferred, except in cases of guardianship or adoption approved
by the courts, or emancipation by concession.

The courts may, in cases specified by law, deprive parents of their authority. (n)

Article 314. A foundling shall be under the parental authority of the person or institution that has reared the same.

(n) Article 315. No descendant can be compelled, in a criminal case, to testify against his parents and ascendants.

(n)

CHAPTER 2
Effect of Parental Authority Upon the Persons of the Children

Article 316. The father and the mother have, with respect to their unemancipated children:

(1) The duty to support them, to have them in their company, educate and instruct them in keeping with their
means, and to represent them in all actions which may redound to their benefit;

(2) The power to correct them and to punish them moderately. (155)

Article 317. The courts may appoint a guardian of the child's property, or a guardian ad litem when the best interest of the
child so requires. (n)

Article 318. Upon cause being shown by the parents, the local mayor may aid them in the exercise of their authority over
the child. If the child is to be kept in a children's home or similar institution for not more than one month, an order of the
justice of the peace or municipal judge shall be necessary, after due hearing, where the child shall be heard. For his
purpose, the court may appoint a guardian ad litem. (156a)

Article 319. The father and the mother shall satisfy the support for the detained child; but they shall not have any
intervention in the regime of the institution where the child is detained. They may lift the detention when they deem it
opportune, with the approval of the court. (158a)

CHAPTER 3
Effect of Parental Authority on the Property of the Children

Article 320. The father, or in his absence the mother, is the legal administrator of the property pertaining to the child under
parental authority. If the property is worth more than two thousand pesos, the father or mother shall give a bond subject to
the approval of the Court of First Instance. (159a)

Article 321. The property which the unemancipated child has acquired or may acquire with his work or industry, or by any
lucrative title, belongs to the child in ownership, and in usufruct to the father or mother under whom he is under parental
authority and in whose company he lives; but if the child, with the parent's consent, should live independently from them,
he shall be considered as emancipated for all purposes relative to said property, and he shall have over it dominion,
usufruct and administration. (160)
Article 322. A child who earns money or acquires property with his own work or industry shall be entitled to a reasonable
allowance from the earnings, in addition to the expenses made by the parents for his support and education. (n)

Article 323. The fruits and interest of the child's property referred to in article 321 shall be applied first to the expenses for
the support and education of the child. After they have been fully met, the debts of the conjugal partnership which have
redounded to the benefit of the family may be paid from said fruits and interest. (n)

Article 324. Whatever the child may acquire with the capital or property of the parents belongs to the latter in ownership
and in usufruct. But if the parents should expressly grant him all or part of the profits that he may obtain, such profits shall
not be charged against his legitime. (161)

Article 325. The property or income donated, bequeathed or devised to the unemancipated child for the expenses of his
education and instruction shall pertain to him in ownership and usufruct; but the father or mother shall administer the
same, if in the donation or testamentary provision the contrary has not been stated. (162)

Article 326. When the property of the child is worth more than two thousand pesos, the father or mother shall be
considered a guardian of the child's property, subject to the duties and obligations of guardians under the Rules of Court.
(n)

CHAPTER 4
Extinguishment of Parental Authority

Article 327. Parental authority terminates:

(1) Upon the death of the parents or of the child;

(2) Upon emancipation;

(3) Upon adoption of the child;

(4) Upon the appointment of a general guardian. (167a)

Article 328. The mother who contracts a subsequent marriage loses the parental authority over her children, unless the
deceased husband, father of the latter, has expressly provided in his will that his widow might marry again, and has
ordered that in such case she should keep and exercise parental authority over their children.

The court may also appoint a guardian of the child's property in case the father should contract a subsequent marriage.
(168a)

Article 329. When the mother of an illegitimate child marries a man other than its father, the court may appoint a guardian
for the child. (n)

Article 330. The father and in a proper case the mother, shall lose authority over their children:

(1) When by final judgment in a criminal case the penalty of deprivation of said authority is imposed upon
him or her;

(2) When by a final judgment in legal separation proceedings such loss of authority is declared. (169a)
Article 331. Parental authority is suspended by the incapacity or absence of the father, or in a proper case of the mother,
judicially declared, and also by civil interdiction. (170)

Article 332. The courts may deprive the parents of their authority or suspend the exercise of the same if they should treat
their children with excessive harshness or should give them corrupting orders, counsels, or examples, or should make
them beg or abandon them. In these cases, the courts may also deprive the parents in whole or in part, of the usufruct over
the child's property, or adopt such measures as they may deem advisable in the interest of the child. (171a)

Article 333. If the widowed mother who has contracted a subsequent marriage should again become a widow, she shall
recover from this moment her parental authority over all her unemancipated children. (172)

CHAPTER 5
Adoption

Article 334. Every person of age, who is in full possession of his civil rights, may adopt.

(173a) Article 335. The following cannot adopt:

(1) Those who have legitimate, legitimated, acknowledged natural children, or natural children by legal
fiction;

(2) The guardian, with respect to the ward, before the final approval of his accounts;

(3) A married person, without the consent of the other spouse;

(4) Non-resident aliens;

(5) Resident aliens with whose government the Republic of the Philippines has broken diplomatic relations;

(6) Any person who has been convicted of a crime involving moral turpitude, when the penalty imposed was
six months' imprisonment or more. (174a)
Article 336. The husband and wife may jointly adopt. Parental authority shall, in such case, be exercised as if the child
were their own by nature. (n)

Article 337. Any person, even if of age, may be adopted, provided the adopter is sixteen years older.

(173a) Article 338. The following may be adopted:

(1) The natural child, by the natural father or mother;

(2) Other illegitimate children, by the father or mother;

(3) A step-child, by the step-father or step-mother. (n)

Article 339. The following cannot be adopted:

(1) A married person, without the written consent of the other spouse;
 (2) An alien with whose government the Republic of the Philippines has broken diplomatic

relations; (3) A person who has already been adopted. (n)

Article 340. The written consent of the following to the adoption shall be necessary:

(1) The person to be adopted, if fourteen years of age or over;

(2) The parents, guardian or person in charge of the person to be adopted. (n)

Article 341. The adoption shall:

(1) Give to the adopted person the same rights and duties as if he were a legitimate child of the

adopter; (2) Dissolve the authority vested in the parents by nature;

(3) Make the adopted person a legal heir of the adopter;

(4) Entitle the adopted person to use the adopter's surname. (n)

Article 342. The adopter shall not be a legal heir of the adopted person, whose parents by nature shall inherit from him.
(177a)

Article 343. If the adopter is survived by legitimate parents or ascendants and by an adopted person, the latter shall not
have more successional rights than an acknowledged natural child. (n)

Article 344. The adopter may donate property, by an act inter vivos or by will, to the adopted person, who shall acquire
ownership thereof. (n)

Article 345. The proceedings for adoption shall be governed by the Rules of Court insofar as they are not in conflict with
this Code. (n)

Article 346. The adoption shall be recorded in the local civil register. (179a)

Article 347. A minor or other incapacitated person may, through a guardian ad litem, ask for the rescission of the adoption
on the same grounds that cause the loss of parental authority. (n)

Article 348. The adopter may petition the court for revocation of the adoption in any of these

cases: (1) If the adopted person has attempted against the life of the

adopter;

(2) When the adopted minor has abandoned the home of the adopter for more than three

years; (3) When by other acts the adopted person has definitely repudiated the adoption. (n)
 CHAPTER 6
Substitute Parental Authority (n)

Article 349. The following persons shall exercise substitute parental authority:

(1) Guardians;

(2) Teachers and professors;

(3) Heads of children's homes, orphanages, and similar institutions;

(4) Directors of trade establishments, with regard to apprentices;

(5) Grandparents;

(6) The oldest brother or sister.

Article 350. The persons named in the preceding article shall exercise reasonable supervision over the conduct of the
child.

Article 351. A general guardian or a guardian over the person shall have the same authority over the ward's person as the
parents. With regard to the child's property, the Rules of Court on guardianship shall govern.

Article 352. The relations between teacher and pupil, professor and student, are fixed by government regulations and
those of each school or institution. In no case shall corporal punishment be countenanced. The teacher or professor shall
cultivate the best potentialities of the heart and mind of the pupil or student.

