INTRODUCTION TO LAW
(5) PHYSICAL LAW
LAW
 any rule of action or any system uniformity
SOURCES OF LAW
(1) CONSTITUTION
 written instrument by which the fundamental powers of
the government are established, limited, and defined, and
by which these powers are distributed among the general
departments for their safe and useful exercise for the
benefit of the people
(2) LEGISLATIVE ENACTMENTS
 declaration of legal rules by a competent authority
 General Law (ex. Civil Code)
 Special Law (ex. Train Law)
 General vs Special = Special Law prevails
(3) ADMINISTRATIVE / EXECUTIVE ORDERS,
REGULATIONS , AND RULINGS
 issued by administrative officials under legislative
authority
 intended to clarify or explain the law and carry into
effect its general provisions
 valid only when they are NOT contrary to laws and
constitution
(4) JUDICIAL DECISIONS / JURISPRUDENCE
 decisions of the courts (Supreme Court) applying or
interpreting the laws or the Constitution form part of the
legal system of the Philippines
 Doctrine of Precedent / State Decisis
 decisions of a superior court on a point of law
are binding on all subordinate courts
(5) CUSSTOM / PRACTICES
 consists of those habits and practices which through long
and uninterrupted usage have become acknowledged and
approved by society as binding rules of conduct
KINDS OF LAW
A.Law (Strict legal sense) which is promulgated and enforced by
the state
(1) STATE LAW / PHYSICAL LAW
 law that is promulgated and enforced by the State
 does not concern itself with violations of the other
laws rules of action unless they also constitute
violations of its commands
B.Law (Non-legal sense) which is NOT promulgated and
enforced by the state
(2) DIVINE LAW
 law of religion and faith which concerns itself with the
concept of sin (as contrasted with crime) and salvation
 rewards and punishments in the present life or in the
life to come
(3) NATURAL LAW
 divine inspiration in man of the sense of justice,
fairness, and righteousness, not by divine revelation or
formal promulgation, but by internal dictates of reason
alone
 basic understanding of RIGHT and WRONG based on
an understanding of the fundamental standard of
criterion of good and evil
 reasonable basis of state law
(4) MORAL LAW
 totality of the norms of good and right conduct
growing out of the collective sense of right and wrong
of every community
OBLIGATIONS (Articles 1156 – 1304, Civil Code)
RFBT SUMMARY by EMGL
 influences or shapes the state law
 laws of physical science
 law only by analogy
 uniformities of actions & order of sequence which are
the physical phenomena that we sense and feel
CONCEPTS OF STATE LAW
(1) General Law
 all laws taken together
 the mass of obligatory rules established for the
purpose of governing the relations of persons in
society
(2) Specific Law
 rule of conduct, just, obligatory, promulgated by
legitimate authority, and of common observance and
benefit
CHARACTERISTICS OF LAW
1) Rule of Conduct
2) Obligatory
3) Promulgated by legitimate authority
4) Common Observance and Benefit
CLASSIFICATIONS OF LAW
A.As to Purpose
(1) Substantive Law
 portion of the body of law creating, defining, and
regulating rights and duties which may be either public
or private in character
 ex. obligations and contracts
(2) Adjective Law (Remedial / Procedural Law)
 portion of the body of law prescribing the manner or
procedure by which rights may be enforced or their
violations redressed
 governed by the Rules of Court promulgated by the
Supreme Court and by special laws
B.As to its Subject Matter
(1) Public Law
 body of legal rules which regulates the rights and duties
arising from the relationship of the state of the people
 ex. criminal law
(2) Private Law
 body of rules which regulates the relations of
individuals with one another for purely private ends
 ex. civil law, commercial or mercantile law, civil
procedure
SOME PRINCIPLES AND CONCEPTS OF LAW
1) No judge or court shall decline to render judgment by reason of
the silence, obscurity or insufficiency of the laws (Article 9,
Civil Code)
2) In case of doubt in the interpretation or application of laws, it is
presumed that the lawmaking body intended right and justice to
prevail (Article 10, Civil Code)
3) Law is not an end in itself, it may be viewed as a means of social
control – the control of social behavior that affects others
4) Ignorance of law excuses no one from compliance therewith
(Article 3, Civil Code); Everyone, therefore, is conclusively
presumed to know the law
5) No retroactive effect
6) Human relations, everyone must act with justice, give everyone
his due, observe honesty and good faith
Page | 1
Article 1156. An obligation is a juridical necessity to give, to do or
not to do.
