Oblicon

• Definition of Obligation: Article 1156 of the Civil Code defines an obligation as a juridical necessity to give, to do or not to do
• Essential Elements or Requisites of an Obligation (Civil Obligation):

  • Active subject (obligee or creditor) has the right or power to demand performance from the obligor or debtor
  • Passive subject (obligor or debtor) has the necessity to adjust conduct to the demand of the creditor or obligee
  • Object or prestation refers to the promise or particular conduct to be performed in the fulfillment of the obligation, which may consist of giving, doing, or not doing a thing
• Requisites of an Object or Prestation of an Obligation:

  • Must be possible, physically and juridically
  • Must be determinate, or at least determinable according to pre-established elements or criteria
  • Must have a possible equivalent in money
• Efficient cause (vinculum) refers to the juridical tie binding the parties to the obligation

  • Examples of efficient cause: relation established by law, contract, quasi-contract (negotiorum gestio and solutio indebiti), quasi-delict or tort, crime or delict
• Illustration:

  • M is the passive subject
  • P is the active subject
  • Prestation is giving P100,000 with interest at 6% per annum on December 31, 2023
  • Efficient cause is the contract of loan
  • Kind of obligation is a positive obligation
• Regarding the transport:

  • C is the passive subject
  • M is the active subject
  • Prestation is transporting goods from Manila to Cebu
  • Efficient cause is the contract of carriage
  • Kind of obligation is a positive obligation
• Regarding the payment:

  • M is the passive subject
  • C is the active subject
  • Prestation is paying P2,000 as transport cost
  • Efficient cause is the contract of carriage
  • Kind of obligation is a positive obligation
• • Negative obligation (Civil Obligation Not to Do or Not to Give) consists of abstaining from some act (e.g., legal obligation not to commit jaywalking)
• Types of Civil Obligation based on the definition under the Civil Code:

  • Positive obligation consists of giving or doing something
  • Types of Positive Obligation:
  • Real obligation (Civil Obligation to Give) involves the delivery or giving of personal or real object (e.g., contract of sale, barter, deposit, loan)
  • Personal obligation (Civil Obligation to Do) involves doing a particular prestation but not delivery of an object (e.g., rendition of services)
• Distinctions between Civil Obligation and Natural Obligation:

  • As to binding force:
  • Civil Obligations derive their binding force from positive law or substantive law (e.g., obligation of parents to give support to children)
  • Natural Obligations derive their binding effect from equity and natural justice (e.g., obligation of successors to pay debts of predecessor)
  • As to enforceability:
  • Civil Obligations can be enforced by court action or the coercive power of public authority
• • Natural Obligations cannot be compelled by court action but depend on the good conscience of the debtor
• Examples of Civil Obligations:

  • Legal obligation of parents to give support to children under the Family Code
  • Contractual obligation of a review center to provide preweek lectures to reviewees despite cancellation of board exam
• Sources of civil obligation demandable in a court of law:

  • Law: principles and regulations established in a community by some authority and applicable to its people
  • Contract: a meeting of minds between two persons where one binds himself to give something or render some service
  • Quasi-contract: a juridical relation arising from certain lawful, voluntary, and unilateral act to prevent unjust enrichment
  • Two Types of Quasi-Contracts:
  • Negotiorum Gestio: voluntary management of the property or affairs of another without the knowledge or consent of the latter
• • Solutio Indebiti: juridical relation created when something is received when there is no right to demand it and it was unduly delivered through mistake
• Quasi-delict or culpa aquiliana or torts:

  • Source of civil obligation where a person causes damage to another by act or omission with fault or negligence
  • Nature of liability of two or more persons liable for quasi-delict is solidary
  • Requisites of Civil Action based on Quasi-Delict or Culpa-Aquiliana or Tort:
  • No pre-existing relation (contract) between the offender and offended parties
  • Wrongful act or omission imputable to the defendant due to fault or negligence
  • Damage or injury must be proved by the person claiming recovery
• • Direct causal connection between the fault or negligence of the respondent and the damage or injury to the plaintiff
• Crime or delict:

  • Any act or omission punishable by law
  • Nature of liability of criminals is solidary
  • Persons exempted from criminal liability but still civilly liable for the crime they committed:
  • Imbecile or insane person
  • Person under 18 years of age
  • Person acting under compulsion of irresistible force
  • Person acting under uncontrollable fear of equal or greater injury
• Persons exempt from criminal liability include:

  • Anyone who acts in defense of oneself, relatives, or strangers
  • Anyone who acts in the performance of legal duties
  • Anyone who acts in the performance of contractual obligations
  • Anyone suffering from battered woman syndrome
• Components of Civil Liability arising from Crime or Delicto:

  • Restitution refers to the restoration of the thing itself, even if found in possession of a third person
  • Reparation of damage caused is determined by the Court, considering the price and sentimental value of the thing
  • Indemnification for consequential damages includes those suffered by the injured party, their family, or a third person
• Distinctions between quasi-delict (tort or culpa aquiliana) and crime (delict):

