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GENERAL PROVISIONS

Art. 1156. An obligation is a juridical necessity to give, to do or not to do.

OBLIGATION

- Derived from the Latin word “obligare” which means to bind

- A legal relation established between one person and another, whereby the latter is bound to the

fulfilment of a prestation which the former may demand of him (Manresa)

- The juridical necessity to comply with a prestation (Sanchez Roman)

Definition adapted by the Civil Code

Criticism of the Definition by the Code: This definition is incomplete, in that it views obligations only

from the debt side. There is no debt without a credit. (J.B.L. Reyes)

- More accurate definition: An obligation is a juridical relation whereby a person (called the creditor) may

demand from another (called the debtor) the observance of a determinative conduct (the giving, doing,

or not doing) and in case of breach, may obtain satisfaction from the assets of the latter. (Arias Ramos)

N.B. Credit – the right to demand the object of a definite conduct Debt – the duty to give, to do or not to do

ESSENTIAL REQUISITES/ELEMENTS OF AN OBLIGATION [JAPP]

1. Juridical tie/Legal tie

- Vinculum or efficient cause

- Binds the parties to the obligation and which may arise from law, bilateral or unilateral acts of

persons

- The reason why the obligation exists

2. Active Subject (Creditor/Obligee)*

- The possessor of a right

- He in whose favour the obligation is constituted

- One who can demand fulfilment of an obligation

3. Passive Subject (Debtor/Obligor)*

- He who has the duty of giving, doing or not doing

- He against whom the obligation is judicially demandable

4. Prestation (Fact/Service/Object)

- The object of the obligation

- From the Latin verb “prestare” prae – infront of + stare – to stand

- Literal meaning: achievement; what one has managed to perform of do

Concept of Prestation (Bar Question): A prestation is an obligation; more specifically, it is the

subject matter of an obligation – and may consist of giving a thing or not doing a certain act. The

law speaks of an obligation as a juridical necessity to comply with a prestation.

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Kinds of Prestations:

To give – consists in the delivery of a movable or an immovable, in order to create a real

right

To do – includes all kinds of work or services; may involve some work on the part of the

debtor

Not to do – consists in abstaining from some act

Requisites of a Prestation: [PDP]

1. Physically or juridically possible

2. Determinate or determinable according to pre-established elements or criteria

3. Must have a possible equivalent in money

The creditor’s interest need not be economic or patrimonial; it may be

sentimental, moral or ideal. The law attributes to them that value following a

criterion of ideal justice. But the object of the prestation must have an

economic value or in case of nonfulfillment, be susceptible of substitution in

money or something of patrimonial value.

N.B. * - personal elements

A fifth element is sometimes added – the form, however, according to Dr. Tolentino, this form cannot be considered as essential. CLASSIFICATION OF OBLIGATIONS

“Sanction” viewpoint or as to Juridical Quality

1. Civil Obligation (Article 1156)

One which has a binding force in law

Basis: Positive law Right of

enforcement in a court of justice

Sanction: Judicial Process

2. Natural Obligation (Article 1423)

Binding on the party who makes it on

conscience; cannot be recovered once

voluntarily paid out

Basis: Equity and natural law

Cannot be enforced by a court of justice

Sanction: The Law

3. Moral Obligation (Imperfect Obligation)

E.g. the duty of a Catholic to hear mass Sanction:

Conscience or Morality

4. Mixed Obligation The obligation is based on both positive and natural law Sanction:

Judicial Process and the Law

Subject-matter Viewpoint

1. Real Obligation The obligation to give

2. Personal Obligation The obligation to do or not to do

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Affirmativeness and negativeness viewpoint

1. Positive or affirmative Obligation

The obligation to give or to do

2. Negative Obligation The obligation not to do (includes the obligation not

to give)

Parties Viewpoint or as to persons obliged

1. Unilateral Only one party is bound

2. Bilateral Where both parties are bound

3. Individual There is only one obligor

4. Collective a. Joint b. Solidary

There are several obligors. a. Each obligor is liable only for his proportionate

share b. Each obligor is liable for the whole

As to object

1. Determinate The object is specific

2. Generic The object is designated by its class or genus

3. Simple There is only one undertaking

4. Multiple a. Conjunctive b. Distributive

i. Alternative ii. Facultative

There are several undertakings. a. the undertakings are all demandable at the same time b. only one undertaking out of several is demandable

i. allowed to choose out of several obligations which may be due or demandable ii. allowed to substitute another obligation for one which is due or demandable

