AVELINO BALURAN v.

HON. NAVARRO and ANTONIO

OBEDENCIO
GR No. L-44428 30 September 1977

ANTES, Anne Jhae Princess R.

 ISSU
E
Whether or not the barter agreement between
petitioner and Sps. Obedencio transferred the
ownership of the subject property to him
 Rule
Courts are not bound by the
name or title given to it by the
contracting parties
Contracts are not what the parties
may see fit to call them but what
they really are as determined by
the principles of law.
Law
Art. 1306 (2nd par), Civil Code
Contracts which are the private laws
of the contracting parties, should be
fulfilled according to the literal sense
of their stipulations, if their terms are
clear and leave no room for doubt as to
the intention of the contracting parties,
for contracts are obligatory, no matter
what their form may be, whenever the
essential requisites for their validity are
present.
 Analysis of Facts
Antonio Obendencio
filed a complaint to
480 sq. m. parcel of
recover the subject Hence, this
land owned by Sps.
lot from Baluran. petition.
Paraiso. 1964 CFI

1975 1977
Barter Agreement Obendencio is the
executed owner of the
property.
 Subject Propert
y
LOCATION: Sarrat, Ilocos Norte

CLASSIFICATION: Residential
Barter Agreement
 Analysis of
Arguments
Avelino Baluran Antonio Obedencio

 The barter agreement

transferred to him the
ownership of the residential He is the rightful owner of the
lot. residential lot having acquired the
same from his mother (Natividad
 Since the execution of the Paraiso)
agreement, he was in  
possession of the subject lot,
paid its taxes, and constructed a
house thereon.
 CONCLUSION
NO. In the case at bar, the use of the term “barter” in describing the
agreement is not controlling. The stipulations in the agreement are clear and
they indicate that there was no intention on the part of the parties to convey
the ownership of their respective properties.

The agreement of the parties is not one of barter, exchange, or even sale
with right to repurchase, but is one of the use or material possession or
enjoyment of each other’s real property. With the material possession being
the only one transferred, all that the parties acquired was the right of usufruct
which is the right to enjoy the property of another.
Barter Agreement