OBLIGATION
 Latin word “obligatio” which means tying or binding
 tie or bond recognized by law by virtue of which one is bound in
favor of another to render something
 duty under the law of the debtor or obligor (duty of giving,
doing, or not doing) when it speaks of obligation as a juridical
necessity
JURIDICAL NECESSITY
 in case of noncompliance, the courts of justice may be called
upon by the aggrieved party to enforce its fulfillment or, in
default thereof, the economic value it represents
REQUISITES OF OBLIGATION
1) Active Subject (CREDITOR / OBLIGEE)
 right to demand performance of the obligation
 he who has a right
2) Passive Subject (DEBTOR / OBLIGOR)
 obliged to perform the obligation
 he who has a duty
3) Prestation (OBJECT)
 subject matter of the obligation
 may consist of giving, doing, or not doing something
 conduct required to be observed by the debtor
 without the prestation, there is nothing to perform
4) Juridical / Legal Tie (EFFICIENT CAUSE / VINCULUM)
 binds or connects the parties to the obligation
 may be any of the five sources of obligation
CIVIL OBLIGATION
 based on positive / state law, hence, it is enforceable
NATURAL OBLIGATION
 based on natural law, hence, it is not enforceable by court action
money or property of another against the fundamental
principles of justice, equity and good conscience
 Kinds of Quasi - Contracts
(a) NEGOTIORUM GESTIO
 voluntary management of the property or affairs
of another without the knowledge or consent of
the latter (Article 2144)
 creates the obligation to reimburse the gestor for
necessary and useful expenses (Article 2150)
(b) SOLUTION INDEBITI
 payment by mistake of an obligation which was
not due when paid
 juridical relation which is created when
something is received when there is no right to
demand it and it was unduly delivered through
mistake (Article 2154)
 creates the obligation to return the payment
(4) DELICTS / ACTS / OMISSIONS PUNISHABLE BY LAW
 civil liability for damages arising from crimes or felonies or
delicts (Article 1157)
 Scope of Civil Liability
(a) Restitution
(b) Reparation for the damage caused
(c) Indemnification for consequential damages (Art. 104,
Revised Penal Code)
(5) QUASI – DELICTS / TORT / CULPA ACQUILIANA
 acts or omissions that cause damage to another, there being
fault or negligence but without any pre-existing contractual
relation between the parties (Article 2176)
 Requisites of Quasi-Delicts
(a) Damages to the complainant
(b) negligence, by act or omission of the defendant or by
some person for whose act the defendant must
respond, was guilty
(c) connection of cause and effect between such
negligence and damages
(d) No pre-existing contractual relation between parties

SOURCE OF OBLIGATION DELICTS QUASI – DELICTS

(1) LAW  criminal or malicious intent negligence only
 imposed by law itself or criminal negligence the purpose it
 a rule of conduct, just and obligatory, laid down by  the purpose is punishment indemnification of the
legitimate authority for common observance and benefit  affects the public interest offended party
 not presumed  Criminal and Civil Liability affects the private interest
 only those EXPRESSLY DETERMINED in the Civil Code  Criminal Liability cannot be can be compromised as any
or in special laws are DEMANDABLE, and shall not be compromised or settled by other Civil Liability
regulated by the precepts of the law which establishes it the parties themselves the fault or negligence of the
(2) CONTRACTS  the guilt of the accused must defendant need only be
 meeting of minds between two persons whereby one binds be proved beyond reasonable proved by preponderance
himself, with respect to the other, to give something or to doubt
render some service (Article 1305)
 arise from the stipulation of the parties NATURE AND EFFECT OF OBLIGATIONS
 obligations arising from contracts have the force of law
between the contracting parties and should be complied Article 1163. Every person obliged to give something is also obliged
with in good faith (Article 1159) to take care of it with the proper diligence of a good father of a
 Compliance in Good Faith – compliance or performance family, unless the law or the stipulation of the parties requires another
in accordance with the stipulations or terms of the contract standard or care
or agreement
(3) QUASI – CONTRACTS DETERMINATE / SPECIFIC THING
 certain lawful, voluntary and unilateral acts giving rise to a  particularly designated or physically segregated from all others