5. Divisible When the obligation is susceptible to partial

performance

6. Indivisible When the obligation is not susceptible to partial

performance

7. Principal When the object is the main undertaking

8. Accessory When the object is merely an undertaking to

guarantee fulfilment of the principal obligation

As to perfection and extinguishment

1. Pure Not subject to any term or condition and

immediately demandable

2. Conditional Subject to a condition which may be suspensive or

resolutory

3. With a term or period (a plazo)

Art. 1157. Obligations arise from: [LCQAQ]

(1) Law;

(2) Contracts;

(3) Quasi-contracts;

(4) Acts or omissions punished by law; and

(5) Quasi-delicts.

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BIRTH

Criticism of the enumeration: There are only two sources of obligation: law and contracts. (Jorge Giorgi)

N.B.

The obligations which in the Code are indicated as quasi-contracts, as well as those arising ex

lege, are in the common law system merged into the category of obligations imposed by law, and all are

denominated implied contracts.

Art. 1158. Obligations derived from law are not presumed. Only those expressly determined in this Code or in

special laws are demandable, and shall be regulated by the precepts of the law which establishes them; and as to

what has not been foreseen, by the provisions of this Book.

ARISING FROM LAW

- In the birth or generation of an obligation, there is always a concurrence between the law which

establishes or recognizes it, and an act or condition upon which the obligation is based or predicated.

LAW ACT

Law as a source Act as a source

- The law establishes the obligation - The act or condition is nothing more

than a factor.

- The law merely recognizes and acknowledges the existence of an obligation generated.

- The law only serves as a regulation in the establishment of the obligation

Recommended case: Leung Ben vs. O’brien (38 Phil 182)

Art. 1159. Obligations arising from contracts have the force of law between the contracting parties and should be

complied with in good faith.

Compliance in GOOD FAITH

- Performance in accordance with the stipulations, clauses, terms and conditions of the contract.

Consensual Contracts Real Contracts

- Those perfected by mere consent. - Not perfected until the delivery of the object of the obligation

- E.g. deposit, pledge, commodatum

Reciprocal Obligations Unilateral Obligations

- Mutually or reciprocally obliged to do or to give something

- Only one of the parties is obliged to do or give something.

PRE-CONTRACTUAL OBLIGATIONS

- Damages suffered by a party during the period of negotiations may be recovered, IF the offer made is

clear and definite, thus leading the offeree in good faith to incur expenses in the expectation of entering

into the contract, and withdrawal of the offer must be with a legitimate cause (i.e. not guilty of fraud or

negligence).

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Art. 1160. Obligations derived from quasi-contracts shall be subject to the provisions of Chapter 1, Title XVII, of this

Book.

QUASI-CONTRACTS

- Those juridical relations arising from lawful, voluntary and unilateral [LVU] acts by virtue of which the

parties become bound to each other (Article 2142 of the Civil Code)

- Basis: Principle that no one should be unjustly enriched or benefited at the expense of another

Kinds of Quasi-Contracts:

Negotiorum Gestio Solutio Indebiti

- Juridical relation that arises whenever a person voluntarily takes charge of the agency or management of the business or property of another without any power or authority from the latter. (Article 2144 of the Civil Code)

- Juridical relation which arises whenever a person unduly delivers a thing through mistake to another who has no right to demand it. (Article 2154 of the Civil Code)

N.B.

Presumptive consent – Where no express consent it given by a party in the contract, the consent needed in

a contract is provided by law (Perez vs. Palomar, 2 Phil 682)

Art. 1161. Civil obligations arising from criminal offenses shall be governed by the penal laws, subject to the

provisions of Article 2177, and of the pertinent provisions of Chapter 2, Preliminary Title, on Human Relations, and

of Title XVIII of this Book, regulating damages.

CRIME/CRIMINAL OFFENSE

Dual aspect:

Criminal Civil

- To punish/correct the offender - To repair the damages suffered by the aggrieved party

Art. 100 of the Revised Penal Code: Every person liable for a felony is also civilly liable.

Basis of civil liability is the criminal liability itself.