Article 353. Apprentices shall be treated humanely. No corporal punishment against the apprentice shall be permitted.

Article 354. Grandparents and in their default the oldest brother or sister shall exercise parental authority in case of death
or absence of the child's parents. If the parents are living, or if the child is under guardianship, the grandparents may give
advice and counsel to the child, to the parents or to the guardian.

Article 355. Substitute parental authority shall be exercised by the grandparents in the following order:

(1) Paternal grandparents;

(2) Maternal grandparents.

TITLE XII
Care and Education of Children

Article 356. Every child:

(1) Is entitled to parental care;

(2) Shall receive at least elementary education;

 (3) Shall be given moral and civic training by the parents or guardian;

(4) Has a right to live in an atmosphere conducive to his physical, moral and intellectual

development. Article 357. Every child shall:

(1) Obey and honor his parents or guardian;

(2) Respect his grandparents, old relatives, and persons holding substitute parental

authority; (3) Exert his utmost for his education and training;

(4) Cooperate with the family in all matters that make for the good of the same.

Article 358. Every parent and every person holding substitute parental authority shall see to it that the rights of the child
are respected and his duties complied with, and shall particularly, by precept and example, imbue the child with
highmindedness, love of country, veneration for the national heroes, fidelity to democracy as a way of life, and attachment
to the ideal of permanent world peace.

Article 359. The government promotes the full growth of the faculties of every child. For this purpose, the government
will establish, whenever possible:

(1) Schools in every barrio, municipality and city where optional religious instruction shall be taught as part
of the curriculum at the option of the parent or guardian;

(2) Puericulture and similar centers;

(3) Councils for the Protection of Children; and

(4) Juvenile courts.

Article 360. The Council for the Protection of Children shall look after the welfare of children in the municipality. It shall,
among other functions:

(1) Foster the education of every child in the municipality;

(2) Encourage the cultivation of the duties of parents;

(3) Protect and assist abandoned or mistreated children, and orphans;

(4) Take steps to prevent juvenile delinquency;

(5) Adopt measures for the health of children;

(6) Promote the opening and maintenance of playgrounds;

(7) Coordinate the activities of organizations devoted to the welfare of children, and secure their
cooperation.

Article 361. Juvenile courts will be established, as far as practicable, in every chartered city or large municipality.
 Article 362. Whenever a child is found delinquent by any court, the father, mother, or guardian may in a proper case be
judicially admonished.

Article 363. In all questions on the care, custody, education and property of children the latter's welfare shall be
paramount. No mother shall be separated from her child under seven years of age, unless the court finds compelling
reasons for such measure.

TITLE XIII
Use of Surnames (n)

Article 364. Legitimate and legitimated children shall principally use the surname of the father.

Article 365. An adopted child shall bear the surname of the adopter.

Article 366. A natural child acknowledged by both parents shall principally use the surname of the father. If recognized by
only one of the parents, a natural child shall employ the surname of the recognizing parent.

Article 367. Natural children by legal fiction shall principally employ the surname of the father.

Article 368. Illegitimate children referred to in article 287 shall bear the surname of the

mother.

Article 369. Children conceived before the decree annulling a voidable marriage shall principally use the surname of the
father.
Article 370. A married woman may use:

(1) Her maiden first name and surname and add her husband's surname, or

(2) Her maiden first name and her husband's surname or

(3) Her husband's full name, but prefixing a word indicating that she is his wife, such as "Mrs."

Article 371. In case of annulment of marriage, and the wife is the guilty party, she shall resume her maiden name and
surname. If she is the innocent spouse, she may resume her maiden name and surname. However, she may choose to
continue employing her former husband's surname, unless:

(1) The court decrees otherwise, or

(2) She or the former husband is married again to another person.

Article 372. When legal separation has been granted, the wife shall continue using her name and surname employed
before the legal separation.

Article 373. A widow may use the deceased husband's surname as though he were still living, in accordance with article
370.

Article 374. In case of identity of names and surnames, the younger person shall be obliged to use such additional name
 or surname as will avoid confusion.

Article 375. In case of identity of names and surnames between ascendants and descendants, the word "Junior" can be
used only by a son. Grandsons and other direct male descendants shall either:

(1) Add a middle name or the mother's surname, or

(2) Add the Roman numerals II, III, and so on.

Article 376. No person can change his name or surname without judicial authority.

Article 377. Usurpation of a name and surname may be the subject of an action for damages and other relief.

Article 378. The unauthorized or unlawful use of another person's surname gives a right of action to the

latter.

Article 379. The employment of pen names or stage names is permitted, provided it is done in good faith and there is no
injury to third persons. Pen names and stage names cannot be usurped.

Article 380. Except as provided in the preceding article, no person shall use different names and surnames.

TITLE XIV
ABSENCE
CHAPTER 1
Provisional Measures in Case of Absence

Article 381. When a person disappears from his domicile, his whereabouts being unknown, and without leaving an agent
to administer his property, the judge, at the instance of an interested party, a relative, or a friend, may appoint a person to
represent him in all that may be necessary.

This same rule shall be observed when under similar circumstances the power conferred by the absentee has expired.
(181a)

Article 382. The appointment referred to in the preceding article having been made, the judge shall take the necessary
measures to safeguard the rights and interests of the absentee and shall specify the powers, obligations and remuneration
of his representative, regulating them, according to the circumstances, by the rules concerning guardians. (182)

Article 383. In the appointment of a representative, the spouse present shall be preferred when there is no legal
separation.

If the absentee left no spouse, or if the spouse present is a minor, any competent person may be appointed by the court.
(183a)

CHAPTER 2
Declaration of Absence
Article 384. Two years having elapsed without any news about the absentee or since the receipt of the last news, and five
years in case the absentee has left a person in charge of the administration of his property, his absence may be declared.
(184)

Article 385. The following may ask for the declaration of absence:

(1) The spouse present;

(2) The heirs instituted in a will, who may present an authentic copy of the same;

(3) The relatives who may succeed by the law of intestacy;

(4) Those who may have over the property of the absentee some right subordinated to the condition of his
death. (185)

Article 386. The judicial declaration of absence shall not take effect until six months after its publication in a newspaper of
general circulation. (186a)

CHAPTER 3
Administration of the Property of the Absentee
Article 387. An administrator of the absentee's property shall be appointed in accordance with article 383. (187a)

Article 388. The wife who is appointed as an administratrix of the husband's property cannot alienate or encumber the
husband's property, or that of the conjugal partnership, without judicial authority. (188a)

Article 389. The administration shall cease in any of the following cases:

(1) When the absentee appears personally or by means of an agent;

(2) When the death of the absentee is proved and his testate or intestate heirs appear;

(3) When a third person appears, showing by a proper document that he has acquired the absentee's property by purchase
or other title.

In these cases the administrator shall cease in the performance of his office, and the property shall be at the disposal of
those who may have a right thereto. (190)

CHAPTER 4
Presumption of Death

Article 390. After an absence of seven years, it being unknown whether or not the absentee still lives, he shall be
presumed dead for all purposes, except for those of succession.

