Action to recover REAL PROPERTY: 10 years

Accion Interdictal: Action to recover physical mortgage action

possession of the property and the juridicial possession upon written contract
nor ownership upon obligation created by law
upon a judgement
1. Forcible Entry: Action to recover
actual/physical possession of a property that
was unlawfully taken by force, intimidation, 8 years
strategy, threat and stealth. action to recover movables from time
2. Unlawful Detainer: Suit filed a land owner, possession is lost
vendor or vendee for his property is being
occupied or unlawfully taken by a person to
which had a previous contract to occupy the 6 years
said property by a lease or a contract and said upon an oral contract
contract was already expired. upon a quasi-contract

Accion Publiciana: Action for the determination of a

better right or possession over a property. 5 years
actions where periods are not fixed by
- Prescriptive period is 10 years. law
Accion Reivindicatoria: Action to recover ownership
of a property. 4 years
upon injury to rights of plaintiff
- Prescriptive period: 10 Years / Good faith
upon a quasi-delict
: 30 Years / does not
require good faith and just title
1 year
Doctrine of Self Help: The owner or lawful possessor for forcible entry & detainer
of a thing has the right to exclude any person from the
for defamation
enjoyment and disposal thereof. For this purpose, he
may use such force as may be reasonably to repel or
prevent an actual or threatened unlawful physical Rights not extinguished by prescription:
invasion or usurpation of his property. 1. demand right of way
2. abate public /private nuisance
Action to recover PERSONAL PROPERTY:
3. declare contract void
Replevin: Recovery of a personal property. 4. recover property subject to expressed trust
5. probate of a will
Modes of Acquiring Ownership:
6. quiet title
1. Occupation
2. Donation
3. Prescription Characteristics of DONATION:
4. Succession Unilateral obligation imposed on the donor
5. Tradition
Consensual perfected at time donor knows of
PRESCRIPTION OF ACTIONS acceptance

By lapse of time fixed by law

30 years
action over immovables from time
possession is lost
 Donation Mortis 3. conceived & unborn child, represented by
Donation Inter Vivos Causa person who would have been a guardian if
Disposition and already born
acceptance takes effect Disposition happens
during lifetime of upon the death of
donor and donee donor Who are disqualified to donate:

Even if there is a term 1. guardians & trustees with respect to property

of effectivity and
Already pertains to the effectivity is upon the entrusted to them
donee unless there is a death of the donor,
contrary intent still entitled to fruits
2. husband & wife
Formalities required
follow law on Formalities required 3. between paramours/persons guilty of adultery
donations and certain follow law on
kinds of donations & succession to be valid,
law on obligations and and donation must be 4. between parties guilty of same criminal offense
contracts (suppletory) in the form of a will
5. made to public officers, wife, descendant, ascendant
Irrevocable at the
instance of the donor;
may be revoked only Revocable ad mutuum Doctrine of State of Necessity/Doctrine of
by reasons provided by (exclusive will of Incomplete Privilege: The owner of a thing has no
law donor) right to prohibit the interference of another with the
same, if the interference is necessary to avert an
Revoked only for imminent danger and the threatened damage,
reasons provided for
compared to the damage arising to the owner arising
by law (except onerous
donations) from the interference, is much greater. The owner may
demand from the person benefited indemnity for the
damage to him.
Acceptance: Must be made personally or thru
agent Requisites:
Form: Orally or in writing
1. Interference is necessary; and
2. Damage to another is much greater than damage to
Who may accept donations: property
3. Imposed by the owner (e. g. lease)
1. natural & juridical persons w/c are not especially 4. Imposed by the grantor (e.g. prohibition to the
donees from partitioning the property not exceeding 20
disqualified by law years.

