BY: ATTY.

HELEN JOY GRIJALDO-JUELE

• 1. Constitution- the fundamental and supreme law of the land.
• 2. Statutes- include Acts of Congress, municipal charters, municipal legislations,
court rules, administrative rules and orders, legislative rules, and presidential
issuances.

• 3. Treaties- a formally concluded and ratified agreement between countries.

• 4. Conventions- an agreement between countries covering matters,
especially one less formal that a treaty.

• 5. Judicial Decisions- decisions by the Supreme Court that interpret the laws, or
the Constitution shall form part of the legal system of the Philippines
• 1. SUPREME COURT
• 2. LOWER COURTS
• Court of Appeals(CA)- is the second highest tribunal in the country
• Court of Tax Appeals (CTA)- exercise jurisdiction on civil and criminal tax cases,
as well as local tax cases, property tax and final collection of taxes
• Regional Trial Courts
• Municipal Trial Courts
• Shari’ah Courts

• 3. SANDIGANBAYAN- tries and decides criminal and civil cases against government
officials and employees accused of graft and corruption and other offenses.
 WHAT IS AN OBLIGATION?

• Found in the Civil Code of the Philippines- Republic Act No.

386. Took effect in 1950

• ARTICLE 1156. An obligation is a JURIDICAL NECESSITY to

GIVE, to DO or NOT to DO.
 WHAT IS AN OBLIGATION?
• Juridical Necessity- In case of non-compliance, courts of
justice may be called upon for its fulfillment.
• Civil Obligations- gives the creditor or oblige the right to
enforce performance.

• Natural Obligations- Based on equity and natural law.

• -No right of action.
• ART. 1156. AN OBLIGATION IS A JURIDICAL NECESSITY TO GIVE, TO
DO OR NOT TO DO.
• An obligation is a juridical relation whereby a person (creditor/obligee) may demand
from another (debtor/obligor) the observance of a determinate conduct, and, in case
of breach, may obtain satisfaction from the assets of the latter. (J.B.L. Reyes)

• The concept of obligation is correlative to the concept of right. Where there is a

right to demand, there is a correlative obligation or an imposition upon a person of a
definite conduct. The right to demand the object of the obligation is a credit, and the
duty to give, to do or not to do, it is a debt. (Tolentino)

• Rights may be waived while obligations may not be waived. (Uribe)

• ART. 1156. AN OBLIGATION IS A JURIDICAL NECESSITY TO GIVE, TO
DO OR NOT TO DO.

• The criticism that an obligation has two sides has no basis in Philippine law because,
construing how the word is used in other provisions of the Civil Code, obligation
really means debt, duty, responsibility or tungkulin.

• If there is a liability, then there is always an obligation; but when there is an

obligation, it does not necessarily mean there is a liability.
Kinds of Obligations as to Basis & Enforceability
Civil Obligations
Civil obligations give a right of action
to compel their performance.
Civil obligations derive their binding
force from positive law.
Civil obligations can be enforced by
court action or the coercive power of
public authority.
Natural Obligations
Unless there is voluntary fulfillment,
natural obligations cannot be
enforced by court action but which
are binding on the party who makes
them, in conscience and according to
equity and natural justice.
Natural obligations derive their
binding force from equity and natural
justice.
The fulfillment of natural obligations
cannot be compelled by court action
but depends exclusively upon the
good conscience of the debtor.
• Essential requisites of an obligation.
• An obligation as defined in Article 1156 is constituted upon the concurrence of the
four (4) essential elements thereof, namely:

(1) A passive subject (called debtor or obligor) or the person who is bound to the fulfillment of the
obligation; he who has a duty to give, to do, or not to do;
(2) An active subject (called creditor or obligee) or the person who is entitled to demand the fulfillment of
the obligation; he who has a right to demand;
(3) Object or prestation (subject matter of the obligation) or the conduct required to be observed by the
debtor. It may consist in giving, doing, or not doing. (see Art. 1232.) Without the prestation, there is nothing
to perform. In bilateral obligations (see Art. 1191.), the parties are reciprocally debtors and creditors; and

(4) A juridical or legal tie (also called efficient cause) or that which binds or connects the parties to the
obligation. The tie in an obligation can easily be determined by knowing the source of the obligation. (Art.
1157.)
 Forms of Obligations
• Manner in which obligation is manifested
• May be ORAL or in WRITING.
 KINDS OF OBLIGATIONS

• 1. Real Obligation- obligation to GIVE.