The absentee shall not be presumed dead for the purpose of opening his succession till after an absence of ten years. If he
disappeared after the age of seventy-five years, an absence of five years shall be sufficient in order that his succession
may be opened. (n)
 Article 391. The following shall be presumed dead for all purposes, including the division of the estate among the heirs:

(1) A person on board a vessel lost during a sea voyage, or an aeroplane which is missing, who has not
been heard of for four years since the loss of the vessel or aeroplane;

(2) A person in the armed forces who has taken part in war, and has been missing for four years;

(3) A person who has been in danger of death under other circumstances and his existence has not been
known for four years. (n)

Article 392. If the absentee appears, or without appearing his existence is proved, he shall recover his property in the
condition in which it may be found, and the price of any property that may have been alienated or the property acquired
therewith; but he cannot claim either fruits or rents. (194)

CHAPTER 5
Effect of Absence Upon the Contingent Rights of the Absentee

Article 393. Whoever claims a right pertaining to a person whose existence is not recognized must prove that he was living
at the time his existence was necessary in order to acquire said right. (195)

Article 394. Without prejudice to the provision of the preceding article, upon the opening of a succession to which an
absentee is called, his share shall accrue to his coheirs, unless he has heirs, assigns, or a representative. They shall all, as
the case may be, make an inventory of the property. (196a)

Article 395. The provisions of the preceding article are understood to be without prejudice to the action of petition for
inheritance or other rights which are vested in the absentee, his representatives or successors in interest. These rights
shall not be extinguished save by lapse of time fixed for prescription. In the record that is made in the Registry of the real
estate which accrues to the coheirs, the circumstance of its being subject to the provisions of this article shall be stated.
(197)

Article 396. Those who may have entered upon the inheritance shall appropriate the fruits received in good faith so long as
the absentee does not appear, or while his representatives or successors in interest do not bring the proper actions. (198)

TITLE XV
EMANCIPATION AND AGE OF MAJORITY

CHAPTER 1
Emancipation

Article 397. Emancipation takes place:

(1) By the marriage of the minor;

(2) By the attainment of majority;

 (3) By the concession of the father or of the mother who exercise parental authority. (314)

Article 398. Emancipation treated of in No. 3 of the preceding article shall be effected in a public instrument which shall be
recorded in the Civil Register, and unless so recorded, it shall take no effect against third persons. (316a)

Article 399. Emancipation by marriage or by voluntary concession shall terminate parental authority over the child's
person. It shall enable the minor to administer his property as though he were of age, but he cannot borrow money or
alienate or encumber real property without the consent of his father or mother, or guardian. He can sue and be sued in
court only with the assistance of his father, mother or guardian. (317a)

Article 400. In order that emancipation by concession of the father or of the mother may take place, it is required that the
minor be eighteen years of age, and that he give his consent thereto. (318)

Article 401. Emancipation is final or irrevocable. (319a)

CHAPTER 2
Age of Majority

Article 402. Majority commences upon the attainment of the age of twenty-one years.

The person who has reached majority is qualified for all acts of civil life, save the exceptions established by this Code in
special cases. (320a)

Article 403. Notwithstanding the provisions of the preceding article, a daughter above twenty-one but below twenty-three
years of age cannot leave the parental home without the consent of the father or mother in whose company she lives,
except to become a wife, or when she exercises a profession or calling, or when the father or mother has contracted a
subsequent marriage. (321a)

Article 404. An orphan who is minor may, at the instance of any relative or other person, obtain emancipation by
concession upon an order of the Court of First Instance. (322a)

Article 405. For the concession and approval referred to in the preceding article it is necessary:

(1) That the minor be eighteen years of age;

(2) That he consent thereto; and

(3) That the concession be deemed convenient for the minor.

The concession shall be recorded in the Civil Register. (323a)

Article 406. The provisions of article 399 are applicable to an orphan who has been emancipated according to article 404.
The court will give the necessary approval with respect to the contracts mentioned in article 399. In litigations, a guardian
ad litem for the minor shall be appointed by the court. (324a)

TITLE XVI
 CIVIL REGISTER

Article 407. Acts, events and judicial decrees concerning the civil status of persons shall be recorded in the civil register.
(325a)

Article 408. The following shall be entered in the civil register:

(1) Births; (2) marriages; (3) deaths; (4) legal separations; (5) annulments of marriage; (6) judgments declaring marriages
void from the beginning; (7) legitimations; (8) adoptions; (9) acknowledgments of natural children; (10) naturalization; (11)
loss, or (12) recovery of citizenship; (13) civil interdiction; (14) judicial determination of filiation; (15) voluntary emancipation
of a minor; and (16) changes of name. (326a)

Article 409. In cases of legal separation, adoption, naturalization and other judicial orders mentioned in the preceding
article, it shall be the duty of the clerk of the court which issued the decree to ascertain whether the same has been
registered, and if this has not been done, to send a copy of said decree to the civil registry of the city or municipality where
the court is functioning. (n)
Article 410. The books making up the civil register and all documents relating thereto shall be considered public
documents and shall be prima facie evidence of the facts therein contained. (n)

Article 411. Every civil registrar shall be civilly responsible for any unauthorized alteration made in any civil register, to any
person suffering damage thereby. However, the civil registrar may exempt himself from such liability if he proves that he
has taken every reasonable precaution to prevent the unlawful alteration. (n)

Article 412. No entry in a civil register shall be changed or corrected, without a judicial order. (n) Article 413.

All other matters pertaining to the registration of civil status shall be governed by special laws. (n)

BOOK II

PROPERTY, OWNERSHIP, AND ITS MODIFICATIONS

TITLE I
CLASSIFICATION OF PROPERTY
PRELIMINARY PROVISIONS

Article 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)

CHAPTER 1
Immovable Property
 Article 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)

CHAPTER 2
Movable Property

Article 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 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. (335a)

Article 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)

Article 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)

CHAPTER 3
Property in Relation to the Person to Whom It Belongs
Article 419. Property is either of public dominion or of private ownership. (338)

Article 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)

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

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. (341a)

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

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. (344a)

Article 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. (345a)

Provisions Common to the Three Preceding Chapters

Article 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)

TITLE II
OWNERSHIP

CHAPTER 1
Ownership in General

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

Article 428. The owner has the right to enjoy and dispose of a thing, without other limitations than those established by
law.

The owner has also a right of action against the holder and possessor of the thing in order to recover it. (348a)

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. (388)

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)

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. (n)

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. (n)

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. (349a)

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. (350a)

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. (352)

CHAPTER 2
Right of Accession

GENERAL PROVISIONS

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. (353)

SECTION 1
Right of Accession with Respect to What is Produced by Property

Article 441. To the owner belongs:

(1) The natural fruits;

(2) The industrial fruits;

(3) The civil fruits. (354)

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. (355a)

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. (356)

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. (357)

SECTION 2
Right of Accession with Respect to Immovable Property

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. (358)

Article 446. All works, sowing, and planting are presumed made by the owner and at his expense, unless the contrary is
proved. (359)

Article 447. The owner of the land who makes thereon, personally or through another, plantings, constructions or works
with the materials of another, shall pay their value; and, if he acted in bad faith, he shall also be obliged to the reparation of
damages. The owner of the materials shall have the right to remove them only in case he can do so without injury to the
work constructed, or without the plantings, constructions or works being destroyed. However, if the landowner acted in bad
faith, the owner of the materials may remove them in any event, with a right to be indemnified for damages. (360a)

Article 448. The owner of the land on which anything has been built, sown or planted in good faith, shall have the right to
appropriate as his own the works, sowing or planting, after payment of the indemnity provided for in articles 546 and 548,
or to oblige the one who built or planted to pay the price of the land, and the one who sowed, the proper rent. However, the
builder or planter cannot be obliged to buy the land if its value is considerably more than that of the building or trees. In
such case, he shall pay reasonable rent, if the owner of the land does not choose to appropriate the building or trees after
proper indemnity. The parties shall agree upon the terms of the lease and in case of disagreement, the court shall fix the
terms thereof. (361a)

Article 449. He who builds, plants or sows in bad faith on the land of another, loses what is built, planted or sown without
right to indemnity. (362)

Article 450. The owner of the land on which anything has been built, planted or sown in bad faith may demand the
demolition of the work, or that the planting or sowing be removed, in order to replace things in their former condition at the
expense of the person who built, planted or sowed; or he may compel the builder or planter to pay the price of the land, and
the sower the proper rent. (363a)

Article 451. In the cases of the two preceding articles, the landowner is entitled to damages from the builder, planter or
sower. (n)

Article 452. The builder, planter or sower in bad faith is entitled to reimbursement for the necessary expenses of
preservation of the land. (n)

Article 453. If there was bad faith, not only on the part of the person who built, planted or sowed on the land of another, but
also on the part of the owner of such land, the rights of one and the other shall be the same as though both had acted in
good faith.

It is understood that there is bad faith on the part of the landowner whenever the act was done with his knowledge and
without opposition on his part. (364a)

Article 454. When the landowner acted in bad faith and the builder, planter or sower proceeded in good faith, the
provisions of article 447 shall apply. (n)
Article 455. If the materials, plants or seeds belong to a third person who has not acted in bad faith, the owner of the land
shall answer subsidiarily for their value and only in the event that the one who made use of them has no property with
which to pay.