2. minors & other incapacitated Article 553. One who recovers possession shall not be
obliged to pay for improvements which have ceased to
exist at the time he takes possession of the thing. (458)
a) by themselves
OWNERSHIP HAS LIMITATIONS
if pure & simple donation 1. Those given by the State or the laws
if it does not require written acceptance 2. Those given by the owner himself
3. Those given by the person who gave the right to its
present owner
b) by guardian, legal representatives if needs written
acceptance
Art. 429. The owner or lawful possessor of a thing
has the right to exclude any person from the
1. natural guardian not more than 50,000 enjoyment and disposal thereof. For this
purpose, he may use such force as may be
2. court appointed more than 50,000
reasonably necessary to repel or prevent an
actual or threatened unlawful physical invasion or
usurpation of his property. (n)
Art. 476. Whenever there is a cloud on title to real
property or any interest therein, by reason of any
instrument, record, claim, encumbrance or
proceeding which is apparently valid or effective but
is in truth and in fact invalid, ineffective, voidable, or
unenforceable, and may be prejudicial to said title, an
action may be brought to remove such cloud or to quiet
the title. An action may also be brought to prevent a
cloud from being cast upon title to real property or any
interest therein.
Art. 477. The plaintiff must have legal or equitable title
to, or interest in the real property which is the subject
matter of the action. He need not be in possession of
said property.
Art. 478. There may also be an action to quiet title or
remove a cloud therefrom when the contract,
instrument or other obligation has been extinguished or
has terminated, or has been barred by extinctive
prescription.
Art. 479. The plaintiff must return to the defendant all
benefits he may have received from the latter, or
reimburse him for expenses that may have redounded
to the plaintiffs benefit.
Art. 482. If a building, wall, column, or any other
construction is in danger of falling, the owner shall be
obliged to demolish it or to execute the necessary work
in order to prevent it from falling. If the proprietor does
not comply with this obligation, the administrative
authorities may order the demolition of the structure at
the expense of the owner, or take measures to insure
public safety.
Art. 483. Whenever a large tree threatens to fall in such
a way as to cause damage to the land or tenement of
another or to travellers over a public or private road,
the owner of the tree shall be obliged to fell and remove
it; and should he not do so, it shall be done at his
expense by order of the administrative authorities.
Art. 484. There is co-ownership whenever the
ownership of an undivided thing or right belongs to
different persons. In default of contracts, or of special
provisions, co-ownership shall be governed by the
provisions of this Title.
LACHES has been defined as the failure or neglect, for
an unreasonable and unexplained length of time, to do
that which by exercising due diligence could or should
have been done earlier; it is negligence or omission to
assert a right within a reasonable time, warranting a
presumption that the party entitled to assert it either
has abandoned it or declined to assert it.
Chapter 2: RIGHT OF ACCESSION
Accession owner of thing becomes owner of
everything it may produce or those which may
be incorporated or united thereto
1. principle of justice
2. accessory follows the principal
Accession continua accession to products of
the thing
Rights of owners: natural, industrial & civil
fruits
exception: possession in good faith by another, usufruct,
lease, antichresis
Obligation of owners:
Immovables accretion
1. Alluvion owner of lands adjoining banks of
river belongs the accretion gradually received
from effects of the waters current
Requisites:
1. deposit is gradual & imperceptible
2. made through effects of current of water
3. land where accretion takes place is adjacent to
banks of river
Rights of riparian owner
Right to accretion ipso facto no need to make an
express act of possession
2. Avulsion transfer of a known portion of land
from one tenement to another by force of
current of waters
Rights of riparian owner
Right to portion of land transferred if not
claimed by owner within 2 years (prescription)
Right to trees uprooted if not claimed by owner
w/in 6 months; subject to reimbursement for
necessary expenses for gathering them &
putting them in safe place
3. Change of river bed
Right of owner of land occupied by new river
course
1. Right to old bed ipso facto in proportion to area
lost
2. Owner of adjoining land to old bed shall have
right to acquire the same by paying its value
value not to exceed the value of area occupied
by new bed
3. Formation of island in non-navigable river
 owner of margin nearest to islands formed if
nearest to it
owner of both margins if island is in the
middle (divided into halves longitudinally)
4. building, planting & sowing
General Rule whatever is built, planted or
sown belongs to owner of land; presumption is
owner made them at his expense
