PROPERTY

Title I
Classification of
Property
Classification of Property
Definition of Property:
1. Under the Civil Code - Property, considered as an
object, is that which, or may be, appropriated
2. Under the Civil Code - That branch of civil law
which:
a. Classifies and defines the different kinds of
appropriable objects,
b. Provides for their acquisition and loss, and
c. In general, treats of the nature and
consequences of real rights
Classification of Property
Thing Distinguished from Property:
1. As used in the Civil Code, thing is
SYNONYMOUS to property
2. Technically – thing is broader for it
includes both appropriable or non-
appropriable objects
Classification of Property
Classification of Things According to
the Nature of their Ownership:
1. Res Nullius - Belonging to NO ONE
2. Res Comunes - Belonging to EVERY
ONE
3. Res Alicuus - Belonging to
SOMEONE
Classification of Property
Classification of Property:
1. Mobility and Non-mobility - Movable
[personal] or Immovable [real]
2. Ownership - Public dominion or Private
dominion
3. Alienability - Within the commerce of man
or Outside the commerce of man
4. Existence - Present or Future
5. Materiality or Immateriality - Tangible
[corporeal] or Intangible [incorporeal]
Classification of Property
6. Dependence or Importance -
Principal or Accessory
7. Capability of Substitution- Fungible
or Non-fungible
8. Nature or Definiteness - Generic or
Specific
9. Whether in the Custody of the
Court or Free - In “custodia legis”
or Free
Classification of Property
Characteristics of Property
1.UTILITY for the satisfaction of
moral or economic wants
2. SUSCEPTIBILITY of
appropriation
3.INDIVIDUALITY or
SUBSTANTIVITY
Classification of Property
Art. 414.
All things which are or may be the
object of appropriation are
considered either:
1. immovable or real property; or
2. movable or personal property
 Immovable Property
Classification of Immovable Property:
1. By NATURE - those that cannot be moved
from place to place because of their nature
2. By INCORPORATION - those which are
essentially movables but when ATTACHED to
an immovable becomes an integral part of the
same
3. By DESTINATION or PURPOSE - those w/c are
essentially movables but for the purpose for
w/c they have been place, they become
immovable
4. By ANALOGY or LAW
Immovable Property
Art. 415 [1]
Land, buildings, roads,
and constructions of all
kinds adhered to the
soil
Immovable Property
Art. 415 [2]
Trees, plants and growing
fruits, while they are
attached to the land or form
an integral part of an
immovable
Immovable Property
Art. 415 [3]
Everything attached to an
immovable in a fixed manner,
in such way that it cannot be
separated therefrom without
breaking the material or
deterioration of the object
Immovable Property
Characteristics [par. 3]:
1. Cannot be separated from the
immovable w/o breaking or
substantial deterioration
2. Need not be placed by the owner
3. Real property by
INCORPORATION
4. The fact of incorporation
determines the thing
Immovable Property
Art. 415 [4]
Statues, reliefs, paintings, or other
objects for use or ornamentation,
placed in buildings or on lands by
the owner of the immovable in
such manner that it reveals the
intention to attach them
permanently to the tenements
Immovable Property
Characteristics [par. 4]:
1. It can be separated from the immovable
without breaking or deterioration
2. It MUST be placed by the OWNER or
by his agent, express or implied [If it is
placed by a mere tenant, it will will be
considered personal or movable
property]
3. It is real property by INCORPORATION
and DESTINATION
 Immovable Property
Distinctions
Paragraph 3 Paragraph 4

Real property by 1 May either be real property

INCORPORATION as the fact by INCORPORATION or by
of incorporation determines the DESTINATION
nature of the thing
Cannot be separated from an 2 Can be separated from the
immovable without breaking or immovable without breaking
deterioration [has the character or deterioration
or permanence]
Need not be placed by the 3 Must be placed by the
owner owner, or by his agent,
express or implied
 Immovable Property
Art. 415 [5]
Machinery, receptacles, instruments
or implements intended by the
