CHAPTER 1: OBLIGATIONS

OBLIGATION - An obligation is a juridical necessity to give, to do, or not to do. (Art. 1156)
REQUISITES:
1.
2.
3.
4.

JURIDICAL OR LEGAL TIE

ACTIVE SUBJECT - obligee or creditor
PASSIVE SUBJECT obligor or debtor
PRESTATION object of the obligation
Requisites:
1. It must
2. It must
3. It must
4. It must

be licit
be possible, physically or juridically
be determinate or determinable
have an equivalent in money

SOURCES OF OBLIGATION (ART. 1157)

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Law
Contracts
Quasi-contracts
Delicts
Quasi-delicts

LAW (OBLIGATION EX LEGE)

cannot be presumed; must be expressly and impliedly set forth

CONTRACT (OBLIGATION EX CONTRACTU)

it is the law between the contracting parties
-parties may enter into any stipulation provided it is not contrary to law, morals, public order or public policy

QUASI-CONTRACT
-Those juridical relations arising from lawful, voluntary, and unilateral acts, by virtue of which the parties become
bound to each other, based on the principle that no one shall be unjustly enriched or benefitted at the expense of
another.

KINDS OF QUASI-CONTRACTS:
1.
2.

NEGOTIORIUM GESTIO arises whenever a person voluntarily takes charge of the agency or management of the
business or property of another without any power of authority from the latter.
SOLUTIO INDEBITI arises whenever a person unduly delivers a thing through mistake to another who has no
right to demand it.

QUASI-DELICTS an act or omission by a person which causes damage to another giving rise to an obligation to pay for
the damage done, there being no fault or negligence and there being no pre-existing contractual relations between the
parties (Art. 2176, NCC)

REQUISITES:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

There
There
There
There
There

must be an act or omission

must be fault or negligence
must be damage caused to the plaintiff
must be a direct relation of cause and effect between the act or omission and the damage
is no pre-existing contractual relation between the parties

CHAPTER 2: NATURE AND EFFECT OF OBLIGATIONS

NATURE OF OBLIGATIONS
1. Personal Obligations - obligations to do, or not to do, subject matter of the obligation is an act to be done or
to be not done
a. Positive - obligation to do
b. Negative - obligation not to do

c.
2.

Real Obligations - obligations to give, the subject matter is a thing which the obligor must deliver to the
obligee
a. Determinate of specific - the object is particularly designated or physically segregated from all other
things of the same class
b. Generic - object is designated by its genus or class
c. Limited Generic - when the generic objects are confined to a particular class
Ex. An obligation to deliver one of my horses (Tolentino, Volume IV, p. 91)

EFFECT OF OBLIGATIONS
DUTIES OF A DEBTOR IN AN OBLIGATION TO DELIVER A DETERMINATE THING
(Arts. 1163, 1164, 1166)
1.

To preserve and take care of the thing due with the diligence of a good father of a family.
DILIGENCE OF A GOOD FATHER OF A FAMILY - ordinary care or that diligence which an average or reasonably
prudent person would exercise over his own property
Rule on Standard of Care:
1)
2)
3)

2.

That which is required by law;

That stipulated by the parties;
In the absence of the two, diligence of a good father of a family

To deliver the fruits of the thing from the time the obligation to deliver it arises
WHEN THE OBLIGATION TO DELIVER ARISES
GENERAL RULE: From the time of the perfection of the contract (meeting of the minds between the parties)
EXCEPTION:
1)
2)

When the parties stipulate regarding the right of the creditor to the fruits of the thing
When the obligation is subject to a suspensive condition; the obligation to deliver arises upon the
fulfillment of the condition or the arrival of the period.

PERSONAL RIGHT (JUS AD REM)

A right enforceable only against a particular person or a

REAL RIGHT (JUS IN REM)

A right enforceable against the whole world

definite group of persons

The right of a person (creditor) to demand from another
(creditor), as definite passive subject, the fulfillment of
the latters obligation to give, to do, or not to do.

3.

The right of a person over a specific thing (like owners

possession, mortgage), without a definite passive subje
against whom the right may be personally enforced.

To deliver its accessions and accessories

ACCESSIONS - are the fruits of a thing or additions to or improvements upon a thing.
Ex. House or trees on land, air-conditioner in a car
ACCESSORIES - are things joined to or included with the principal thing for the latter's embellishment, better
use, or completion.
Ex. Key of a house

4.
5.

To deliver the thing itself

To pay damages in case of breach of the obligation by reason of delay, fraud, negligence, contravention of the
tenor of the obligation.

DUTIES OF DEBTOR IN AN OBLIGATION TO GIVE A GENERIC THING

1.
2.

To deliver the thing which should be neither of superior nor of inferior quality.
To pay damages in case of breach of the obligation by reason of delay, fraud, negligence, contravention of the
tenor of the obligation.

REMEDIES OF CREDITOR IN CASE OF NON-PERFORMANCE

1.
2.
3.

Specific Performance Performance by the obligor of the prestation itself

Substitute Performance Performance of the obligation by another person at the expense of the obligor
Equivalent Performance Damages

REMEDIES

Real Obligations
Determinate
Generic

Personal Obligations
To Do
Not To Do

Specific Performance

Equivalent
Performance

Can only be
demanded if
obligation is not
based on personal
qualifications of the
obligor
X

Substitute
Performance
Rescission/Cancellatio
n

BREACH OF OBLIGATIONS

Undo the things

already done
X

Undo the things

already done at the
obligors expense

1. Voluntary the debtor in the performance of the obligation is guilty of:

a. Fraud
b. Negligence
c. Delay
d. Contravention of the tenor