• 2. Personal Obligation- obligation to do or not to do.

• A)POSITIVE Personal Obligation- obligation to do or render service.

• B) NEGATIVE Personal Obligation- obligation not to do
 SOURCES OF OBLIGATIONS(Art. 1157)
[LCQAQ]
• LAW
• CONTRACTS
• QUASI-CONTRACT
• DELICTS (Acts or omissions punishable by law (crimes)
• QUASI-DELICTS
 LAW
• Where the obligation is imposed by law itself.
• Examples- obligation to pay taxes; obligation to support one’s
family.
 CONTRACTS
• From agreement and stipulation of the parties
• Examples- obligation to repay a loan; obligation to deliver a
purchased item
 QUASI-CONTRACTS
• Similar to a contract, but agreement between parties is not present
• Resulting from unilateral acts which are lawful and voluntary
• To prevent unjust enrichment
Example- Obligation to reimburse neighbor who put out fire in your
house while you are away, obligation to return money paid by mistake.
 DELICTS OR CRIMES- Acts or
omissions punished by law
• Those arising from civil liabilities which are consequences of
criminal offenses

Example- Obligation of the thief to return object stolen by him;

obligation of accused to indemnify victim in physical injuries.
 QUASI-DELICTS or Torts
• Those arising from damages caused to another, there being fault
or negligence
• No contractual relation between the parties

Example- Obligation of building owner to pay damages suffered by

pedestrian from falling pots or things placed on window ledges.
 QUASI-contractual obligations
• Juridical relation resulting from lawful, voluntary and unilateral acts by
virtue of which the parties become bound to each other to the end
that no one will be unjustly enriched or benefited at the expense of
another. (Art. 2142)
• Not a contract, but the law deems it one in order to prevent unjust
enrichment
• No consent at all, but the law considers the parties to have entered into
a contract
KINDS OF QUASI-CONTRACTS
• NEGOTIORUM GESTIO- Voluntary management of the property or affairs of another
without knowledge or consent of the latter.

• SOLUTIO INDEBITI- Payment by mistake, No right to receive the thing delivered, Thing
was delivered through mistake.
 QUASI-DELICTS or TORTS

• Act or omission by a person which causes damage to another

• There being fault or negligence
• No pre-existing contractual relation between the parties
REQUISITES QUASI-DELICTS or
TORTS
• There must be act or omission
• There must be fault or negligence
• There must be damage caused
• There must be a direct relation or connection of cause and effect
between the act or omission and the damage; and
• There is no pre existing contractual relation between the parties
CHAPTER 2: Nature and Effect
of Obligations

• ATTY. HELEN JOY GRIJALDO JUELE

 Article 1163:

Every person obliged to give something is also

obliged to take care of it with the proper diligence of
a good father of a family, unless the law or the
stipulation of the parties required another standard
of care.
 Meaning of SPECIFIC/DETERMINE
THINGS & GENERIC/
INDETERMIBNATE THINGS
Important to know because:

• You know what happens to the obligation in case

of loss of the thing
• You know what happens to the obligation in case
of fortuitous events
 1. SPECIFIC or determinate thing

• Particularly designated or physically segregated

among others of the same class

• Examples: The watch I am wearing, the car I

am pointing to right now
 2. GENERIC or Indeterminate thing

• Refers only to a class or genus

• Cannot be pointed out with particularity
• Examples: a 2020 Toyota Wigo, Php 500.00,
Iphonepromax, a golden retriever dog
• Genus never perishes!
 Duties of debtor in obligation to give a
specific/determinate thing
1. Preserve the thing; (Diligence of a good father of
a family)
2. Deliver the fruits of the thing;
3. Deliver the accessions and accessories;
4. Deliver the thing itself; and
5. Answer for damages in case of non-fulfillment or
breach
 Duties of debtor in obligation to give a
generic/indeterminate thing
1. To deliver a thing which must be neither superior
nor inferior quality; and

2. To be liable in case of fraud, negligence, or delay,

in the performance of his obligation, or
contravention of the tenor thereof.
 Different Kinds of Fruits
1. Natural Fruits- without intervention of human
labor(young of animals)
2. Industrial Fruits-produced by cultivation or
labor(rice)
3. Civil Fruits- those derived by virtue of a juridical
relation (rents of office space/building)
 Right of creditor to the fruits
1. Creditor is entitled to the fruits of the thing to be
delivered from the time the obligation to make delivery
arises ( to protect the creditor and to prevent
intentional delay by debtor)
2. As a general rule, obligation to deliver arises from the
time of perfection of the contract (from the “birth” of
the contract or meeting of the minds of the parties)
 Right of creditor to the fruits
3. If subject to a suspensive condition or period, it arises
from the fulfillment of the condition or arrival of the
period