This provision shall not apply if the owner makes use of the right granted by article 450. If the owner of the materials, plants
or seeds has been paid by the builder, planter or sower, the latter may demand from the landowner the value of the
materials and labor. (365a)

Article 456. In the cases regulated in the preceding articles, good faith does not necessarily exclude negligence, which
gives right to damages under article 2176. (n)

Article 457. To the owners of lands adjoining the banks of rivers belong the accretion which they gradually receive from the
effects of the current of the waters. (336)

Article 458. The owners of estates adjoining ponds or lagoons do not acquire the land left dry by the natural decrease of
the waters, or lose that inundated by them in extraordinary floods. (367)

Article 459. Whenever the current of a river, creek or torrent segregates from an estate on its bank a known portion of land
and transfers it to another estate, the owner of the land to which the segregated portion belonged retains the ownership of
it, provided that he removes the same within two years. (368a)

Article 460. Trees uprooted and carried away by the current of the waters belong to the owner of the land upon which they
may be cast, if the owners do not claim them within six months. If such owners claim them, they shall pay the expenses
incurred in gathering them or putting them in a safe place. (369a)

Article 461. River beds which are abandoned through the natural change in the course of the waters ipso facto belong to
the owners whose lands are occupied by the new course in proportion to the area lost. However, the owners of the lands
adjoining the old bed shall have the right to acquire the same by paying the value thereof, which value shall not exceed the
value of the area occupied by the new bed. (370a)

Article 462. Whenever a river, changing its course by natural causes, opens a new bed through a private estate, this bed
shall become of public dominion. (372a)

Article 463. Whenever the current of a river divides itself into branches, leaving a piece of land or part thereof isolated, the
owner of the land retains his ownership. He also retains it if a portion of land is separated from the estate by the current.
(374)

Article 464. Islands which may be formed on the seas within the jurisdiction of the Philippines, on lakes, and on navigable
or floatable rivers belong to the State. (371a)

Article 465. Islands which through successive accumulation of alluvial deposits are formed in non-navigable and non
floatable rivers, belong to the owners of the margins or banks nearest to each of them, or to the owners of both margins if
the island is in the middle of the river, in which case it shall be divided longitudinally in halves. If a single island thus formed
be more distant from one margin than from the other, the owner of the nearer margin shall be the sole owner thereof.
(373a)

SECTION 3
Right of Accession with Respect to Movable Property
 Article 466. Whenever two movable things belonging to different owners are, without bad faith, united in such a way that
they form a single object, the owner of the principal thing acquires the accessory, indemnifying the former owner thereof
for its value. (375)
Article 467. The principal thing, as between two things incorporated, is deemed to be that to which the other has been
united as an ornament, or for its use or perfection. (376)

Article 468. If it cannot be determined by the rule given in the preceding article which of the two things incorporated is the
principal one, the thing of the greater value shall be so considered, and as between two things of equal value, that of the
greater volume.

In painting and sculpture, writings, printed matter, engraving and lithographs, the board, metal, stone, canvas, paper or
parchment shall be deemed the accessory thing. (377)

Article 469. Whenever the things united can be separated without injury, their respective owners may demand their
separation.

Nevertheless, in case the thing united for the use, embellishment or perfection of the other, is much more precious than the
principal thing, the owner of the former may demand its separation, even though the thing to which it has been incorporated
may suffer some injury. (378)

Article 470. Whenever the owner of the accessory thing has made the incorporation in bad faith, he shall lose the thing
incorporated and shall have the obligation to indemnify the owner of the principal thing for the damages he may have
suffered.

If the one who has acted in bad faith is the owner of the principal thing, the owner of the accessory thing shall have a right
to choose between the former paying him its value or that the thing belonging to him be separated, even though for this
purpose it be necessary to destroy the principal thing; and in both cases, furthermore, there shall be indemnity for
damages.

If either one of the owners has made the incorporation with the knowledge and without the objection of the other, their
respective rights shall be determined as though both acted in good faith. (379a)

Article 471. Whenever the owner of the material employed without his consent has a right to an indemnity, he may
demand that this consist in the delivery of a thing equal in kind and value, and in all other respects, to that employed, or
else in the price thereof, according to expert appraisal. (380)

Article 472. If by the will of their owners two things of the same or different kinds are mixed, or if the mixture occurs by
chance, and in the latter case the things are not separable without injury, each owner shall acquire a right proportional to
the part belonging to him, bearing in mind the value of the things mixed or confused. (381)

Article 473. If by the will of only one owner, but in good faith, two things of the same or different kinds are mixed or
confused, the rights of the owners shall be determined by the provisions of the preceding article.

If the one who caused the mixture or confusion acted in bad faith, he shall lose the thing belonging to him thus mixed or
confused, besides being obliged to pay indemnity for the damages caused to the owner of the other thing with which his
own was mixed. (382)

Article 474. One who in good faith employs the material of another in whole or in part in order to make a thing of a different
kind, shall appropriate the thing thus transformed as his own, indemnifying the owner of the material for its value.

If the material is more precious than the transformed thing or is of more value, its owner may, at his option, appropriate the
 new thing to himself, after first paying indemnity for the value of the work, or demand indemnity for the material.

If in the making of the thing bad faith intervened, the owner of the material shall have the right to appropriate the work to
himself without paying anything to the maker, or to demand of the latter that he indemnify him for the value of the material
and the damages he may have suffered. However, the owner of the material cannot appropriate the work in case the value
of the latter, for artistic or scientific reasons, is considerably more than that of the material. (383a)

Article 475. In the preceding articles, sentimental value shall be duly appreciated. (n)

CHAPTER 3
Quieting of Title (n)

Article 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.

Article 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.

Article 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.

Article 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.

Article 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.

Article 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.

CHAPTER 4
Ruinous Buildings and Trees in Danger of Falling

Article 482. If a building, wall, column, or any other construction is in danger of falling, the owner shall be obliged to
demolish it or to execute the necessary work in order to prevent it from falling.

If the proprietor does not comply with this obligation, the administrative authorities may order the demolition of the structure
at the expense of the owner, or take measures to insure public safety. (389a)

Article 483. Whenever a large tree threatens to fall in such a way as to cause damage to the land or tenement of another
or to travelers over a public or private road, the owner of the tree shall be obliged to fell and remove it; and should he not
do so, it shall be done at his expense by order of the administrative authorities. (390a)
 TITLE III
CO-OWNERSHIP

Article 484. There is co-ownership whenever the ownership of an undivided thing or right belongs to different

persons. In default of contracts, or of special provisions, co-ownership shall be governed by the provisions of this Title.

(392)

Article 485. The share of the co-owners, in the benefits as well as in the charges, shall be proportional to their respective
interests. Any stipulation in a contract to the contrary shall be void.

The portions belonging to the co-owners in the co-ownership shall be presumed equal, unless the contrary is proved.
(393a)

Article 486. Each co-owner may use the thing owned in common, provided he does so in accordance with the purpose for
which it is intended and in such a way as not to injure the interest of the co-ownership or prevent the other co-owners from
using it according to their rights. The purpose of the co-ownership may be changed by agreement, express or implied.
(394a)

Article 487. Any one of the co-owners may bring an action in ejectment. (n)

Article 488. Each co-owner shall have a right to compel the other co-owners to contribute to the expenses of preservation
of the thing or right owned in common and to the taxes. Any one of the latter may exempt himself from this obligation by
renouncing so much of his undivided interest as may be equivalent to his share of the expenses and taxes. No such waiver
shall be made if it is prejudicial to the co-ownership. (395a)

Article 489. Repairs for preservation may be made at the will of one of the co-owners, but he must, if practicable, first
notify his co-owners of the necessity for such repairs. Expenses to improve or embellish the thing shall be decided upon by
a majority as determined in article 492. (n)

Article 490. Whenever the different stories of a house belong to different owners, if the titles of ownership do not specify
the terms under which they should contribute to the necessary expenses and there exists no agreement on the subject, the
following rules shall be observed:

(1) The main and party walls, the roof and the other things used in common, shall be preserved at the expense of all the
owners in proportion to the value of the story belonging to each;

(2) Each owner shall bear the cost of maintaining the floor of his story; the floor of the entrance, front door, common yard
and sanitary works common to all, shall be maintained at the expense of all the owners pro rata;

(3) The stairs from the entrance to the first story shall be maintained at the expense of all the owners pro rata, with the
exception of the owner of the ground floor; the stairs from the first to the second story shall be preserved at the expense of
all, except the owner of the ground floor and the owner of the first story; and so on successively. (396)

Article 491. None of the co-owners shall, without the consent of the others, make alterations in the thing owned in
common, even though benefits for all would result therefrom. However, if the withholding of the consent by one or more of
the co-owners is clearly prejudicial to the common interest, the courts may afford adequate relief. (397a)

Article 492. For the administration and better enjoyment of the thing owned in common, the resolutions of the majority of
 the co-owners shall be binding.