juridical relation to the end that no one shall be unjustly of the same class (ex. the watch I am wearing)
enriched at the expense of another (Article 2142)  identified by its individuality
 there is no consent but the same is supplied by fiction of  debtor cannot substitute it with another although the latter is of
law the same kind and quality without the consent of the creditor
 Unjust Enrichment – when a person unjustly retains a
benefit to the loss of another, or when a person retains
Page | 2
RFBT SUMMARY by EMGL
INDETERMINATE / GENERIC THING
 refers only to a class or genus to which it pertains and cannot be
pointed out with particularly (ex. a horse, a car)
 identified only by its specie
 debtor can give anything of the same class as long as it is of the
same kind
OBLIGATIONS OF ONE OBLIGED TO GIVE A
DETERMINATE THING
(1) Take good care of the thing with the DILIGENCE OF A
GOOD FATHER OF A FAMILY (ordinary care that an
average person exercises in taking care of his property) unless the
law or agreement of the parties requires another standard of care\
(2) To deliver the thing
 placing the thing in the possession or control of the creditor
either actually or constructively
(3) To deliver the fruits of the thing
 KINDS OF FRUITS
(a) Natural Fruits – spontaneous products of the soil and
the young and other products of animals
(b) Industrial Fruits – produced by land of any kind
through cultivation or labor (ex. rice, corn, crops)
(c) Civil Fruits – result of a juridical relation (ex. rent)
 when creditor has a right to the fruits if a determinate thing
 from the time the obligation to deliver it arises
 he shall acquire NO REAL RIGHT over it until the
thing has been delivered to him
 when obligation to deliver the thing arises
(a) Pure Obligation – arises from PERFECTION
(b) Suspensive Period / Suspensive Condition – arises
upon the arrival of the term or upon the fulfillment of
the condition
 RIGHTS OF THE CREDITOR
(a) Personal Right
 jus in personam / jus ad rem
 right or power of a person (creditor) to demand
from another (debtor), as a definite passive
subject, the fulfillment of the latter’s obligation to
give, to do, or not to do
 right that may be enforced by one person on
another
(b) Real Right
 jus in re
 right or power over a specific thing, such as
possession or ownership, which is a right
enforceable against the whole world
 right acquired by the creditor over the thing and
its fruits when they have been delivered to him
(4) To deliver its accessions and accessories even if they have not
been mentioned
(a) ACCESSIONS
 everything that is produced by a thing or is
incorporated or attached thereto, either naturally or
artificially
(b) ACCESSORIES
 joined to or included with the principal thing for the
latter’s better use, perfection or enjoyment
REMEDIES OF THE CREDITOR
1) Debtor fails to perform his obligation to deliver a determinate
thing
(a) to compel the debtor to make the delivery
(b) to demand damages from the debtor
2) Debtor fails to perform his obligation to deliver a generic thing
RFBT SUMMARY by EMGL
(a) to ask that the obligation to be complied with at the
expense of the debtor
(b) to demand damages from the debtor
3) Debtor fails to perform his obligation in obligations to do
(a) fails to perform or performs it but contravenes the tenor
thereof
 creditor may have the obligation executed at the
expense of the debtor
 may also demand damages from the debtor
(b) performs the obligation but does it poorly
 creditor may have the same be undone at debtor’s
expense
 may also demand damages from the debtor
4) Debtor does what has been forbidden him
(a) creditor may demand that what has been done be undone
(b) may also demand damages from the debtor
DAMAGES
 harm done and the sum of money that may be recovered in
reparation for the harm done
 KINDS OF DAMAGES
(a) Actual or Compensatory Damages – pecuniary loss that
may be recovered; includes the value of the loss suffered
and profits not realized
(b) Moral Damages – physical suffering, mental anguish,
fright, serious anxiety, besmirched reputation, wounded
feelings, moral shock, social humiliation, and similar injury
(c) Nominal Damages – damages to vindicate a right
(d) Temperate or Moderate Damages – more than nominal
but less than compensatory damages, but may be recovered
if the court finds that some pecuniary loss has been suffered
but its amount cannot, from the nature of the case, be