owner of the tenement for an
industry or works which may be
carried on in a building or on a
piece of land, and which tend
directly to meet the needs of the
said industry or works
 Immovable Property
Essential Requisites [par. 5]:
1. The placing must be made by the owner of
the tenement, his agent or duly authorized
representative
2. The industry or works must be carried on in
the building or the land
3. The machines must tend directly to meet the
needs of such industry or said works
4. The machines must be essential and
principal elements in the industry [not
merely incidental]
 Immovable Property
Summary of Paragraph 5
1. General Rule - Machinery attached to the land is considered
immovable when:
a. It is placed by the owner of the immovable, his agent or duly
authorized representative
b. It is placed for an industry or work which is carried on in the
building or land
c. The machine tends to directly meet the needs of such industry or
work
d. The machine is essential to the industry or work and not merely
incidental
2. Exception – it is considered movable when the machinery is placed on
the land or tenant by a mere tenant;
3. Exception to Exception – it is considered immovable when:
a. The tenant had promised to leave the machinery on the
tenement or the land even after the lease expires, or
b. The tenant acted only as an agent of the owner of the land
 Immovable Property
[6]. Animal houses, pigeon houses, beehives, fish ponds, or
breeding places of similar nature, in case their owner has
placed them or preserves them with the intention to have
them permanently attached to the land, and forming a
permanent part of it; the animals in these places are
included;
[7]. Fertilizer actually used in a piece of land;
[8]. Mines, quarries, and slag dumps, while the matter thereof
forms part of the bed, and waters either running or
stagnant;
[9]. Docks and structures which, though floating, are intended
by their nature and object to remain at a fixed place on a
river, lake or coast;
[10]. Contracts for public works, and servitudes and other real
rights over immovable property
 Immovable Property
Cases:
Leung Yee v. Strong Machinery Feb 15, 1918
Navarro v. Pineda Nov 30, 1963
PRC, Inc. v. Jarque Mar 25, 1935
Berkenkotter v. Cu Unjieng Jul 31, 1935
Machinery and Engineering v. CA Oct 29, 1954
Davao Sawmill v. Castillo, Aug 7, 1935
Caltex v. CBAA May 31, 1982
Benguet Corp. v. CBAA Jan 29, 1993
Serg's Products v. PCI Aug 22, 2000
Soriano v. Galit Sep 23, 2003
 Movable Property
Art. 416.
The following things are deemed to be personal
property:
1. Those movables susceptible of appropriation which
are not included in the preceding article
2. Real property which by any special provision of law
is considered as personalty;
3. Forces of nature which are brought under control
by science; and
4. In general, all things which can be transported from
place to place without impairment of the real
property to which they are fixed
 Movable Property
Tests to Determine
Whether Property is
Movable or Immovable:
1. Test by Description
2. Test by Exclusion
 Movable Property
Case: Sibal v. Valdez [50 PHIL] 512
Facts:
Sibal sued Valdez. Valdez won. For the purpose of satisfying the
judgment won by Valdez, the sheriff attached the sugar cane
that was growing on the land of Sibal. Earlier, the land was
attached by X, another creditor of Sibal.
Within the 1-year redemption, Sibal wanted to redeem the lots
from X and the sugar cane from Valdez. The lots were
redeemed, the redemption of the sugarcane was refused by
Valdez, who contended that sugar cane is personal property
and therefore could not be the subject of legal redemption.
Sibal claimed that the sugar cane is real property for the same
would be considered as “growing fruits” under Art. 415(2).
Issue:
How should the sugar cane be regarded, as real property or
personal property?
 Movable Property
Held:
Although considered as “growing fruits” and
therefore ordinarily real property under Art.
415(2), the sugar cane here must be regarded
as personal property for the purposes of:
a. the Chattel Mortgage Law, and
b. attachment
because the right to the growing crops mobilizes
(makes personal) the crops by anticipation.