There shall be no majority unless the resolution is approved by the co-owners who represent the controlling interest in the
object of the co-ownership.

Should there be no majority, or should the resolution of the majority be seriously prejudicial to those interested in the
property owned in common, the court, at the instance of an interested party, shall order such measures as it may deem
proper, including the appointment of an administrator.

Whenever a part of the thing belongs exclusively to one of the co-owners, and the remainder is owned in common, the
preceding provision shall apply only to the part owned in common. (398)

Article 493. Each co-owner shall have the full ownership of his part and of the fruits and benefits pertaining thereto, and he
may therefore alienate, assign or mortgage it, and even substitute another person in its enjoyment, except when personal
rights are involved. But the effect of the alienation or the mortgage, with respect to the co-owners, shall be limited to the
portion which may be allotted to him in the division upon the termination of the co-ownership. (399)

Article 494. No co-owner shall be obliged to remain in the co-ownership. Each co-owner may demand at any time the
partition of the thing owned in common, insofar as his share is concerned.

Nevertheless, an agreement to keep the thing undivided for a certain period of time, not exceeding ten years, shall be valid.
This term may be extended by a new agreement.

A donor or testator may prohibit partition for a period which shall not exceed twenty years.

Neither shall there be any partition when it is prohibited by law.

No prescription shall run in favor of a co-owner or co-heir against his co-owners or co-heirs so long as he expressly or
impliedly recognizes the co-ownership. (400a)

Article 495. Notwithstanding the provisions of the preceding article, the co-owners cannot demand a physical division of
the thing owned in common, when to do so would render it unserviceable for the use for which it is intended. But the co
ownership may be terminated in accordance with article 498. (401a)

Article 496. Partition may be made by agreement between the parties or by judicial proceedings. Partition shall be
governed by the Rules of Court insofar as they are consistent with this Code. (402)

Article 497. The creditors or assignees of the co-owners may take part in the division of the thing owned in common and
object to its being effected without their concurrence. But they cannot impugn any partition already executed, unless there
has been fraud, or in case it was made notwithstanding a formal opposition presented to prevent it, without prejudice to the
right of the debtor or assignor to maintain its validity. (403)

Article 498. Whenever the thing is essentially indivisible and the co-owners cannot agree that it be allotted to one of them
who shall indemnify the others, it shall be sold and its proceeds distributed. (404)

Article 499. The partition of a thing owned in common shall not prejudice third persons, who shall retain the rights of
mortgage, servitude or any other real rights belonging to them before the division was made. Personal rights pertaining to
third persons against the co-ownership shall also remain in force, notwithstanding the partition. (405)

Article 500. Upon partition, there shall be a mutual accounting for benefits received and reimbursements for expenses
 made. Likewise, each co-owner shall pay for damages caused by reason of his negligence or fraud. (n)

Article 501. Every co-owner shall, after partition, be liable for defects of title and quality of the portion assigned to each of
the other co-owners. (n)

TITLE IV
SOME SPECIAL PROPERTIES

CHAPTER 1
Waters

SECTION 1
Ownership of Waters

Article 502. The following are of public dominion:

(1) Rivers and their natural beds;

(2) Continuous or intermittent waters of springs and brooks running in their natural beds and the beds
themselves;

(3) Waters rising continuously or intermittently on lands of public dominion;

(4) Lakes and lagoons formed by Nature on public lands, and their beds;

(5) Rain waters running through ravines or sand beds, which are also of public dominion;

(6) Subterranean waters on public lands;

(7) Waters found within the zone of operation of public works, even if constructed by a contractor;

(8) Waters rising continuously or intermittently on lands belonging to private persons, to the State, to a
province, or to a city or a municipality from the moment they leave such lands;

(9) The waste waters of fountains, sewers and public establishments. (407)

Article 503. The following are of private ownership:

(1) Continuous or intermittent waters rising on lands of private ownership, while running through the

same; (2) Lakes and lagoons, and their beds, formed by Nature on such lands;

(3) Subterranean waters found on the same;

 (4) Rain waters falling on said lands, as long as they remain within the boundaries;

(5) The beds of flowing waters, continuous or intermittent, formed by rain water, and those of brooks,
crossing lands which are not of public dominion.

In every drain or aqueduct, the water, bed, banks and floodgates shall be considered as an integral part of the land of
building for which the waters are intended. The owners of lands, through which or along the boundaries of which the
aqueduct passes, cannot claim ownership over it, or any right to the use of its bed or banks, unless the claim is based on
titles of ownership specifying the right or ownership claimed. (408)

SECTION 2
The Use of Public Waters

Article 504. The use of public waters is acquired:

(1) By administrative concession;

(2) By prescription for ten years.

The extent of the rights and obligations of the use shall be that established, in the first case, by the terms of the
concession, and, in the second case, by the manner and form in which the waters have been used. (409a)

Article 505. Every concession for the use of waters is understood to be without prejudice to third persons. (410)

Article 506. The right to make use of public waters is extinguished by the lapse of the concession and by non-user for five
years. (411a)

SECTION 3
The Use of Waters of Private Ownership

Article 507. The owner of a piece of land on which a spring or brook rises, be it continuous or intermittent, may use its
waters while they run through the same, but after the waters leave the land they shall become public, and their use shall be
governed by the Special Law of Waters of August 3, 1866, and by the Irrigation Law. (412a)

Article 508. The private ownership of the beds of rain waters does not give a right to make works or constructions which
may change their course to the damage of third persons, or whose destruction, by the force of floods, may cause such
damage. (413)

Article 509. No one may enter private property to search waters or make use of them without permission from the owners,
except as provided by the Mining Law. (414a)

Article 510. The ownership which the proprietor of a piece of land has over the waters rising thereon does not prejudice
the rights which the owners of lower estates may have legally acquired to the use thereof. (415)

Article 511. Every owner of a piece of land has the right to construct within his property, reservoirs for rain waters,
provided he causes no damage to the public or to third persons. (416)
 SECTION 4
Subterranean Waters

Article 512. Only the owner of a piece of land, or another person with his permission, may make explorations thereon for
subterranean waters, except as provided by the Mining Law.

Explorations for subterranean waters on lands of public dominion may be made only with the permission of the
administrative authorities. (417a)

Article 513. Waters artificially brought forth in accordance with the Special Law of Waters of August 3, 1866, belong to the
person who brought them up. (418)

Article 514. When the owner of waters artificially brought to the surface abandons them to their natural course, they shall
become of public dominion. (419)

SECTION 5
General Provisions

Article 515. The owner of a piece of land on which there are defensive works to check waters, or on which, due to a
change of their course, it may be necessary to reconstruct such works, shall be obliged, at his election, either to make the
necessary repairs or construction himself, or to permit them to be done, without damage to him, by the owners of the lands
which suffer or are clearly exposed to suffer injury. (420)

Article 516. The provisions of the preceding article are applicable to the case in which it may be necessary to clear a piece
of land of matter, whose accumulation or fall may obstruct the course of the waters, to the damage or peril of third persons.
(421)

Article 517. All the owners who participate in the benefits arising from the works referred to in the two preceding articles,
shall be obliged to contribute to the expenses of construction in proportion to their respective interests. Those who by their
fault may have caused the damage shall be liable for the expenses. (422)

Article 518. All matters not expressly determined by the provisions of this Chapter shall be governed by the Special Law of
Waters of August 3, 1866, and by the Irrigation Law. (425a)

CHAPTER 2
Minerals

Article 519. Mining claims and rights and other matters concerning minerals and mineral lands are governed by special
laws. (427a)

CHAPTER 3
Trade-marks and Trade-names

Article 520. A trade-mark or trade-name duly registered in the proper government bureau or office is owned by and
 pertains to the person, corporation, or firm registering the same, subject to the provisions of special laws. (n)

Article 521. The goodwill of a business is property, and may be transferred together with the right to use the name under
which the business is conducted. (n)

Article 522. Trade-marks and trade-names are governed by special laws. (n)

TITLE V
POSSESSION

CHAPTER 1
Possession and the Kinds Thereof

Article 523. Possession is the holding of a thing or the enjoyment of a right. (430a)

Article 524. Possession may be exercised in one's own name or in that of another. (413a)

Article 525. The possession of things or rights may be had in one of two concepts: either in the concept of owner, or in that
of the holder of the thing or right to keep or enjoy it, the ownership pertaining to another person. (432)

Article 526. He is deemed a possessor in good faith who is not aware that there exists in his title or mode of acquisition
any flaw which invalidates it.