proved with certainty
(e) Liquidated Damages – agreed upon by the parties to a
contract, to be paid in case of breach
(f) Exemplary or Corrective Damages – imposed by way of
example or correction for public good, in addition to the
moral, temperate, liquidated or compensatory damages
 PROOF OF PECUNIARY LOSS
(a) Actual Damages – proof is REQUIRED unless provided
by law or stipulation
(b) Other Damages – proof is NOT REQUIRED in order that
damages may be adjudicated
INJURY
 wrongful, unlawful or tortuous act which causes loss or harm to
another
 legal wrong to be redressed
GROUNDS FOR LIABILITY TO PAY DAMAGES
(1) FRAUD (DOLO)
 deliberate or intentional evasion by the debtor of the normal
compliance of his obligation
 fraud committed by the debtor at the time of the performance
of his obligation
 Fraud in obtaining consent
(a) DOLO CAUSANTE (Casual Fraud) – fraud without
which consent would not have been given; renders the
contract VOIDABLE
(b) DOLO INCIDENTE (Incidental Fraud) – fraud
without which consent would have still be given but
the person giving it would have agreed on different
terms; contract is VALID but the party employing it
shall be liable for damages
 Fraud in the performance of the obligation
Page | 3
  deliberate act of evading fulfillment of an obligation in
a normal manner
 presupposes an existing obligation; hence, fraud has
NO EFFECT on the validity of the contract since it
was employed after perfection; shall be liable for
damages
 According to time of Commission
(a) FUTURE FRAUD
 a waiver of an action for the fraud cannot be made
 if there is agreement for its waiver, the same is
VOID
 debtor will still be liable for damages if he commits
fraud in the performance of his obligation despite
any waiver made by his creditor
(b) PAST FRAUD
 waiver of an action for past fraud may be made,
since the commission of fraud can no longer be
encouraged
(2) NEGLIGENCE (Culpa)
 omission of that diligence which is required by the nature of
the obligation and corresponds with the circumstances of the
person, of the time, and of the place
 failure to observe, for the protection of the interest of another
person, that degree of care, precaution and vigilance which
the circumstances justly demand, whereby such other person
suffers injury
 omission to do something which a reasonable man, guided
by those considerations which ordinarily regulate the
conduct of human affairs, would do, or the doing of
something which a prudent and reasonable man, would not
do
 Test of Negligence – whether the defendant in doing the
alleged negligent act used that reasonable care and caution
which an ordinary person would have used in the same
situation
 Diligence of a good father of a family
 Kinds of Negligence
(a) CULPA CONTRACTUAL (Contractual Negligence)
 negligence in the performance of a contract
 MASTER-SERVANT RULE APPLIES –
negligence of the servant is the negligence of the
master
(b) CULPA AQUILIANA (Civil Negligence / Tort /
Quasi-Delict / Culpa Extra-contractual)
 acts or omissions that cause damage to another,
there being no contractual relation between the
parties
 MASTER-SERVANT RULE DOES NOT APPLY
(c) CULPA CRIMINAL (Criminal Negligence)
 negligence that results in the commission of a
crime
 defense of a good father of a family is NOT proper
because the employee’s guilt is automatically the
employer’s civil guilt if the former is insolvent
(3) DELAY (Mora / Default)
 non-fulfillment of an obligation with respect to time
 Kinds of Delay
(a) MORA SOLVENDI – delay on the part of the debtor
 Ex re – delay in real obligations (to give)
 Ex persona – delay in personal obligations (to do)
(b) MORA ACCIPIENDI – delay on the part of the
creditor; creditor refuses to accept the thing due without
justifiable reason
RFBT SUMMARY by EMGL
(c) COMPENSATIO MORAE – delay in reciprocal
obligations; both parties are in default; as if there is no
delay
 General Rule: debtor incurs in delay from the time the
creditor DEMANDS fulfillment of the obligation (judicially
or extra-judicially) but the debtor fails to comply with such
demand; NO DEMAND, NO DELAY
 Requisites of Delay
(a) obligation be DEMANDABLE and already liquidated
(b) debtor does not perform the obligation
(c) creditor DEMANDS the performance either judicially or
extra-judicially
(d) debtor fails to comply with such demand
 EXCEPTIONS, delay will exist even without demand
(a) when the LAW so provides
(b) obligation EXPRESSLY so declares
(c) TIME is of the essence of the contract