More specifically, the existence of a right on the
growing crop is a mobilization by anticipation, a
gathering as it were, in advance, rendering the
crops movable
 Movable Property
Art. 417. The following are also
considered as personal property:
1. Obligations and actions which have for
their object movables or demandable
sums; and
2. Shares of stock of agricultural,
commercial and industrial entities,
although they may have real estate
 Movable Property
Art. 418.
Movable property is either consumable or
non-consumable.
To the first class [consumable] belongs
those movables which cannot be used in
a manner appropriate to their nature
without being consumed, to the second
class belong all others.
 Property in Relation
Art. 419.
Property is either of public dominion or of private
ownership.
Art. 420.
The following are property of public dominion:
1. Those intended for public use, such as roads, canals,
rivers, torrents, ports and bridges constructed by the
State, bank, shores, roadsteads, and others of similar
character;
2. Those which belong to the State, without being for
public use, and are intended for some public
service or for the development of the national
wealth.
Property of Public Dominion
3 Kinds of Property of Public
Dominion
1. Property intended for public use
2. Property intended for some
public service
3. Property for the development of
the national wealth
Property of Public Dominion
Characteristics of Property of Public Dominion:
1. OUTSIDE the COMMERCE of MAN
2. CANNOT be acquired by PRESCRIPTION
3. CANNOT be REGISTERED under the Land
Registration Law and be subject to a Torrens
Title
4. CANNOT be ATTACHED or be LEVIED upon by
execution
5. CANNOT be BURDENED by voluntary
easements
Property of Public Dominion
Classification of Land of Public
Dominion:
1. Agricultural
2. Forest or Timber
3. Mineral
4. National Parks
Property of Public Dominion
Cases:
1. City of Manila v. Garcia [Feb 21, 1967]
2. RP v.Vda. Del Castillo [Jun 30, 1988]
3. RP v. Gonzales [Jul 31, 1991]
4. RP v. CA [Nov 14, 1997]
5. Febrera v. CA, Morato [Aug 12, 1004]
6. Villarico v. Sarmiento [Nov 11, 2004]
7. Domalsin v. Valenciano [Jan 25, 2006]
8. MIAA v. CA [Jul 2, 2006]
 Patrimonial Property
Art. 421.
All other property of the State, which is
not of the character stated in Art. 420, is
patrimonial property.
Art. 422.
Property of public dominion, when no
longer intended for public use or public
service, shall form part of the patrimonial
property of the State.
 Patrimonial Property
Patrimonial Property of the
State
Property owned by the State in its
private capacity and is not
devoted to public use, public
service or the development of
national wealth
 Patrimonial Property
Characteristics of Patrimonial Property
of the State
1. Acquired by the State pursuant to its
proprietary function
2. May be acquired by private individuals
through prescription
3. Withdrawn from public use if no longer
intended for public use
 Patrimonial Property
Entities that may Effect a Change or Conversion
from Property of Public Dominion to
Patrimonial Property:
1. Executive – through a positive act
2. Legislature – through a legislative enactment

Cases:
1. Cebu Oxygen v. Bercilles [Aug. 29, 1975]
2. Laurel v. Garcia [ Jul. 25, 1990]
3. International Hardwood v. UP [Aug. 31, 1991]
4. Chavez v. PEA [July 9, 2002]
 Property of LGU’s
Art. 423.
The property of provinces,
cities and municipalities is
divided into:
1. property for public use, and
2. patrimonial property.
 Property of LGU’s
Art. 424.
Property for public use, in the provinces, cities and
municipalities consist of the:
1. provincial roads, city streets, and municipal streets,
2. squares, fountains, public waters, promenades,
3. public works for public service paid for by said
provinces, cities or municipalities.
All other property possessed by any of them is
patrimonial and shall be governed by this Code,
without prejudice to the provisions of special laws.
 Property of LGU’s
Case:
1. Province of Zamboanga del Norte v. City of
Zamboanga [March 28, 1968]
 Private Property
Art. 425.
Property of private ownership,
besides the patrimonial property of
the State, provinces, cities and
municipalities consist of all
property belonging to private
persons, either collectively or
individually.