He is deemed a possessor in bad faith who possesses in any case contrary to the foregoing.

Mistake upon a doubtful or difficult question of law may be the basis of good faith. (433a)

Article 527. Good faith is always presumed, and upon him who alleges bad faith on the part of a possessor rests the
burden of proof. (434)

Article 528. Possession acquired in good faith does not lose this character except in the case and from the moment facts
exist which show that the possessor is not unaware that he possesses the thing improperly or wrongfully. (435a)

Article 529. It is presumed that possession continues to be enjoyed in the same character in which it was acquired, until
the contrary is proved. (436)

Article 530. Only things and rights which are susceptible of being appropriated may be the object of possession. (437)

CHAPTER 2
Acquisition of Possession

Article 531. Possession is acquired by the material occupation of a thing or the exercise of a right, or by the fact that it is
subject to the action of our will, or by the proper acts and legal formalities established for acquiring such right. (438a)
 Article 532. Possession may be acquired by the same person who is to enjoy it, by his legal representative, by his agent,
or by any person without any power whatever: but in the last case, the possession shall not be considered as acquired until
the person in whose name the act of possession was executed has ratified the same, without prejudice to the juridical
consequences of negotiorum gestio in a proper case. (439a)

Article 533. The possession of hereditary property is deemed transmitted to the heir without interruption and from the
moment of the death of the decedent, in case the inheritance is accepted.

One who validly renounces an inheritance is deemed never to have possessed the same. (440)

Article 534. On who succeeds by hereditary title shall not suffer the consequences of the wrongful possession of the
decedent, if it is not shown that he was aware of the flaws affecting it; but the effects of possession in good faith shall not
benefit him except from the date of death of the decedent. (442)

Article 535. Minors and incapacitated persons may acquire the possession of things; but they need the assistance of their
legal representatives in order to exercise the rights which from the possession arise in their favor. (443)

Article 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)

Article 537. Acts merely tolerated, and those executed clandestinely and without the knowledge of the possessor of a
thing, or by violence, do not affect possession. (444)

Article 538. Possession as a fact cannot be recognized at the same time in two different personalities except in the cases
of co-possession. Should a question arise regarding the fact of possession, the present possessor shall be preferred; if
there are two possessors, the one longer in possession; if the dates of the possession are the same, the one who presents
a title; and if all these conditions are equal, the thing shall be placed in judicial deposit pending determination of its
possession or ownership through proper proceedings. (445)

CHAPTER 3
Effects of Possession

Article 539. Every possessor has a right to be respected in his possession; and should he be disturbed therein he shall be
protected in or restored to said possession by the means established by the laws and the Rules of Court.

A possessor deprived of his possession through forcible entry may within ten days from the filing of the complaint present a
motion to secure from the competent court, in the action for forcible entry, a writ of preliminary mandatory injunction to
restore him in his possession. The court shall decide the motion within thirty (30) days from the filing thereof. (446a)

Article 540. Only the possession acquired and enjoyed in the concept of owner can serve as a title for acquiring dominion.
(447)

Article 541. A possessor in the concept of owner has in his favor the legal presumption that he possesses with a just title
and he cannot be obliged to show or prove it. (448a)

Article 542. The possession of real property presumes that of the movables therein, so long as it is not shown or proved
that they should be excluded. (449)
Article 543. Each one of the participants of a thing possessed in common shall be deemed to have exclusively possessed
the part which may be allotted to him upon the division thereof, for the entire period during which the co-possession lasted.
Interruption in the possession of the whole or a part of a thing possessed in common shall be to the prejudice of all the
possessors. However, in case of civil interruption, the Rules of Court shall apply. (450a)

Article 544. A possessor in good faith is entitled to the fruits received before the possession is legally

interrupted. Natural and industrial fruits are considered received from the time they are gathered or severed. Civil

fruits are deemed to accrue daily and belong to the possessor in good faith in that proportion. (451)

Article 545. If at the time the good faith ceases, there should be any natural or industrial fruits, the possessor shall have a
right to a part of the expenses of cultivation, and to a part of the net harvest, both in proportion to the time of the
possession.

The charges shall be divided on the same basis by the two possessors.

The owner of the thing may, should he so desire, give the possessor in good faith the right to finish the cultivation and
gathering of the growing fruits, as an indemnity for his part of the expenses of cultivation and the net proceeds; the
possessor in good faith who for any reason whatever should refuse to accept this concession, shall lose the right to be
indemnified in any other manner. (452a)

Article 546. Necessary expenses shall be refunded to every possessor; but only the possessor in good faith may retain the
thing until he has been reimbursed therefor.

Useful expenses shall be refunded only to the possessor in good faith with the same right of retention, the person who has
defeated him in the possession having the option of refunding the amount of the expenses or of paying the increase in
value which the thing may have acquired by reason thereof. (453a)

Article 547. If the useful improvements can be removed without damage to the principal thing, the possessor in good faith
may remove them, unless the person who recovers the possession exercises the option under paragraph 2 of the
preceding article. (n) ARTICLE 548. Expenses for pure luxury or mere pleasure shall not be refunded to the possessor in
good faith; but he may remove the ornaments with which he has embellished the principal thing if it suffers no injury
thereby, and if his successor in the possession does not prefer to refund the amount expended. (454)

Article 549. The possessor in bad faith shall reimburse the fruits received and those which the legitimate possessor could
have received, and shall have a right only to the expenses mentioned in paragraph 1 of article 546 and in article 443. The
expenses incurred in improvements for pure luxury or mere pleasure shall not be refunded to the possessor in bad faith,
but he may remove the objects for which such expenses have been incurred, provided that the thing suffers no injury
thereby, and that the lawful possessor does not prefer to retain them by paying the value they may have at the time he
enters into possession. (445a)

Article 550. The costs of litigation over the property shall be borne by every possessor. (n)

Article 551. Improvements caused by nature or time shall always inure to the benefit of the person who has succeeded in
recovering possession. (456)

Article 552. A possessor in good faith shall not be liable for the deterioration or loss of the thing possessed, except in
cases in which it is proved that he has acted with fraudulent intent or negligence, after the judicial summons.

A possessor in bad faith shall be liable for deterioration or loss in every case, even if caused by a fortuitous event. (457a)
Article 553. One who recovers possession shall not be obliged to pay for improvements which have ceased to exist at the
time he takes possession of the thing. (458)

Article 554. A present possessor who shows his possession at some previous time, is presumed to have held possession
also during the intermediate period, in the absence of proof to the contrary. (459)

Article 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)

Article 556. The possession of movables is not deemed lost so long as they remain under the control of the possessor,
even though for the time being he may not know their whereabouts. (461)

Article 557. The possession of immovables and of real rights is not deemed lost, or transferred for purposes of prescription
to the prejudice of third persons, except in accordance with the provisions of the Mortgage Law and the Land Registration
laws. (462a)

Article 558. Acts relating to possession, executed or agreed to by one who possesses a thing belonging to another as a
mere holder to enjoy or keep it, in any character, do not bind or prejudice the owner, unless he gave said holder express
authority to do such acts, or ratifies them subsequently. (463)

Article 559. The possession of movable property acquired in good faith is equivalent to a title. Nevertheless, one who has
lost any movable or has been unlawfully deprived thereof, may recover it from the person in possession of the same.

