POSSESSION holding of a thing or the enjoyment

of a right, whether by material occupation or by the

fact that the thing or the right is subjected to the
action of our will.
- It is a real right independent of and apart from
ownership
Viewpoints:
Right TO possession jus possidendi; a right or
incident of ownership
Right OF possession jus possessionis; an
independent right of itself, independent of
ownership
Essential requisites of possession:
a. Holding or control of a thing or right
b. Intention to possess
Degrees of holding possession:
a. Mere holding or possession without title
whatsoever and in violation of the right of the
owner
b. Possession with juridical title but not that of
ownership
Ex. tenant, depository, agent, bailee, trustee,
lessee, antichretic creditor
- Will never ripen into full ownership so long as
there is no repudiation of concept under which
property is held
c. Possession with just title or title sufficient to
transfer ownership, but not from the true owner
- May ripen into full ownership by lapse of time
through acquisitive prescription
d. Possession with just title from the true owner
Cases of possession:
a. Possession by ones self or possession exercised
in ones own name, possession in the name of
another
Art. 524. Possession may be exercised in ones own
name or in that of another.
b. Possession in the concept of an owner and
possession in the concept of a holder and
ownership belonging to another
Art. 525. The possession of things or rights may be
had in one of two concepts: either in the concept of
owner, or in that of the holder of the thing or right
to keep or enjoy it, the ownership pertaining to
another person.
c. Possession in good faith/bad faith
Art. 526. He is deemed a possessor in good faith
who is not aware that there exists in his title or
mode of acquisition any flaw which invalidates it.
He is deemed a possessor in bad faith who
possesses in any case contrary to the foregoing.
Mistake upon a doubtful or difficult question of law
may be the basis of good faith.
Effect of possession by possession in the concept of
owner:

1. Possession with lapse of time may be converted

into ownership; subject to certain exceptions
2. Presumption of just title and cannot be obliged
to show/prove it
Art. 541. A possessor in the concept of owner has in
his favor the legal presumption that he possesses
with a just title and he cannot be obliged to show or
prove it.
Requirements to raise disputable presumption of
ownership:
a) One must be in possession
b) In the concept of owner
Kinds of Titles:
(a) True and Valid Title (Titulo Verdadero y Valido)
sufficient by itself to transfer ownership without
the necessity of letting the prescriptive period
lapse
(b) Colourable Title(Titulo Colorado) - although
there was a mode of transferring ownership, still
something is wrong, because grantor is not the
owner; what is meant by just title in the law of
prescription
(c) Putative Title (Titulo Putativo) although a
person believes himself to be the owner, he
nonetheless is not, because there was no mode
of acquiring ownership
Exception:
Art. 1131. For the purposes of prescription, just title
must be proved; it is never presumed.
3. Possessor may bring all actions necessary to
protect his possession except accion
reivindicatoria
4. May employ self-help under Art. 429:
The owner or lawful possessor of a thing has the
right to exclude any person from the enjoyment and
disposal thereof. for this purpose, he may use such
force as may be reasonably necessary to repel or
prevent an actual or threatened unlawful physical
invasion or usurpation of his property.
5. Possessor may ask for inscription of such real
right of possession in the registry of property
6. Has right to the fruits and reimbursement for
expenses
7. Upon recovery of possession which he has been
unlawfully deprived may demand fruits and
damages
8. Generally he can do on the things possessed
everything that the law authorizes an owner to
do until he is ousted by one who has a better
right
Presumption in favor of the possessor:
a. Good faith until the contrary is proved
Art. 527. Good faith is always presumed, and upon
him who alleges bad faith on the part of a
possessor rests the burden of proof.
b. Continuity of initial good faith in which
possession was commenced

Qualification of rule:
Art. 528. Possession acquired in good faith does not
lose this character except in the case and from the
moment facts exist which show that the possessor
is not unaware that he possesses the thing
improperly or wrongfully.
c. Of enjoyment of possession in the same
character in which possession was acquired
until contrary is proved
Art. 529. It is presumed that possession continues
to be enjoyed in the same character in which it was
acquired, until the contrary is proved.
d. Of non-interruption of possession in favor of
present possessor who proves possession at a
previous time until the contrary is proved
Art. 554. A present possessor who shows his
possession at some previous time, is presumed to
have held possession also during the intermediate
period, in the absence of proof to the contrary.
Article 1120. Possession is interrupted for the
purposes of prescription, naturally or civilly.
Article 1121. Possession is naturally interrupted
when through any cause it should cease for more
than one year. The old possession is not revived if a
new possession should be exercised by the same
adverse claimant.
Article 1122. If the natural interruption is for only
one year or less, the time elapsed shall be counted
in favor of the prescription.
Article 1123. Civil interruption is produced by
judicial summons to the possessor.
Article 1124. Judicial summons shall be deemed not
to have been issued and shall not give rise to
interruption:
(1) If it should be void for lack of legal solemnities;
(2) If the plaintiff should desist from the complaint
or should allow the proceedings to lapse;
(3) If the possessor should be absolved from the
complaint.
In all these cases, the period of the interruption
shall be counted for the prescription.
e. Of continuous possession or non-interruption of
possession of which he was wrongfully deprived,
for all purposes favourable to him
Art. 561. One who recovers, according to law,
possession unjustly lost, shall be deemed for all
purposes which may redound to his benefit, to have
enjoyed it without interruption.
f.