Rules in the enforcement or prosecution of civil liability arising from criminal offenses:

General Rule/s Exception/s

- Recovery of civil liability arising from the offense is impliedly instituted with the criminal action

- Except when the offended party: - Expressly waives the civil action - Reserves his right to institute it

separately - Institutes the civil action prior to

the criminal action

- Civil action may proceed independently of the criminal proceeding regardless of the result of the latter (Art. 31 of the Civil Code)

- After criminal action has been commenced, the civil action cannot be instituted until final judgement has been rendered in the criminal action.

- If the civil action has been filed ahead of the criminal action, and the criminal action has commenced:

- With the exception of Articles 32, 33, 34 and 2176 of the Civil Code, the civil action which has been reserved cannot

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General Rule/s Exception/s

- The civil action is suspended in whatever stage it may be.

- If no final judgement has been rendered by the trial court in the civil action, the same may be consolidated with the criminal action upon application with the court trying the criminal action.

be instituted until final judgement (Sec. 2, Rule III of the Revised Rules of Criminal Procedure 2000) Reservation refers only to the civil action.

- Requirement to prove civil liability: preponderance of evidence

- Extinction of the criminal action does not carry with it extinction of the civil, and vice versa.

- Unless, the extinction of the criminal action proceeds from it a declaration in a final judgement that the fact from which the civil might arise did not exist.

- A petition for suspension based on the pendency of a prejudicial question in a civil action may be filed in the office of the fiscal (prosecutor) or the court conducting the preliminary investigation.

PREJUDICIAL QUESTION

- Defined as that which arises in a case the resolution of which is a logical antecedent of the issue involved

therein, and the congnizance of which pertains to another tribunal.

- Must be determinative of the case before the court but the jurisdiction to try and resolve the question

must be lodged in another court or tribunal. (People vs. Aragon, 94 Phil. 357)

Elements of a prejudicial question:

1. A previously instituted civil action which involves an issue similar or intimately related to the issue raised

in the subsequent criminal action.

2. The resolution of such issue determines whether or not the criminal action may proceed.

INDEPENDENT CIVIL ACTIONS:

1. Where the civil action is based on an obligation not arising from the act or omission complained of as a

criminal offense or felony.

Basis of the civil action is no longer the criminal liability of the defendant, but a quasi-delict or

tort.

E.g. An injured passenger in a certain bus accident institutes a civil action to recover damages from the

operator of the bus line.

2. Where the law grants the injured party the right to institute a civil action which is entirely separate and

distinct from the criminal action. (Article 31 of the Civil Code) [DRIP]

a. Defamation

b. Refusal or neglect of a city or municipal police officer to render aid or protection in case of

danger to life or property

c. Interferences by public officers or employees or by private individuals to civil rights and liberties

d. Physical injuries

N.B.

- Guardians of those who committed a crime who are imbecile or insane, under nine years of age

or one over nine but under fifteen who did not act with discernment, are liable for the civil

liabilities of their wards, unless it appears that there was no fault or negligence on their part.

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- Innkeepers are subsidiarily liable for crimes committed in their establishment, in all cases where a

violation of municipal ordinances or some general or special police regulation shall have been

committed by them or their employees.

Recommended Cases:

- Barreda vs. Garcia and Almario (73 Phil 607)

- Elcano vs. Hill (77 SCRA 98)

- Mendoza vs. Arrieta (91 SCRA 113)

Art. 1162. Obligations derived from quasi-delicts shall be governed by the provisions of Chapter 2, Title XVII of this

Book, and by special laws.

QUASI-DELICTS

- Those obligations which do not arise from law, contracts, quasi-contracts or criminal offenses.

- Fault or negligence of a person, who, by his act or omission, connected or unconnected with, but

independent from, any contractual relation causes damages to another person

- Separate legal institution in the Civil Code; entirely apart and independent from a delict or crime

Requisites of Liability from a Quasi-delict: [FDR]

1. The fault or negligence of the defendant;

2. The damage suffered or incurred by the plaintiff; and

3. The relation of cause and effect between the fault or

negligence of the defendant and the damage incurred by the

plaintiff.

Quasi-delict Crime

- Only of private concern - Affect public interest

- Covered by the Civil Code - Covered by the Revised Penal Code

- Merely repairs the damages incurred by all acts of which any kind of fault or negligence intervenes

- Punished only if there is a law covering them

- Only civil liability - Civil and criminal liability

Persons Liable:

Art. 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.

FAULT/

NEGLIGENCE cause

DAMAGE effect

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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.