Exception: contrary is proven
Right of owner of material
1. Right to be indemnified or paid of value of
property by owner of land
2. Right to remove materials if he can do so w/o
injury to work constructed if owner has not paid
3. Right to damages and demolition even if with
injury to work if owner of land is in bad faith
Right of owner when another builds, plants or
sows in his land: (OWNER & BUILDER BOTH IN
GOOD FAITH)
1. Appropriate as his own after paying for
indemnity
2. Oblige the planter, builder to pay for price of
land or rent, except when value of lands is
greater than thing built convert to rent
Right of Builder in good faith before payment of
indemnity of owner in good faith
1. Right to retain land & building
2. Right not to be compelled to pay for rent
3. Right of retention ceases when obliged to pay
for value of and if he fails to do so
Right of owner in good faith when builder is in
bad faith
1. Right to appropriate what has been built w/o
paying indemnity
2. Order demolition of building
3. Compel the builder to pay for price of land or
rent
4. Right to damages
Right of builder in bad faith when owner is in
good faith
Right to be reimbursed for necessary expenses for
preservation of land
Right of Builder in good faith when owner is in
bad faith
1. Right to indemnity for value of building
2. Right to damages
3. Right to demolish w/o payment of indemnity
Bad faith on both builder & owner in pari
delicto (no cause of action vs. each other)
Right of 3rd person who owns materials
1. Right to be indemnified for value of materials
irrespective of good faith or bad faith of builder
or owner; if builder has no property, owner is
subsidiarily liable
2. When builder is in bad faith & owner in good
faith & owner compel builder to remove
improvements, owner is not subsidiarily liable
3. When 3rd person is paid by builder, builder may
demand from landowner the value of labor &
materials
b) Movables
1. Conjunction / adjunction 2 movable things
which belong to different owners are united to
form a single object
Test to determine w/c one is the principal:
1. that to w/c the other intended to be united as
ornament or for its use of perfection
2. value
3. volume
Rights:
1. If both are in good faith owner of principal
acquired the accessory with indemnification
2. If both are in good faith may separate them if
no injury will be caused; if value of accessory is
greater than principal, owner of accessory may
demand separation even if damages will be
caused to the principal (expenses to be borne by
one who caused the conjunction)
3. If owner of accessory is in bad faith owner of
accessory with damages to principal
4. If owner of principal is in bad faith owner of
accessory shall have option of principal paying
value of accessory or removal of accessory
despite destruction of principal
5. Owner of accessory or principal has right to
indemnity when thing adjuncts w/o his consent
may demand that a thing equal is kind, value
and price
2. Specification One employs the materials of
another in whole or in part on order to make a
thing of a different kind; transformation
Rights:
1. If person who made the transformation is in
good faith he shall appropriate the thing
transformed as his own with indemnity to
owner of material for its value
2. If material is more precious than transformed
thing owner of material may appropriate the
new thing to himself after indemnity paid to
labor or demand indemnity for materials
3. If person who made the transformation is in bad
faith, owner of material shall appropriate the
 work to himself w/o paying maker or demand ACCRETION ON THE BANK OF A LAKE AND ON
indemnity for value of materials & damages THE BANK OF AN ISLAND FORMED IN A NON-
4. If transformed thing is more valuable than NAVIGABLE RIVER
material, owner of material cannot appropriate Belong to the owners of the estate to which they have
3. Commixtion / confusion 2 things of the same been added
or different kinds are mixed & are not separable
w/o injury
Rights: ACCRETION ON A SEA BANK
1. If both owners are in good faith Each owner
Still belongs to the public domain
shall acquire a right proportional to the part
belonging to him (vis-a-vis the value of the
things mixed or confused) EFFECT OF PUBLIC SERVICE CONSTRUCTIONS OR
2. If one owner is in bad faith he shall lose the EASEMENTS ON RIVER BANKS
thing belonging to him plus indemnity for
damages caused to owner of other thing mixed Public service constructionthe owner of the land is
with his thing no longer the riparian owner and the government
which will own the accretion
3. If both in bad faith no cause of action against
Easement for the benefit of navigation, floatage,
each other fishing or salvageright still subsists because in
easements, the owner of the serviant estate doesn't
lose his ownership over the portion
ALLUVIUM occupied
The soil deposited or added to the lands
NOTE:
adjoining the banks of rivers, and gradually received
1. Loss of alluvium not affected by registration under
as an effect of the current of the waters
the Land Registration Act
2. Registered land is not protected from the process of
accretion
ACCRETION

