PERSONS *Insanity or Imbecility.
– Insanity includes the various forms
Title I. - CIVIL PERSONALITY
CHAPTER 1
GENERAL PROVISIONS
Art. 37. Juridical capacity, which is the fitness to be the
subject of legal relations, is inherent in every natural person
and is lost only through death. Capacity to act, which is the
power to do acts with legal effect, is acquired and may be
lost. (n)
Kinds of Capacity. – Capacity may be (1) juridical capacity, and (2)
capacity to act. The union of these two forms the full civil capacity.
*Juridical capacity is synonymous to legal capacity and to
personality. These terms are, therefore, used interchangeably in the
law. They all refer to the aptitude for the holding and enjoyment of
rights. Juridical capacity is indivisible, irreducible, and essentially
the same for all men; it is an inherent and ineffaceable attribute of
man, and attaches to him by the mere fact of his being a man. It is
acquired upon birth and there are some cases that even the child is
still unborn he is already given provisional personality and it is
terminated upon death.
* Capacity to act is the aptitude for the exercise of rights, and is
often referred to merely as “capacity.” In this sense, it is broadly
defined as “the ability, power, qualification, or competency of
persons, natural or artificial, for the performance of civil acts
depending on their state or condition (status) as defined or fixed by
law”. Capacity to act is conditional and variable. It is acquired and
may be lost. The mere existence of a man is not sufficient to confer
capacity to act, because this capacity requires both intelligence and
will; and since these are not always present in all men, nor are they
always of the same degree, the law in some cases denies this capacity
and in others limits it.
Juridical capacity can exist without the capacity to act, but the
existence of the latter implies that of the former. They do not always
coincide.
Art. 38. Minority, insanity or imbecility, the state of being a
deaf-mute, prodigality and civil interdiction are mere
restrictions on capacity to act, and do not exempt the
incapacitated person from certain obligations, as when the
latter arise from his acts or from property relations, such as
easements. (32a)
Case Digest: The causes of incapacity enumerated in this article are
minority, insanity or imbecility, the state of being a deaf-mute,
prodigality, and civil interdiction. However, these are not the only
causes of incapacity. Some of them are mentioned in the next article,
such as family relations, alienage, absence, insolvency, and
trusteeship. Others are to be found in the Rules of Court and other
legal provisions.
*Minority. – The age of majority commences upon the attainment
of the age of 18 years (R.A. 6809); a person bellow such age is a
minor, and has a limited capacity to act. The unemancipated minor
cannot enter into contracts; but he may be estopped from disavowing
his contract if he has misled the other party as to his age
The mere fact that one month after the execution of the contract, the
minor informed the other contracting party of his minority, does not
affect the case; such subsequent information is of no moment,
because his previous misrepresentation has already estopped him
from disavowing the contract.
.
of mental disease, either inherited or acquired, in which there is a
perversion of the mentality, as when the person is suffering from
illusions, hallucinations, or delusions, unnatural exaltation or
depression, or insane ideas of persecution or power. Various
phases of insanity are known as dementia praecox, paranoia,
schizophrenia, mania, melancholia, etc. It is a manifestation, in
language or conduct, of disease or defect of the brain, or a more or
less permanently diseased or disordered condition of the
mentality, functional or organic, characterized by perversion,
inhibition, or disordered function of the sensory or of the
intellective faculties, or by impaired or disordered volition.
An insane person cannot make a valid will or testament and he
cannot validly give consent to contracts.
*Deaf-Mutism. – The old rule that a deaf-mute was presumed to
be an idiot no longer prevails; such persons are now considered as
capable of entering into contracts if shown to have sufficient
mental capacity. A deaf-mute can make a valid will, so long as its
contents have been communicated or made known to him in some
practicable manner. But when the deaf-mute does not know how
to read and write, he cannot give consent to contracts and he
cannot personally accept or repudiate an inheritance.
*Civil Interdiction. – is the legal restrain upon a person
incapable of managing his, estate because of mental incapacity
from signing any deed. Civil interdiction is an accessory penalty
imposed upon persons who are sentenced to a principal penalty
not lower than reclusion temporal (article 41, Revised Penal Code),
which is a penalty ranging from twelve years and one day to twenty
years.
Article 34 of the Revised Penal Code provides: “Civil interdiction
shall deprive the offender during the time of his sentence of the
rights of parental authority, or guardianship, either as to the
person or property of any ward, of marital authority, of the right to
manage his property, and of the right to dispose of such property
by any act or any conveyance inter vivos.”
*Prodigality. – A spendthrift or prodigal is a “person who, by
excessive drinking, gambling, idleness or debauchery of any kind
shall so spend, waste or lessen his estate as to expose himself or
his family to want or suffering” . The acts of prodigality must show
a morbid state of mind and disposition to spend, waste and lessen
the estate to such an extent as is likely to expose the family to want
of support, or to deprive the compulsory heirs of their legitime.
Prodigality in itself does not limit the capacity of a person to act.
He may enter into contracts and make wills disposing of his
property. There is no specific provision which incapacitates him
for any particular act. But he may be placed under guardianship as
an incompetent under the provisions of Rule 93, section 2, of the
Rules of Court. The moment he is under guardianship, his capacity
to act is restricted, because he can only bind himself by contract
through his guardian.
Art. 39. The following circumstances, among others, modify
or limit capacity to act: age, insanity, imbecility, the state of
being a deaf-mute, penalty, prodigality, family relations,
alienage, absence, insolvency and trusteeship. The
consequences of these circumstances are governed in this
Code, other codes, the Rules of Court, and in special laws.
Capacity to act is not limited on account of religious belief
or political opinion.
A married woman, twenty-one years of age or over, is
qualified for all acts of civil life, except in cases specified by
law. (n)
A married woman, eighteen years (previously twenty-one, as
amended by R.A. 6809) of age or over, is qualified for all acts of
civil life, except in cases specified by law.
Some of the circumstances mentioned in the present article as modifying or
limiting capacity to act are already given in the preceding article.
Art. 41. For civil purposes, the fetus is considered born if it
is alive at the time it is completely delivered from the
mother's womb. However, if the fetus had an intra-uterine
life of less than seven months, it is not deemed born if it
dies within twenty-four hours after its complete delivery
from the maternal womb. (30a)