Other presumptions with respect to specific

properties or property rights:
i.
Of extension of possession of real
property to all movables contained
therein so long as it is not shown that
they should be excluded; exceptions

Article 426. Whenever by provision of the law, or an

individual declaration, the expression "immovable things
or property," or "movable things or property," is used, it
shall be deemed to include, respectively, the things
enumerated in Chapter 1 and Chapter 2.

Whenever the word "muebles," or "furniture," is used

alone, it shall not be deemed to include money, credits,
commercial securities, stocks and bonds, jewelry,
scientific or artistic collections, books, medals, arms,
clothing, horses or carriages and their accessories,
grains, liquids and merchandise, or other things which do
not have as their principal object the furnishing or
ornamenting of a building, except where from the context
of the law, or the individual declaration, the contrary
clearly appears.

ii.

Non-interruption of possession of
hereditary property
Art. 533. The possession of hereditary property is
deemed transmitted to the heir without interruption
and from the moment of the death of the decedent,
in case the inheritance is accepted. One who validly
renounces an inheritance is deemed never to have
possessed the same.
TACKING:

Article 1138. In the computation of time necessary for

prescription the following rules shall be observed:
(1) The present possessor may complete the period
necessary for prescription by tacking his possession to
that of his grantor or predecessor in interest;
(2) It is presumed that the present possessor who was
also the possessor at a previous time, has continued to
be in possession during the intervening time, unless there
is proof to the contrary;
(3) The first day shall be excluded and the last day
included.

***Tacking is allowed only if there be privity of

relationship between the predecessor and the
successor, ex. succession, donation, sale, barter,
etc. mere intruder or usurper cannot tack.
iii.
Possession of movable equivalent to title
Art. 559. The possession of movable property
acquired in good faith is equivalent to a title.
Nevertheless, one who has lost any movable or has
been unlawfully deprived thereof, may recover it
from the person in possession of the same.
If the possessor of a movable lost or of which the
owner has been unlawfully deprived, has acquired it
in good faith at a public sale, the owner cannot
obtain its return without reimbursing the price paid
therefor.
Summary of Recovery or Non-Recovery Principle:
a. Owner may recover without reimbursement:
1) From possessor in bad faith
2) From possessor in good faith (if owner lost
or was unlawfully deprived of property)
acquisition from private person
b. Owner may recover but should reimburse:
1) If possessor acquired in good faith at public
sale or auction
c. Owner cannot recover, even if he offers to
reimburse:
1) Possessor acquired in good faith by
purchase from a merchants store, fairs,
markets
2) If owner is by his conduct precluded from
denying the sellers authority to sell
(estoppel)

3) Possessor had obtained the goods because

he was an innocent purchaser for value and
holder of a negotiable document of title to
the goods
iv.
In favor of co-possessor
Art. 543. Each one of the participants of a thing
possessed in common shall be deemed to have
exclusively possessed the part which may be
allotted to him upon the division thereof for the
entire period during which the co-possession lasted.
Interruption in the possession of the whole or a part
of a thing possessed in common shall be to the
prejudice of all the possessors. However, in case of
civil interruption, the Rules of Court shall apply.
Art. 530. Only things and rights which are
susceptible of being appropriated may be the object
of possession.
What may not be possessed by private persons:
1. Res communes things common to all
2. Property of public dominion
3. Discontinuous and/or non-apparent
easements
ACQUISITION OF POSSESSION
ART. 531. Possession is acquired by the material
occupation of a thing or the exercise of a right, or
by the fact that it is subject to the action of our will,
or by the proper acts and legal formalities
established for acquiring such right.
Ways of acquiring possession:
1. Material occupation of the thing
- Doctrine of constructive possession includes
constructive delivery
i.
Traditio brevi manu when a person who
possessed property not as an owner
(ex.lessee), now possesses it as owner
ii.
Constitutum possessorium when a
person who possessed property as an
owner, now possesses it in some other
capacity (ex. lessee/depositary)
2. Subjection to our will
- includes:
i.
traditio longa manu by mere
agreement, consent pointing
ii.
traditio simbolica by delivery of keys
3. by acts and legal formalities refers to the
acquisition of possession by sufficient title,
inter vivos or mortis causa, lucrative title,
gratuitous or onerous
ex. donations, succession (testate/intestate),
contracts, judicial writs of possession, writ of
execution of judgments, execution and
registration of public instruments
Essential requirements for possession