If the possessor of a movable lost or which the owner has been unlawfully deprived, has acquired it in good faith at a
public sale, the owner cannot obtain its return without reimbursing the price paid therefor. (464a)

Article 560. Wild animals are possessed only while they are under one's control; domesticated or tamed animals are
considered domestic or tame if they retain the habit of returning to the premises of the possessor. (465)

Article 561. One who recovers, according to law, possession unjustly lost, shall be deemed for all purposes which may
redound to his benefit, to have enjoyed it without interruption. (466)

TITLE VI
USUFRUCT

CHAPTER 1
Usufruct in General
Article 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)

Article 563. Usufruct is constituted by law, by the will of private persons expressed in acts inter vivos or in a last will and
testament, and by prescription. (468)

Article 564. Usufruct may be constituted on the whole or a part of the fruits of the thing, in favor of one more persons,
simultaneously or successively, and in every case from or to a certain day, purely or conditionally. It may also be
constituted on a right, provided it is not strictly personal or intransmissible. (469)

Article 565. The rights and obligations of the usufructuary shall be those provided in the title constituting the usufruct; in
default of such title, or in case it is deficient, the provisions contained in the two following Chapters shall be observed.
(470)

CHAPTER 2
Rights of the Usufructuary

Article 566. The usufructuary shall be entitled to all the natural, industrial and civil fruits of the property in usufruct. With
respect to hidden treasure which may be found on the land or tenement, he shall be considered a stranger. (471)

Article 567. Natural or industrial fruits growing at the time the usufruct begins, belong to the

usufructuary. Those growing at the time the usufruct terminates, belong to the owner.

In the preceding cases, the usufructuary, at the beginning of the usufruct, has no obligation to refund to the owner any
expenses incurred; but the owner shall be obliged to reimburse at the termination of the usufruct, from the proceeds of the
growing fruits, the ordinary expenses of cultivation, for seed, and other similar expenses incurred by the usufructuary.

The provisions of this article shall not prejudice the rights of third persons, acquired either at the beginning or at the
termination of the usufruct. (472)

Article 568. If the usufructuary has leased the lands or tenements given in usufruct, and the usufruct should expire before
the termination of the lease, he or his heirs and successors shall receive only the proportionate share of the rent that must
be paid by the lessee. (473)

Article 569. Civil fruits are deemed to accrue daily, and belong to the usufructuary in proportion to the time the usufruct
may last. (474).

Article 570. Whenever a usufruct is constituted on the right to receive a rent or periodical pension, whether in money or in
fruits, or in the interest on bonds or securities payable to bearer, each payment due shall be considered as the proceeds or
fruits of such right.

Whenever it consists in the enjoyment of benefits accruing from a participation in any industrial or commercial enterprise,
the date of the distribution of which is not fixed, such benefits shall have the same character.

In either case they shall be distributed as civil fruits, and shall be applied in the manner prescribed in the preceding article.
(475)
 Article 571. The usufructuary shall have the right to enjoy any increase which the thing in usufruct may acquire through
accession, the servitudes established in its favor, and, in general, all the benefits inherent therein. (479)

Article 572. The usufructuary may personally enjoy the thing in usufruct, lease it to another, or alienate his right of usufruct,
even by a gratuitous title; but all the contracts he may enter into as such usufructuary shall terminate upon the expiration of
the usufruct, saving leases of rural lands, which shall be considered as subsisting during the agricultural year. (480)

Article 573. Whenever the usufruct includes things which, without being consumed, gradually deteriorate through wear and
tear, the usufructuary shall have the right to make use thereof in accordance with the purpose for which they are intended,
and shall not be obliged to return them at the termination of the usufruct except in their condition at that time; but he shall
be obliged to indemnify the owner for any deterioration they may have suffered by reason of his fraud or negligence. (481)

Article 574. Whenever the usufruct includes things which cannot be used without being consumed, the usufructuary shall
have the right to make use of them under the obligation of paying their appraised value at the termination of the usufruct, if
they were appraised when delivered. In case they were not appraised, he shall have the right to return the same quantity
and quality, or pay their current price at the time the usufruct ceases. (482)

Article 575. The usufructuary of fruit-bearing trees and shrubs may make use of the dead trunks, and even of those cut off
or uprooted by accident, under the obligation to replace them with new plants. (483a)

Article 576. If in consequence of a calamity or extraordinary event, the trees or shrubs shall have disappeared in such
considerable number that it would not be possible or it would be too burdensome to replace them, the usufructuary may
leave the dead, fallen or uprooted trunks at the disposal of the owner, and demand that the latter remove them and clear
the land. (484a)

Article 577. The usufructuary of woodland may enjoy all the benefits which it may produce according to its nature.
If the woodland is a copse or consists of timber for building, the usufructuary may do such ordinary cutting or felling as the
owner was in the habit of doing, and in default of this, he may do so in accordance with the custom of the place, as to the
manner, amount and season.

In any case the felling or cutting of trees shall be made in such manner as not to prejudice the preservation of the

land. In nurseries, the usufructuary may make the necessary thinnings in order that the remaining trees may properly

grow.

With the exception of the provisions of the preceding paragraphs, the usufructuary cannot cut down trees unless it be to
restore or improve some of the things in usufruct, and in such case shall first inform the owner of the necessity for the work.
(485) ARTICLE 578. The usufructuary of an action to recover real property or a real right, or any movable property, has the
right to bring the action and to oblige the owner thereof to give him the authority for this purpose and to furnish him
whatever proof he may have. If in consequence of the enforcement of the action he acquires the thing claimed, the usufruct
shall be limited to the fruits, the dominion remaining with the owner. (486)

Article 579. The usufructuary may make on the property held in usufruct such useful improvements or expenses for mere
pleasure as he may deem proper, provided he does not alter its form or substance; but he shall have no right to be
indemnified therefor. He may, however, remove such improvements, should it be possible to do so without damage to the
property. (487)

Article 580. The usufructuary may set off the improvements he may have made on the property against any damage to the
same. (488)
Article 581. The owner of property the usufruct of which is held by another, may alienate it, but he cannot alter its form or
substance, or do anything thereon which may be prejudicial to the usufructuary. (489)

Article 582. The usufructuary of a part of a thing held in common shall exercise all the rights pertaining to the owner
thereof with respect to the administration and the collection of fruits or interest. Should the co-ownership cease by reason
of the division of the thing held in common, the usufruct of the part allotted to the co-owner shall belong to the usufructuary.
(490)

CHAPTER 3
Obligations of the Usufructuary

Article 583. The usufructuary, before entering upon the enjoyment of the property, is obliged:

(1) To make, after notice to the owner or his legitimate representative, an inventory of all the property, which
shall contain an appraisal of the movables and a description of the condition of the immovables;

(2) To give security, binding himself to fulfill the obligations imposed upon him in accordance with this
Chapter. (491)

Article 584. The provisions of No. 2 of the preceding article shall not apply to the donor who has reserved the usufruct of
the property donated, or to the parents who are usufructuaries of their children's property, except when the parents
contract a second marriage. (492a)

Article 585. The usufructuary, whatever may be the title of the usufruct, may be excused from the obligation of making an
inventory or of giving security, when no one will be injured thereby. (493)

Article 586. Should the usufructuary fail to give security in the cases in which he is bound to give it, the owner may
demand that the immovables be placed under administration, that the movables be sold, that the public bonds, instruments
of credit payable to order or to bearer be converted into registered certificates or deposited in a bank or public institution,
and that the capital or sums in cash and the proceeds of the sale of the movable property be invested in safe securities.

The interest on the proceeds of the sale of the movables and that on public securities and bonds, and the proceeds of the
property placed under administration, shall belong to the usufructuary.

Furthermore, the owner may, if he so prefers, until the usufructuary gives security or is excused from so doing, retain in his
possession the property in usufruct as administrator, subject to the obligation to deliver to the usufructuary the net
proceeds thereof, after deducting the sums which may be agreed upon or judicially allowed him for such administration.
(494)

Article 587. If the usufructuary who has not given security claims, by virtue of a promise under oath, the delivery of the
furniture necessary for his use, and that he and his family be allowed to live in a house included in the usufruct, the
court may grant this petition, after due consideration of the facts of the case.