(d) DEMAND would be useless
(e) RECIPROCAL OBLIGATIONS, obligations arise out of
the same cause and must be fulfilled at the same time,
from the moment one of parties fulfills his obligation,
delay by the other begins notwithstanding the absence of
demand
 Effects of Delay
(a) DEBTOR
 shall be liable for the payment of damages
 DELIVERY OF DETERMINATE THING – shall be
responsible for any fortuitous event until he has
effected the delivery
(b) CREDITOR
 shall bear the risk of loss and shoulder the expenses
for the preservation of the thing
 debtor may resort to the consignation of the thing due
(4) FORTUITOUS EVENT (Contravention of the tenor of the
obligation)
 events that could not be foreseen, or which, though foreseen,
are inevitable
 impossible to foresee or avoid
 Elements
(a) cause must be independent of the debtor’s will
(b) there must be impossibility of foreseeing the event or of
avoiding it even if it can be foreseen
(c) occurrence of the event must be of such character as to
render it impossible for the debtor to perform his
obligation in a normal manner
 Liability for Fortuitous Events
 GENERAL RULE: No person shall be liable for
fortuitous events, his obligations will be extinguished
 EXCEPTIONS:
(a) When the LAW EXPRESSLY PROVIDES for
liability even in case of fortuitous events
(b) parties have DECLARED LIABILITY even in
case of fortuitous event
(c) nature of the obligation requires the
ASSUMPTION OF RISK
 Burden of providing loss due to Fortuitous event rest on
him who invokes it; to exempt from liability it is necessary
that he must have committed no negligence or misconduct
that may have occasioned the loss
Presumption on receipt of principal or of later installment
(Disputable presumptions and evidence may be introduced to the
contrary by the creditor)
Page | 4
 (1) Receipt of the principal without reservation as to interest, shall
give rise to the presumption that the INTEREST HAS BEEN
PAID (c)
(2) Receipt of a later installment without reservation as to prior
installments, shall give rise to the presumption that such PRIOR
INSTALLMENTS HAVE BEEN PAID
Remedies of Creditor to enforce payment of his claims against
debtor
(1) Pursue the property in the possession of the debtor, except those
exempt by law
 usually by attachment where the creditor files a court action
to exact fulfillment with a prayer that the court set aside a
property belonging to the debtor, in case the debtor does
not pay, the property will be ordered sold and the proceeds
thereof applied to the payment of the obligation
(2) Exercise all the rights and bring all the actions of the debtor
except those personal to him (ACCION SUBROGATORIA)
(3) Impugn the acts which the debtor may have done to defraud his (d)
creditors (ACCION PAULIANA)
 creditor must have taken successively the foregoing
measures before he can bring this action
 last resort
(e)
TRANSMISSIBILITY OF RIGHTS
 General Rule: All rights acquired in virtue of an obligation are
transmissible. Thus, a creditor may assign his credit to a third
person or such right is transmitted to the heirs upon his death
 Exceptions: (f)
(a) the LAW PROHIBITS the transmission of the right
(b) the parties agreed against transmission (g)
(c) the right is by NATURE not transmissible
DIFFERENT KIND OF OBLIGATIONS
(1) PURE OBLIGATION
 one without a term or condition and is demandable at once (h)
 ex. I promise to give you P500. This is immediately
demandable since there is no term that must expire or a
condition that must happen for the obligation to be
demandable
(2) CONDITIONAL OBLIGATION
 one whose demandability or extinguishment depends upon the
happening of a condition
 CONDITION
 an uncertain event which wields an influence on a legal
relationship
 Classification (i)
(a) SUSPENSIVE
 condition the happening of which will give rise to
the obligation
 Condition Antecedent / Condition Precedent
 demandability of the obligation is suspended until
the happening of the condition
 its birth takes pace or its effectivity commences
only if and when the event that constitutes the
condition happens or is fulfilled
 ex. I will give you my car if you pass the CPA
Examination
(b) RESOLUTORY (j)
 condition the happening of which extinguishes the
obligation
 Condition Subsequent
 obligation is demandable at once but it shall be (k)
extinguished upon the happening of the condition
RFBT SUMMARY by EMGL
 ex. I will let you use my car until you pass the
CPA Examination.