a. Corpus the thing physically detained

b. Animus intent to possess
Constructive possession of land:
If an entire parcel is possessed under claim of
ownership, there is constructive possession of the
entire parcel, unless a portion thereof is adversely
possessed by another. Area, however, must be
within reasonable limits.
Art. 532. Possession may be acquired by the same
person who is to enjoy it, by his legal
representative, by his agent, or by any person
without any power whatever; but in the last case,
the possession shall not be considered as acquired
until the person in whose name the act of
possession was executed has ratified the same,
without prejudice to the juridical consequences of
negotiorum gestio in a proper case.
By whom may possession be acquired:
1. by the same person;
elements of personal acquisition
a. intent to possess
b. capacity to possess
c. object must be capable of being
possessed
2. by his legal representatives
Requisites:
a. intent to possess for principal
b. authority or capacity to possess
c. principal has intent and capacity to
possess
3. by his agent
4. by any person without any power whatsoever
but subject to ratification, without prejudice to
proper case of negotiorum gestio
Requisites:
a. intent to possess for another
b. capacity of principal to possess
c. ratification by principal
Article 2144. Whoever voluntarily takes charge of
the agency or management of the business or
property of another, without any power from the
latter, is obliged to continue the same until the
termination of the affair and its incidents, or to
require the person concerned to substitute him, if
the owner is in a position to do so. This juridical
relation does not arise in either of these instances:
(1) When the property or business is not neglected
or abandoned;
(2) If in fact the manager has been tacitly
authorized by the owner.
In the first case, the provisions of articles 1317,
1403, No. 1, and 1404 regarding unauthorized
contracts shall govern.
In the second case, the rules on agency in Title X of
this Book shall be applicable.
Article 2149. The ratification of the management by
the owner of the business produces the effects of

an express agency, even if the business may not

have been successful.
Article 2150. Although the officious management
may not have been expressly ratified, the owner of
the property or business who enjoys the
advantages of the same shall be liable for
obligations incurred in his interest, and shall
reimburse the officious manager for the necessary
and useful expenses and for the damages which the
latter may have suffered in the performance of his
duties.
The same obligation shall be incumbent upon him
when the management had for its purpose the
prevention of an imminent and manifest loss,
although no benefit may have been derived.
5. Qualifiedly minor and incapacitated persons
Art. 535. Minors and incapacitated persons may
acquire the possession of things; but they need the
assistance of their legal representatives in order to
exercise the rights which from the possession arise
in their favor.
Art. 537. Acts merely tolerated, and those executed
clandestinely and without the knowledge of the
possessor of a thing, or by violence, do not affect
possession.
Clandestine possession secret possession, or
possession by stealth, unknown to owner
Article 1119. Acts of possessory character executed
in virtue of license or by mere tolerance of the
owner shall not be available for the purposes of
possession.
What do not affect possession:
1. Acts merely tolerated
2. Acts executed clandestinely and without the
knowledge of the possessor
3. Acts by violence
Art. 536. In no case may possession be acquired
through force or intimidation as long as there is a
possessor who objects thereto. He who believes
that he has an action or a right to deprive another
of the holding of a thing, must invoke the aid of the
competent court, if the holder should refuse to
deliver the thing.
Force
1.
2.
3.

may be:
Actual or merely threatened
Done by possessor or his agent
Done against owner or against any other
possessor, or representative
4. Done to outs possessor; or to prevent his
getting back to the premises

Meaning of acts.. do not affect possession:

- Intruder does not acquire any right to
possession

Legal possessor, even if physically ousted, is

still the possessor
a. Still entitled to benefits of prescription
b. Still entitled to fruits
c. Still entitled as possessor for all purposes
favourable to his possession
Intruder cannot acquire the property by
prescription

Rules to solve conflict of possession:

