• San Beda College Manila - (Mendiola, Manila)

• JBLC 12345

BOOK IV OBLIGATIONS AND CONTRACTS TITLE I — OBLIGATIONS CHAPTER 1 GENERAL PROVISIONS Article 1156. An obligation is a juridical necessity to give, to do or not to do.1 Concept of Obligations. — Evidently, the above defi nition of an obligation is adopted from Sanchez Roman’s classic defi nition of an obligation as “the juridical necessity to comply with a prestation.”2 Manresa, on the other hand, defi nes it as a “legal relation established between one person and another, whereby the latter is bound to the fulfi llment of a prestation which the former may demand of him.’’3 It must be observed, however, that obligations may be either civil or natural.4 A civil obligation is one which has a binding force in law, and which gives to the obligee or creditor the right of enforcing it against the obligor or debtor in a court of justice. This is the obligation which is defi ned in Art. 1156 of the Code. A natural obligation, on the other hand, is one which cannot be enforced by action, but which is binding on the party who makes it in conscience and according to 1 New provision. 2 4 Sanchez Roman 53. 3 8 Manresa, 5th Ed., Bk. 1, p. 21. 4 Art. 1423, Civil Code. 2 OBLIGATIONS the natural law.5 Thus, when an action has prescribed in accordance with the statute of limitations, a natural obligation still subsists, although the civil obligation is extinguished. This may be illustrated by the following example: If A has a right of action, evidenced by a promissory note, to collect one thousand pesos from B, and such promissory note prescribes after the expiration of ten years from the time it accrues,6 although the latter is no longer bound to pay the obligation in accordance with the statute of limitations, he is still bound to pay in accordance with equity and natural law.7 It is, therefore, clear that a civil obligation and a natural obligation may be distinguished from each other as follows: (1) A civil obligation is based on positive law, while a natural obligation is based on equity and natural law; and (2) The former is enforceable in courts of justice, while the latter is not.8 Requisites of Obligations. — An obligation has four essential requisites. They are: (1) A juridical or legal tie, which binds the parties to the obligation, and which may arise from either bilateral or unilateral acts of persons; (2) An active subject known as the obligee or creditor, who can demand the fulfi llment of the obligation; (3) A passive subject known as the obligor or debtor, against whom the obligation is juridically demandable; and (4) The fact, prestation or service which constitutes the object of the obligation.9 The form in which the obligation is manifested is sometimes added as a fi fth requisite. As a general rule, however, it cannot be considered as essential. Obligations arising from law, quasi-contracts, acts or omissions punished by law, and quasi-delicts do not require any form whatsoever, yet there can be no question regard5 3 Bouvier’s Law Dictionary, 2394-2395. 6 Art. 1144, Civil Code. 7 Agoncillo vs. Javier, 38 Phil. 424; Villaroel vs. Estrada, 71 Phil. 40. 8 Art. 1423, Civil Code. 9 Giorgi, Teoria de las Obligaciones, Vol. 1, p. 13; 3 Castan, 7th Ed., p. 20. Art. 1156 3 ing their validity or binding force. It is only in obligations arising from certain contracts that it becomes essential. Thus, in a contract involving a donation of personal property whose value exceeds P5,000.00, the law requires that the donation and the acceptance shall be made in writing;10 in a contract of sale of a piece of land or any interest therein through an agent, the law requires that the authority of the latter shall be in writing;11 in a contract of simple loan or mutuum, the law requires that any agreement with respect to interest shall be expressly stipulated in writing;12 in a contract of antichresis, the law requires that the amount of the principal and of the interest shall be specifi ed in writing;13 in a contract involving a donation of immovable property, the law requires that the donation shall be made in a public document, while the acceptance shall be made either in the same deed of donation or in a separate public document;14 in a contract of partnership where immovable property or real rights are contributed to the common fund, the law requires that the contract shall be in a public instrument to which an inventory of the property or real rights, signed by the partners, must be attached;15 in a contract of chattel mortgage, the law requires that the personal property which is the subject matter of the contract shall be recorded in the Chattel Mortgage Register as a security for the performance of an obligation;16 and in a contract involving the sale or transfer of large cattle, the law requires that the sale or transfer shall be registered.17 Non-compliance with such formalities would have the effect of rendering the contract or agreement void or inexistent. Classifi cation of Obligations. — The following is the primary classifi cation of obligations under the Civil Code: (1) Pure and conditional (Arts. 1179-1192). (2) With a period (Arts. 1193-1198). (3) Alternative and facultative (Arts. 1199-1206). 10Art. 748, Civil Code. 11Art. 1874, Civil Code. 12Art. 1956, Civil Code. 13Art. 2134, Civil Code. 14Art. 749, Civil Code. 15Arts. 1771, 1773, Civil Code. 16Art. 2140, Civil Code. 17Sec. 22, Act No. 1147; Art. 1581, Civil Code. GENERAL PROVISIONS Art. 1156 4 OBLIGATIONS (4) Joint and solidary (Arts. 1207-1222). (5) Divisible and indivisible (Arts. 1223-1225). (6) With a penal clause (Arts. 1226-1230). There are, however, other classifi cations of a secondary character which can be gathered from scattered provisions of the Civil Code, such as: (1) Legal, conventional and penal;1