POTESTATIVE
 condition that depends upon the will of one of the
contracting parties
1) DEBTOR
 Suspensive – obligation is VOID; even if
the condition is fulfilled, the
OBLIGATION IS NOT
DEMANDABLE; (ex. D is to give C
P500 if D goes to Baguio)
 Resolutory – obligation is VALID; (ex. D
is to allow the use off his car by C until D
returns from Baguio)
2) CREDITOR
 OBLIGATION IS VALID whether the
condition is suspensive or resolutory
 ex. D is to give C P500 if C goes to
Baguio
CASUAL
 condition that depends upon chance or upon the
will of a third person
 ex. D is to give P500 if D wins first prize in the
lotto on the bet he placed this morning
MIXED
 condition that depends partly upon the will of one
of the parties and partly upon chance or upon the
will of a third person
 ex. D is to give C P500 if C will marry X
POSSIBLE
 capable of fulfillment in its nature and by law
IMPOSSIBLE
 not capable of fulfillment in its nature (ex. if you
can swim across the Pacific Ocean) or due to
operation of law (ex. if you kill X)
 obligation and the condition are VOID
POSITIVE
 some event happen at a determinate time
 obligation is extinguished as soon as the time
expires or it has become indubitable that the event
will not take place
 ex. D is to give C P500 if C will marry X on or
before June 30, 200x. Obligation will extinguished
on July 01, 200x if C has not yet married X. If X
dies on June 01, 200x before C has married her,
then the obligation is extinguished on such date
because there is no more doubt that the marriage
will not take place
NEGATIVE
 some event will not happen at a determinate time
 obligation becomes effective as soon as the time
indicated has elapsed or it has become evident that
the event will not occur
 ex. D is to give C P500 if C will NOT marry X on
or before June 30, 200x. Obligation becomes
effective on July 01, 200x if C has not yet married
X. If X dies on June 01, 200x before C has married
her, then the obligation becomes effective on such
date because there is no more doubt that the
marriage will not take place
DIVISIBLE
 capable of partial performance
 ex. D is to give C a car if C finishes his law course,
and P500 if C tops the bar.
INDIVISIBLE
Page | 5
  not capable of partial performance by its nature or
by law or agreement of the parties
 ex. D is to give C a car if C finishes his law course
AND tops the bar.
 Effect of Fulfillment of Suspensive Condition
RETROACTS to the day of the constitution of the
obligation
 EXCEPTIONS:
(a) In RECIPROCAL OBLIGATIONS, the fruits shall
be deemed to have been mutually compensated,
each party shall keep the fruits and interest
received by him prior to the fulfillment of the
condition
(b) In UNILATERAL OBLIGATIONS, the debtor
keeps the fruits and interests received before the
fulfillment of the condition
(3) OBLIGATION WITH A PERIOD
(4) ALTERNATIVE OBLIGATION
(5) FACULTATIVE OBLIGATION
(6) JOINT OBLIGATION
(7) SOLIDARY OBLIGATION
(8) DIVISIBLE OBIGATION
(9) INDIVISIBLE OBLIGATION
(10) OBLIGATION WITH A PENAL CLAUSE

CAUSES OF EXTINGUISHMENT OF OBLIGATIONS

(1) PAYMENT OR PERFORMANCE
(2) LOSS OF THE THING DUE
(3) CONDONATION OR REMISSION OF THE DEBT
(4) CONFUSION OR MERGER OF RIGHTS OF CREDITOR
AND DEBTOR
(5) COMPENSARION
(6) NOVATION
(7) ANNULMENT
(8) RESCISSION
(9) FULFILLMENT OF RESOLUTORY CONDITION
(10) PRESCRIPTION
(11) OTHER CAUSES

CONTRACTS

Page | 6
RFBT SUMMARY by EMGL