CHAPTER 1. Effect and Application of Laws.

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.

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.

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.

CHAPTER 2. Human Relations.

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.

BOOK I. PERSONS.
TITLE I. CIVIL PERSONALITY.
CHAPTER 2. Natural Persons.
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.

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.

TITLE I. MARRIAGE.
Chapter 1. Requisites of Marriage.
Art. 4. The absence of any of the essential or formal requisites shall render the marriage void ab
initio, except as stated in Article 35 (2).
 A defect in any of the essential requisites shall not affect the validity of the marriage but
the party or parties responsible for the irregularity shall be civilly, criminally and administratively
liable.

Art. 35. The following marriages shall be void from the beginning: (2) Those solemnized
by any person not legally authorized to perform marriages unless such marriages were
contracted with either or both parties believing in good faith that the solemnizing officer had the
legal authority to do so;

Art. 7. Marriage may be solemnized by:

(1) Any incumbent member of the judiciary within the court's jurisdiction;
(2) Any priest, rabbi, imam, or minister of any church or religious sect duly authorized by his
church or religious sect and registered with the civil registrar general, acting within the limits of
the written authority granted by his church or religious sect and provided that at least one of the
contracting parties belongs to the solemnizing officer's church or religious sect;
(3) Any ship captain or airplane chief only in the case mentioned in Article 31;
(4) Any military commander of a unit to which a chaplain is assigned, in the absence of the
latter, during a military operation, likewise only in the cases mentioned in Article 32;
(5) Any consul-general, consul or vice-consul in the case provided in Article 10.

Art. 26. All marriages solemnized outside the Philippines, in accordance with the laws in force in
the country where they were solemnized, and valid there as such, shall also be valid in this
country, except those prohibited under Articles 35 (1), (4), (5) and (6), 36, 37 and 38.

Art. 35. The following marriages shall be void from the beginning:
(1) Those contracted by any party below eighteen years of age even with the consent of
parents or guardians;
(4) Those bigamous or polygamous marriages not failing under Article 41;
(5) Those contracted through mistake of one contracting party as to the identity of the
other; and
(6) Those subsequent marriages that are void under Article 53.
Art. 36. A marriage contracted by any party who, at the time of the celebration, was
psychologically incapacitated to comply with the essential marital obligations of marriage, shall
likewise be void even if such incapacity becomes manifest only after its solemnization.
Art. 37. Marriages between the following are incestuous and void from the beginning,
whether relationship between the parties be legitimate or illegitimate:
(1) Between ascendants and descendants of any degree; and
(2) Between brothers and sisters, whether of the full or half blood.
Art. 38. The following marriages shall be void from the beginning for reasons of public
Policy:
(1) Between collateral blood relatives whether legitimate or illegitimate, up to the fourth
civil degree;
(2) Between step-parents and step-children;
(3) Between parents-in-law and children-in-law;
 (4) Between the adopting parent and the adopted child;
(5) Between the surviving spouse of the adopting parent and the adopted child;
(6) Between the surviving spouse of the adopted child and the adopter;
(7) Between an adopted child and a legitimate child of the adopter;
(8) Between adopted children of the same adopter; and
(9) Between parties where one, with the intention to marry the other, killed that other
person's spouse, or his or her own spouse.

Chapter 3. Void and Voidable Marriages.

Art. 36. A marriage contracted by any party who, at the time of the celebration, was
psychologically incapacitated to comply with the essential marital obligations of marriage, shall
likewise be void even if such incapacity becomes manifest only after its solemnization.

Art. 45. 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
eighteen years of age or over but below twenty-one, and the marriage was solemnized
without the consent of the parents, guardian or person having substitute parental
authority over the party, in that order, unless after attaining the age of twenty-one, such
party freely cohabited with the other and both lived together as husband and wife;
(2) That either party was of unsound mind, unless such party after coming to reason,
freely cohabited with the other as husband and wife;
(3) 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
husband and wife;
(4) That the consent of either party was obtained by force, intimidation or undue
influence, unless the same having disappeared or ceased, such party thereafter freely
cohabited with the other as husband and wife;
(5) That either party was physically incapable of consummating the marriage with the
other, and such incapacity continues and appears to be incurable; or
(6) That either party was afflicted with a sexually-transmissible disease found to be
serious and appears to be incurable.