Process by which the soil is deposited

A broader term than alluvium THE ALLUVIAL DEPOSIT ISNT AUTOMATICALLY
REGISTERED UNDER THE TORRENS SYSTEM

The alluvial deposit may still be lost through

REQUISITES OF ALLUVIUM acquisitive prescription
1. The deposit should be gradual and imperceptible Remember the source of ownership is law
2. Cause is the current of river
a. Cannot be done artificially or man-made causes Art. 458. The owners of estates adjoining ponds or
3. That the land where accretion takes place is lagoons do not acquire the land left dry by the
adjacent to the bank of river natural decrease of the waters, or lose that
4. The owner of the adjacent lot will own the increase inundated by them in extraordinary floods. (367)

REASONS WHY ALLUVIUM IS GRANTED THE RIPARIAN POND

OWNER A body of stagnant water without an outlet, larger
than a puddle and smaller than a lake, or a like body of
1. To compensate him for the loss he may suffer
2. To compensate him because the property is water with a small outlet
subject to encumbrances and legal easements
3. The interests of agriculture require that the soil
be given to the person who is in the best position to LAGOON
cultivate the same
A small lake, ordinarily of fresh water, and not very
4. Since after all, it cannot be said with certainty from
deep, fed by floods, the hollow bed of which is bounded
whom the soil came
by the elevations of the land
LAKE the land upon which they may be cast, if the
owners do not claim them within six months. If
A body of water formed by the depressions of the such owners claim them, they shall pay the
earth, ordinarily fresh water, coming from rivers, expenses incurred in gathering them or putting
brooks, or springs, and connected with the sea by them in a safe place. (369a)
them
NOTE: The six-month period given in Article 460
Art. 459. Whenever the current of a river, creek should be considered only a condition precedent. The
or torrent segregates from an estate on its bank a recovery period must be made within the period for
known portion of land and transfers it to another prescription.
estate, the owner of the land to which the
segregated portion belonged retains the Art. 461. River beds which are abandoned
ownership of it, provided that he removes the same through the natural change in the course of the
within two years. (368a) waters ipso facto belong to the owners whose lands
are occupied by the new course in proportion
to the area lost. However, the owners of the lands
AVULSION adjoining the old bed shall have the right to
acquire the same by paying the value thereof,
The process whereby the current of a river, which value shall not exceed the value of the
creek, or torrent segregates from an estate on its bank area occupied by the new bed. (370a)
a known portion of land and transfers it to another
estate
The removal of a considerable quantity of
REQUISITES FOR ARTICLE 461 TO APPLY
earth upon or annexation to the land of
another, suddenly, and by the perceptible action of 1. The change must be sudden in order that the old
the water river bed may be identified
2. The changing of the course must be more or less
permanent and not temporary overflooding of anothers
REQUISITES OF AVULSION land
3. The change of the river bed must be a natural
1. Sudden and violent one caused by natural forces
2. Land is identifiable and known 4. There must be a definite abandonment by the
3. Owner of the land where the land was government
detached retains ownershipsubject to remove land 5. The river must continue to exist, that is, it must
within 2 years not completely dry up or disappear

N.B: it doesn't matter if it adds or lands on top. It also

doesn't matter if there were trees attached to the CHANGE IN THE COURSE OF RIVERS
detached land.
1. Owner of new bed will own the old river bed
2. Adjacent owners has the right to acquire the old
RIVER land

A natural stream of water, of greater volume 3. If new owners refuse to sell, their refusal would
than a creek or rivulet flowing, in a more or less be contrary to lawthe adjacent owners have a
permanent bed or channel, between defined banks preemptive right over the old bed
or walls with a current which may either be a. In case of the government, it has the right to return
continuous in one direction or affected by the ebb and the river to its former coursefollowing the Water
flow of the tide Code

Art. 462. Whenever a river, changing its course by

natural causes, opens a new bed through a private
CREEK
estate, this bed shall become of public dominion.
A small stream less than a river (372a)

TORRENT RULE IS NEW RIVER BED IS ON PRIVATE ESTATE

Violent, rushing or turbulent stream Even if the new bed is on private property the
bed becomes property of public dominion, just as the
Art. 460. Trees uprooted and carried away by old bed had been of public dominion before the
the current of the waters belong to the owner of
abandonment

Art. 463. Whenever the current of a river

divides itself into branches, leaving a piece of
land or part thereof isolated, the owner of the
land retains his ownership. He also retains it if
a portion of land is separated from the estate by the
current. (374)

FORMATION OF ISLAND BY THE BRANCHING OFF OF A

RIVER

1. May be isolated from the rest

2. Or may be separated from the rest

THREE PARTS OF A RIVER

1. Water
2. River bed
3. River bank

Art. 464. Islands which may be formed on the seas

within the jurisdiction of the Philippines, on lakes,
and on navigable or floatable rivers belong to the
State. (371a)

Art. 465. Islands which through successive

accumulation of alluvial deposits are formed in non-
navigable and non-floatable rivers, belong to the
owners of the margins or banks nearest to each of
them, or to the owners of both margins if the island is in
the middle of the river, in which case it shall be
divided longitudinally in halves. If a single island
thus formed be more distant from one margin than
from the other, the owner of the nearer margin shall
be the sole owner thereof. (373a)

OWNERSHIP OF ISLANDS

1. If formed on the sea

a. Within the territorial waters or maritime
zone or jurisdiction of the PhilippinesSTATE
b. Outside the jurisdictionthe first country to
occupy effectively
2. If formed on lakes, navigable or floatable rivers
STATE
3. If formed on non-navigable or non-floatable rivers
a. If nearer in margin to one bank, owner of nearer
margin is sole owner
b. If equidistant, the island shall be divided
longitudinally in halves

NAVIGABLE OR FLOATABLE RIVER

- If useful for floatage and commerce,

whether the tides affect the water or not