Art. 538. Possession as a fact cannot be recognized
at the same time in two different personalities
except in the case of co-possession. Should a
question arise regarding the fact of possession, the
present possessor shall be preferred; if there are
two possessors, the one longer in possession; if the
dates of the possession are the same, the one who
presents a title; and if all these conditions are
equal, the thing shall be placed in judicial deposit
pending determination of its possession or
ownership through proper proceedings.
General Rule:
Possession cannot be recognized in two different
personalities, except in case of co-possession by copossessors without conflicting claims or interest
In case of conflict, preference is given to
1. Present possessor or actual possessor
2. If there be 2 or more possessors, the one longer
in possession
3. If dates of possession are the same, the one
who presents a title
4. If all conditions are equal, the thing shall be
placed in judicial deposit pending determination
of possession or ownership through proper
proceedings
Judicial deposit / sequestration takes place when
an attachment or seizure of property in litigation is
ordered
Preference of ownership:
a. Movable property given to the person who
first possessed in good faith
b. Immovable property
1) To the first who registered his right in good
faith in the Registry of Property
2) If no registration, to the one who first
possessed in good faith
3) If no possession, to the one who presents
the oldest title, provided it was acquired in
good faith
Art. 539. Every possessor has a right to be
respected in his possession; and should he be
disturbed therein he shall be protected in or
restored to said possession by the means
established by the laws and the Rules of Court.

A possessor deprived of his possession through

forcible entry may within ten days from the filing of
the complaint present a motion to secure from the
competent court, in the action for forcible entry, a
writ of preliminary mandatory injunction to restore
him in his possession. The court shall decide the
motion within 30days from the filing thereof.
Effects of possession:
a. In general, every possessor has a right to be
respected in his possession
1. In case he should be disturbed he shall be
protected in and restored to said possession
- Actions to recover possession
i.
Summary proceedings. Forcible entry
and unlawful detainer, writ of preliminary
mandatory injunction in forcible entry
cases within 15(10days in the book)days
from filing of complaint
- The same writ is available in unlawful detainer
actions upon appeal
Article 1674. In ejectment cases where an appeal is
taken the remedy granted in article 539, second
paragraph, shall also apply, if the higher court is
satisfied that the lessee's appeal is frivolous or
dilatory, or that the lessor's appeal is prima facie
meritorious. The period of ten days referred to in
said article shall be counted from the time the
appeal is perfected.
ii.

Action publiciana (based on superior

right of possession, not ownership)
iii.
Accion reivindicatoria (recovery of
ownership)
iv.
Action for replevin (of movable property)
Rules of Court, Rule 60, Section 1. Application.
A party praying for the recovery of possession of
personal property may, at the commencement of
the action or at any time before answer, apply for
an order for the delivery of such property to him, in
the manner hereinafter provided.
Reasons for requiring legal means:
a) To prevent spoliation or a disregard of public
order
b) To prevent deprivation of property without due
process of law
c) To prevent a person from taking the law into his
own hands
2. A possessor can employ self help
Article 429. The owner or lawful possessor of a
thing has the right to exclude any person from the
enjoyment and disposal thereof. For this purpose,
he may use such force as may be reasonably
necessary to repel or prevent an actual or

threatened unlawful physical invasion or usurpation

of his property.
Loss of possession:
Art. 555. A possessor may lose his possession:
(1) By the abandonment of the thing;
(2) By an assignment made to another either by
onerous or gratuitous title;
(3) By the destruction or total loss of the thing,
or because it goes out of commerce;
(4) By the possession of another, subject to the
provisions of Art. 537 if the new possession
has lasted longer than one year. But the real
right of possession is not lost till after the
lapse of ten years.
Ways of losing possession:
1. Thru possessors voluntary will and intent
a. Abandonment voluntary renunciation of a
thing
Requisites:
(1) Abandoner must have been a possessor in the
concept of owner
(2) Must have the capacity to renounce or alienate
(3) Physical relinquishment of thing/object
(4) No more spes recuperandi (expectation to
recover) and no more animus revertendi (intent
to return or get back)
b. Assignment complete transmission of
ownership rights to another person
2. Against possessors will
a. Possession of another for more than one
year
b. Final judgment in favor of another with a
better right
c. Expropriation
d. Prescription in favor of another
e. Recovery or reivindication by the legitimate
owner or possessor
3. Because of the object
a. Destruction or total loss
b. Going out of commerce
c. Escaping from possessors control of wild
animals
Art. 556. The possession of movables is not deemed
lost so long as they remain under the control of the
possessor, even though for the time being he may
not know their whereabouts.
Art. 557. The possession of immovables and of real
rights is not deemed lost, or transferred for
purposes of prescription to the prejudice of third
persons, except in accordance with the provisions
of the Mortgage Law and the Land Registration
Laws.