4. In a contract of sale, it arises from the perfection of

contract even if it is subject to a suspensive condition or
period, as long as the price has been paid.
PERSONAL RIGHT vs REAL RIGHT

PERSONAL RIGHT

Right of the creditor (active subject) to demand from the

debtor (passive subject) the fulfillment of the latter’s
obligation to give, to do, or not to do.

Binding or enforceable only against a particular person

PERSONAL RIGHT vs REAL RIGHT

REAL RIGHT

 Right or interest of a person over a specific thing

( ownership, possession, mortgage)

 Directed against the whole world

 Remedies of creditor in real obligation
(obligation to give)
1) In a specific real obligation (obligation to deliver a
specific/determinate thing)
1. Demand specific performance, with right to damages. (Art. 1165. par. 1 NCC)
OR;
2. Demand rescission or cancellation(in certain cases), with right to damages; OR;

2. Recover damages in case of breach of the obligation. (Art. 1170, NCC)

 Remedies of creditor in real obligation
(obligation to give)
1) In a generic real obligation (obligation to deliver a
generic/indeterminate thing)
1. Demand specific performance. (Art. 1246,NCC)
2. Ask that the obligation be complied with at the expense of the
debtor. (Art. 1165, par. 2, NCC)
3. Recover damages in case of breach of the obligation. (Art. 1170,
NCC)
If the object of the obligation TO GIVE is lost
or destroyed through a fortuitous event, can the
debtor or obligor still be held liable for damages?
 IT DEPENDS.

If the obligation is DETERMINATE, as a

general rule, the obligor CANNOT be held
liable for damages.
 If the obligation however, is
INDETERMINATE or GENERIC, the
debtor or obligor can still be held liable for
damages.
This is so because only a DETERMINATE
THING or object can be destroyed by a
fortuitous event. An indeterminate or generic
thing, on the other hand, can never perish
( genus numquam peruit.)
If A obligated himself to deliver to B a TOYOTA
FORTUNER 2024 model with engine number
XYZ123 and such automobile is destroyed by a
fire of accidental origin before he has incurred in
delay, can A be held liable for damages?
NO. A cannot be held liable, but if he had merely
obligated himself to deliver to the creditor an
automobile without any particular designation or
without physical segregation, and subsequently, the
automobile belonging to him was lost or destroyed
through a fortuitous event, he can still be held
liable.
 ACCESSIONS and ACCESSORIES

ACCESSIONS
 Fruits of a thing or additions to or improvement upon a thing;
 Not necessary to the principal thing;
 Examples- house or trees on a land; rents of a building, air
conditioner in a car; profits or dividends accruing from shares of
stocks
 ACCESSIONS and ACCESSORIES
ACCESSORIES
 Things joined to or included with the principal thing for the latter’s
embellishment, better use, or completion;
 Accessory and principal must go together;
 Both can exist only in relation to the principal;
 Examples-key of a house; frame of a picture; bracelet of a watch; machinery
in a factory; bow of a violin
 GENERAL RULE:
ALL accessions and accessories are considered included in the
obligation to deliver a determinate thing although they are not
mentioned.
The ACCESSORY follows the PRINCIPAL.
However, unless otherwise stipulated, an obligation to deliver the
accessions and accessories of a thing does not include the obligation
to deliver the principal.
 ARTICLE 1167:

If a person obliged to do something fails to do it,

the same shall be executed at his cost.
This same rule shall be observed if he does it in
contravention of the tenor of the obligation.
Furthermore, it may be decreed that what has
been poorly done be undone. (1098)
 ARTICLE 1167:

Specific performance is not available here because

it would amount to involuntary servitude which
is prohibited by the Constitution.
THERE IS NO DELAY WHEN THERE IS NO DEMAND.

NO DEMAND NO DELAY.
EXCEPTION:
Distinguish between frauds in the performance
of a pre-existing obligation (dolo incidente)
from fraud in the perfection of a contract (dolo
• causante)

• Dolo incidente - fraud incident to the performance of

obligation
• Dolo causante - fraud in the perfection of the
contract.