  • Nature of right violated: Quasi-delict is a private right, while crime is a public right
  • Name of the case: Quasi-delict is Private-Plaintiff vs. Respondent or Defendant, Crime is People of the Philippines vs. Accused
  • Award of civil damages: Quasi-delict gives rise to liability for damages, but some crimes have no civil liability
  • Possibility of compromise: Quasi-delict can be compromised, criminal liability for imprisonment and fines cannot be compromised except in cases of criminal negligence
• • Requirement of criminal intent: Quasi-delict does not require criminal intent, while crime generally does except in specific cases
  • Quantum of evidence: Quasi-delict must be proven by preponderance of evidence, crime must be proven beyond reasonable doubt
• Vicarious Liability under Art. 2180 of the Civil Code:

  • Responsible for damages caused by defense, with responsibility ceasing if diligence of a good father of a family is proven
  • Employer can prove due diligence in selection and supervision of the employee
• Principles on Sources of Civil Obligations and Awarding of Damages:

  • A single act may result in multiple sources of civil obligation, but the plaintiff cannot recover damages twice for the same act
  • Double jeopardy applies to criminal cases only, not civil or administrative proceedings
• Kinds of Thing or Object in Obligation to Deliver a Thing:

  • Generic thing or indeterminate thing is only indicated by its kind
  • Determinate thing or specific thing is individualized and can be identified
• Acts done by:

  • Minors and incapacitated persons: Guardians
  • Employees: Owners and Managers of establishment or enterprise
  • Special agent: The State
  • Pupils and students: Teachers or Heads of Establishments of Arts and Trade
• Degree of Diligence to be Exercised in Preservation of Determinate Thing:

  • Diligence required by law varies based on the situation, such as common carriers and necessary deposits
  • Diligence validly stipulated by contracting parties must not be contrary to law or public policy
  • Ordinary diligence is like that of a good father of a family, depending on the circumstances of each case
• Obligation to Deliver the Fruits of the Determinate Thing:

  • Natural fruits are spontaneous products of the soil or animals
  • Industrial fruits are produced through cultivation or labor
  • Civil fruits arise from civilization or juridical relations
• Obligation to Deliver the Accessions and Accessories of the Determinate Thing:

  • Accessories are destined for enhancement or better use of another thing
  • Accessions are produced by a thing or incorporated into it, naturally or artificially
• Types of Rights of Creditor over the Determinate Thing:

  • Personal right is exercised against a specific person for damages
  • Real right can be exercised against the whole world for recovery of the thing
• Real right over a determinate thing or its fruits is acquired from the moment of its or their actual delivery or constructive delivery
• General remedies available to a creditor when the debtor fails to comply with his obligation:

  • Action for specific performance of obligation (exact fulfillment of obligation) with damages
  • Action to rescind the obligation (cancellation of obligation) with damages
  • Action for damages (indemnification for damages)
• Successive remedies of the creditor in case the debtor fails to comply with his obligation to deliver a determinate thing or a specific thing or a delimited generic thing:

  • Action for specific performance of obligation plus damages for breach of obligation under Article 1170
  • Action for damages if action for specific performance becomes legally impossible
• Alternative remedies of the creditor in case the debtor fails to comply with his obligation to deliver an indeterminate thing or a generic thing:

  • Action for specific performance of obligation with damages
  • He may ask the obligation to be complied with by a third person at the expense of the debtor with damages
  • Note: Asking a third person to comply with the obligation at the expense of the debtor plus damages is more practicable
• Remedy of the creditor if the debtor fails to do the prestation in an obligation to do that can be done by other persons:

  • The creditor or third person may do it in a proper manner at the expense of the debtor
• Remedy of the creditor if the debtor fails to do the prestation in an obligation to do whereby only the debtor can do the prestation:

  • Action for indemnification for damages
• Constitutional right against involuntary servitude:

  • Article III Section 18 paragraph 2 of the 1987 Philippine Constitution provides that "No involuntary servitude in any form shall exist except as a punishment for a crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted"
  • In obligation to do, action for specific performance of obligation or exact fulfillment of obligation is not an available remedy to the creditor if the debtor refuses to perform his obligation
• Remedy of the injured person in case a public official or officer of a private corporation refuses to perform his ministerial duty:

  • Special civil action of mandamus lies only to compel an officer to perform a ministerial duty but not to compel the performance of a discretionary duty
• Remedy of the creditor in case the debtor performed the obligation to do in contravention of the tenor of the obligation or poorly:

  • The creditor or third person may do it in a proper manner at the expense of the debtor
  • The court may decree that what had been poorly done be undone at the expense of the debtor
• Remedy of the creditor in case the debtor does what has been forbidden him in an obligation not to do or in a negative obligation:

  • It shall be undone at the expense of the debtor with indemnification for damages
• Definition of delay or default or mora:

  • Delay or default or mora refers to the non-fulfillment of the obligation with respect to time