Art. 46. Any of the following circumstances shall constitute fraud referred to in Number 3 of the
preceding Article:
(1) Non-disclosure of a previous conviction by final judgment of the other party of a crime
involving moral turpitude;
(2) Concealment by the wife of the fact that at the time of the marriage, she was
pregnant by a man other than her husband;
(3) Concealment of sexually transmissible disease, regardless of its nature, existing at
the time of the marriage; or
(4) Concealment of drug addiction, habitual alcoholism or homosexuality or lesbianism
existing at the time of the marriage.
 No other misrepresentation or deceit as to character, health, rank, fortune or chastity
shall constitute such fraud as will give grounds for action for the annulment of marriage.

TITLE II. LEGAL SEPARATION.

Art. 55. A petition for legal separation may be filed on any of the following grounds:
(1) Repeated physical violence or grossly abusive conduct directed against the
petitioner, a common child, or a child of the petitioner;
(2) Physical violence or moral pressure to compel the petitioner to change religious or
political affiliation;
(3) Attempt of respondent to corrupt or induce the petitioner, a common child, or a child
of the petitioner, to engage in prostitution, or connivance in such corruption or
inducement;
(4) Final judgment sentencing the respondent to imprisonment of more than six years,
even if pardoned;
(5) Drug addiction or habitual alcoholism of the respondent;
(6) Lesbianism or homosexuality of the respondent;
(7) Contracting by the respondent of a subsequent bigamous marriage, whether in the
Philippines or abroad;
(8) Sexual infidelity or perversion;
(9) Attempt by the respondent against the life of the petitioner; or
(10) Abandonment of petitioner by respondent without justifiable cause for more than
one year.For purposes of this Article, the term "child" shall include a child by nature or by
adoption.

TITLE IV. PROPERTY RELATIONS BETWEEN HUSBAND AND WIFE.

Chapter 7. Property Regime of Unions Without Marriage.
Art. 148. In cases of cohabitation not falling under the preceding Article, only the properties
acquired by both of the parties through their actual joint contribution of money, property, or
industry shall be owned by them in common in proportion to their respective contributions.
In the absence of proof to the contrary, their contributions and corresponding shares are
presumed to be equal. The same rule and presumption shall apply to joint deposits of money
and evidences of credit.
If one of the parties is validly married to another, his or her share in the co-ownership
shall accrue to the absolute community or conjugal partnership existing in such valid marriage. If
the party who acted in bad faith is not validly married to another, his or her shall be forfeited in
the manner provided in the last paragraph of the preceding Article. The foregoing rules on
forfeiture shall likewise apply even if both parties are in both faith.

BOOK II. PROPERTY, OWNERSHIP, AND ITS MODIFICATIONS.

TITLE I. CLASSIFICATION OF PROPERTY.
PRELIMINARY PROVISIONS.
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.

TITLE II. OWNERSHIP.

CHAPTER 1. Ownership in General.
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.

CHAPTER 2. Right of Accession.

SECTION 2. Right of Accession with Respect to Immovable Property.
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.
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.

TITLE V. POSSESSION.
CHAPTER 3. Effects of Possession.
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.

TITLE VIII. NUISANCE.

Article 694. A nuisance is any act, omission, establishment, business, condition of property, or
anything else which:
(1) Injures or endangers the health or safety of others; or
(2) Annoys or offends the senses; or
(3) Shocks, defies or disregards decency or morality; or
(4) Obstructs or interferes with the free passage of any public highway or street, or any
body of water; or
(5) Hinders or impairs the use of property.Article 695. Nuisance is either public or pri

Article 695. Nuisance is either public or private. A public nuisance affects a community or
neighborhood or any considerable number of persons, although the extent of the annoyance,
danger or damage upon individuals may be unequal. A private nuisance is one that is not
included in the foregoing definition.

BOOK III. DIFFERENT MODES OF ACQUIRING OWNERSHIP.

TITLE IV. SUCCESSION.

SECTION 2. Institution of Heir.
Article 854. The preterition or omission of one, some, or all of the compulsory heirs in the direct
line, whether living at the time of the execution of the will or born after the death of the testator,
shall annul the institution of heir; but the devises and legacies shall be valid insofar as they are
not inofficious.
If the omitted compulsory heirs should die before the testator, the institution shall be
effectual, without prejudice to the right of representation.

SECTION 5. Legitime.
Article 887. The following are compulsory heirs:
(1) Legitimate children and descendants, with respect to their legitimate parents and
ascendants;
 (2) In default of the foregoing, legitimate parents and ascendants, with respect to their
legitimate children and descendants;
(3) The widow or widower;
(4) Acknowledged natural children, and natural children by legal fiction;
(5) Other illegitimate children referred to in article 287. Compulsory heirs mentioned in
Nos. 3, 4, and 5 are not excluded by those in Nos. 1 and 2; neither do they exclude one
another.