The same rule shall be observed with respect to implements, tools and other movable property necessary for an industry or
vocation in which he is engaged.

If the owner does not wish that certain articles be sold because of their artistic worth or because they have a sentimental
value, he may demand their delivery to him upon his giving security for the payment of the legal interest on their appraised
value. (495)
 Article 588. After the security has been given by the usufructuary, he shall have a right to all the proceeds and benefits
from the day on which, in accordance with the title constituting the usufruct, he should have commenced to receive them.
(496)

Article 589. The usufructuary shall take care of the things given in usufruct as a good father of a family. (497)

Article 590. A usufructuary who alienates or leases his right of usufruct shall answer for any damage which the things in
usufruct may suffer through the fault or negligence of the person who substitutes him. (498)

Article 591. If the usufruct be constituted on a flock or herd of livestock, the usufructuary shall be obliged to replace with
the young thereof the animals that die each year from natural causes, or are lost due to the rapacity of beasts of prey.

If the animals on which the usufruct is constituted should all perish, without the fault of the usufructuary, on account of
some contagious disease or any other uncommon event, the usufructuary shall fulfill his obligation by delivering to the
owner the remains which may have been saved from the misfortune.

Should the herd or flock perish in part, also by accident and without the fault of the usufructuary, the usufruct shall continue
on the part saved.

Should the usufruct be on sterile animals, it shall be considered, with respect to its effects, as though constituted on
fungible things. (499a)
Article 592. The usufructuary is obliged to make the ordinary repairs needed by the thing given in usufruct.

By ordinary repairs are understood such as are required by the wear and tear due to the natural use of the thing and are
indispensable for its preservation. Should the usufructuary fail to make them after demand by the owner, the latter may
make them at the expense of the usufructuary. (500)

Article 593. Extraordinary repairs shall be at the expense of the owner. The usufructuary is obliged to notify the owner
when the need for such repairs is urgent. (501)

Article 594. If the owner should make the extraordinary repairs, he shall have a right to demand of the usufructuary the
legal interest on the amount expended for the time that the usufruct lasts.

Should he not make them when they are indispensable for the preservation of the thing, the usufructuary may make them;
but he shall have a right to demand of the owner, at the termination of the usufruct, the increase in value which the
immovable may have acquired by reason of the repairs. (502a)

Article 595. The owner may construct any works and make any improvements of which the immovable in usufruct is
susceptible, or make new plantings thereon if it be rural, provided that such acts do not cause a diminution in the value of
the usufruct or prejudice the right of the usufructuary. (503)

Article 596. The payment of annual charges and taxes and of those considered as a lien on the fruits, shall be at the
expense of the usufructuary for all the time that the usufruct lasts. (504)

Article 597. The taxes which, during the usufruct, may be imposed directly on the capital, shall be at the expense of the
owner.

If the latter has paid them, the usufructuary shall pay him the proper interest on the sums which may have been paid in that
character; and, if the said sums have been advanced by the usufructuary, he shall recover the amount thereof at the
termination of the usufruct. (505)
 Article 598. If the usufruct be constituted on the whole of a patrimony, and if at the time of its constitution the owner has
debts, the provisions of articles 758 and 759 relating to donations shall be applied, both with respect to the maintenance of
the usufruct and to the obligation of the usufructuary to pay such debts.

The same rule shall be applied in case the owner is obliged, at the time the usufruct is constituted, to make periodical
payments, even if there should be no known capital. (506)

Article 599. The usufructuary may claim any matured credits which form a part of the usufruct if he has given or gives the
proper security. If he has been excused from giving security or has not been able to give it, or if that given is not sufficient,
he shall need the authorization of the owner, or of the court in default thereof, to collect such credits.

The usufructuary who has given security may use the capital he has collected in any manner he may deem proper. The
usufructuary who has not given security shall invest the said capital at interest upon agreement with the owner; in default of
such agreement, with judicial authorization; and, in every case, with security sufficient to preserve the integrity of the capital
in usufruct. (507)

Article 600. The usufructuary of a mortgaged immovable shall not be obliged to pay the debt for the security of which the
mortgage was constituted.
Should the immovable be attached or sold judicially for the payment of the debt, the owner shall be liable to the
usufructuary for whatever the latter may lose by reason thereof. (509)

Article 601. The usufructuary shall be obliged to notify the owner of any act of a third person, of which he may have
knowledge, that may be prejudicial to the rights of ownership, and he shall be liable should he not do so, for damages, as if
they had been caused through his own fault. (511)

Article 602. The expenses, costs and liabilities in suits brought with regard to the usufruct shall be borne by the
usufructuary. (512)

CHAPTER 4
Extinguishment of Usufruct

Article 603. Usufruct is extinguished:

(1) By the death of the usufructuary, unless a contrary intention clearly appears;

(2) By the expiration of the period for which it was constituted, or by the fulfillment of any resolutory condition
provided in the title creating the usufruct;

(3) By merger of the usufruct and ownership in the same person;

(4) By renunciation of the usufructuary;

(5) By the total loss of the thing in usufruct;

(6) By the termination of the right of the person constituting the usufruct;

(7) By prescription. (513a)

 Article 604. If the thing given in usufruct should be lost only in part, the right shall continue on the remaining part. (514)

Article 605. Usufruct cannot be constituted in favor of a town, corporation, or association for more than fifty years. If it has
been constituted, and before the expiration of such period the town is abandoned, or the corporation or association is
dissolved, the usufruct shall be extinguished by reason thereof. (515a)

Article 606. A usufruct granted for the time that may elapse before a third person attains a certain age, shall subsist for the
number of years specified, even if the third person should die before the period expires, unless such usufruct has been
expressly granted only in consideration of the existence of such person. (516)

Article 607. If the usufruct is constituted on immovable property of which a building forms part, and the latter should be
destroyed in any manner whatsoever, the usufructuary shall have a right to make use of the land and the materials.

The same rule shall be applied if the usufruct is constituted on a building only and the same should be destroyed. But in
such a case, if the owner should wish to construct another building, he shall have a right to occupy the land and to make
use of the materials, being obliged to pay to the usufructuary, during the continuance of the usufruct, the interest upon
the
sum equivalent to the value of the land and of the materials. (517)

Article 608. If the usufructuary shares with the owner the insurance of the tenement given in usufruct, the former shall, in
case of loss, continue in the enjoyment of the new building, should one be constructed, or shall receive the interest on the
insurance indemnity if the owner does not wish to rebuild.

Should the usufructuary have refused to contribute to the insurance, the owner insuring the tenement alone, the latter shall
receive the full amount of the insurance indemnity in case of loss, saving always the right granted to the usufructuary in the
preceding article. (518a)

Article 609. Should the thing in usufruct be expropriated for public use, the owner shall be obliged either to replace it with
another thing of the same value and of similar conditions, or to pay the usufructuary the legal interest on the amount of the
indemnity for the whole period of the usufruct. If the owner chooses the latter alternative, he shall give security for the
payment of the interest. (519)

Article 610. A usufruct is not extinguished by bad use of the thing in usufruct; but if the abuse should cause considerable
injury to the owner, the latter may demand that the thing be delivered to him, binding himself to pay annually to the
usufructuary the net proceeds of the same, after deducting the expenses and the compensation which may be allowed him
for its administration. (520)

Article 611. A usufruct constituted in favor of several persons living at the time of its constitution shall not be extinguished
until the death of the last survivor. (521)

Article 612. Upon the termination of the usufruct, the thing in usufruct shall be delivered to the owner, without prejudice to
the right of retention pertaining to the usufructuary or his heirs for taxes and extraordinary expenses which should be
reimbursed. After the delivery has been made, the security or mortgage shall be cancelled. (522a)

TITLE VII
EASEMENTS OF SERVITUDES
 CHAPTER 1
Easements in General

SECTION 1
Different Kinds of Easements

Article 613. An easement or servitude is an encumbrance imposed upon an immovable for the benefit of another
immovable belonging to a different owner.

The immovable in favor of which the easement is established is called the dominant estate; that which is subject thereto,
the servient estate. (530)

Article 614. Servitudes may also be established for the benefit of a community, or of one or more persons to whom the