In all cases of illegitimate children, their filiation must be duly proved. The father
or mother of illegitimate children of the three classes mentioned, shall inherit from them
in the manner and to the extent established by this Code.

CHAPTER 3. Legal or Intestate Succession.

SUBSECTION 3. Illegitimate Children.
Article 992. An illegitimate child has no right to inherit ab intestato from the legitimate children
and relatives of his father or mother; nor shall such children or relatives inherit in the same
manner from the illegitimate child.

BOOK IV. Obligations and Contracts.

TITLE I. Obligations.
TITLE II. CONTRACTS.

TITLE IV. ESTOPPEL.

Article 1433. Estoppel may in pais or by deed.
In relation to Section 3, paragraph (a), Rule 131 of the Rules of Court:
(a) Whenever a party has,by his own declaration, act, or omission, intentionally and
deliberately led another to believe a particular thing true, and to act upon such belief, he
cannot, in any litigation arising out of such declaration, act, or omission, be permitted to
falsify it.

TITLE VI. SALES.

CHAPTER 4. Obligations of the Vendor.
SECTION 2. Delivery of the Thing Sold.
Article 1544. If the same thing should have been sold to different vendees, the ownership shall
be transferred to the person who may have first taken possession thereof in good faith, if it
should be movable property.
Should it be immovable property, the ownership shall belong to the person acquiring it
who in good faith first recorded it in the Registry of Property.
Should there be no inscription, the ownership shall pertain to the person who in good
faith was first in the possession; and, in the absence thereof, to the person who presents the
oldest title, provided there is good faith.

TITLE VIII. LEASE.

TITLE IX. PARTNERSHIP.
TITLE X. AGENCY.
TITLE XI. LOAN.
TITLE XVI. PLEDGE, MORTGAGE AND ANTICHRESIS.
CHAPTER 1. Provisions Common to Pledge and Mortgage.
Article 2085. The following requisites are essential to the contracts of pledge and mortgage:
(1) That they be constituted to secure the fulfillment of a principal obligation;
(2) That the pledgor or mortgagor be the absolute owner of the thing pledged or
mortgaged;
(3) That the persons constituting the pledge or mortgage have the free disposal of their
property, and in the absence thereof, that they be legally authorized for the purpose.
Third persons who are not parties to the principal obligation may secure the latter by
pledging or mortgaging their own property.

TITLE XVII. EXTRA-CONTRACTUAL OBLIGATIONS.

CHAPTER 2. Quasi-delicts.
Article 2180. The obligation imposed by article 2176 is demandable not only for one's own acts
or omissions, but also for those of persons for whom one is responsible.
The father and, in case of his death or incapacity, the mother, are responsible for the
damages caused by the minor children who live in their company.
Guardians are liable for damages caused by the minors or incapacitated persons who
are under their authority and live in their company.
The owners and managers of an establishment or enterprise are likewise responsible for
damages caused by their employees in the service of the branches in which the latter are
employed or on the occasion of their functions.
Employers shall be liable for the damages caused by their employees and household
helpers acting within the scope of their assigned tasks, even though the former are not engaged
in any business or industry.The State is responsible in like manner when it acts through a
special agent; but not when the damage has been caused by the official to whom the task done
properly pertains, in which case what is provided in article 2176 shall be applicable.
Lastly, teachers or heads of establishments of arts and trades shall be liable for
damages caused by their pupils and students or apprentices, so long as they remain in their
custody.
The responsibility treated of in this article shall cease when the persons herein
mentioned prove that they observed all the diligence of a good father of a family to prevent
damage.

TITLE XVIII. DAMAGES.

CHAPTER 3. Other Kinds of Damages.
SECTION 1. Moral Damages.
Article 2219. Moral damages may be recovered in the following and analogous cases:
(1) A criminal offense resulting in physical injuries;(2) Quasi-delicts causing physical
injuries;
(3) Seduction, abduction, rape, or other lascivious acts;
(4) Adultery or concubinage;
(5) Illegal or arbitrary detention or arrest;
(6) Illegal search;
(7) Libel, slander or any other form of defamation;
(8) Malicious prosecution;
(9) Acts mentioned in article 309;
(10) Acts and actions referred to in articles 21, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 32, 34, and 35. The
parents of the female seduced, abducted, raped, or abused, referred to in No. 3 of this
article, may also recover moral damages. The spouse, descendants, ascendants, and
brothers and sisters may bring the action mentioned in No. 9 of this article, in the order
named.