*Family Relations. – Certain family relations limit the capacity of
persons for some juridical acts. Ascendants and descendants, brothers and
sisters, and collateral relatives within the fourth civil degree (as cousins),
cannot validly marry; their marriage would be incestuous or against public
policy and void. Husband and wife, during the marriage, cannot give
donations to each other were limited by previous constitutions.
Art. 42. Civil personality is extinguished by death.
The effect of death upon the rights and obligations of the
deceased is determined by law, by contract and by
will. (32a)

*Alienage or Citizenship. – Citizenship may affect the right of persons

in matters where the State may validly discriminate between aliens and its
citizens for reasons of public policy, without doing violence to the equal
protection of the laws. Some of the limitations on the rights of aliens are
imposed by the Constitution, and others by statute.
 Death puts an end to civil personality
 Dead person continues to have personality only through
contract, will, or as determined by law.
 Creditors can still claim from the estate of the deceased any
obligation due to them.

* Absence. – A person is absent when he disappears from his domicile, No human body shall be buried unless the proper death
and his whereabouts are unknown. He cannot properly administer his certificate has been presented and recorded however during
properties, and so another person is appointed to administer them. an epidemic bodies may be buried provided that the death
Continued absence may even give rise to the presumption of his death certificate be secured within 5 days after the burial.
(article 390). However, the absentee may be alive somewhere, and, if not
otherwise incapacitated, his acts in such other place are perfectly valid. He
can even alienate his properties without the knowledge of those who
administer them in his domicile, and the alienation would be valid to confer
title upon the grantee.
Art. 43. If there is a doubt, as between two or more persons
who are called to succeed each other, as to which of them
died first, whoever alleges the death of one prior to the
*Insolvency and Trusteeship. – When a person has been adjudicated as
an insolvent, his capacity to dispose of his property becomes limited. He
other, shall prove the same; in the absence of proof, it is
cannot dispose of his property existing at the time of the commencement of presumed that they died at the same time and there shall be
the insolvency proceedings; and no payments of property or credit can be no transmission of rights from one to the other. (33)
made to him.

*Physical Condition. – In some cases, the physical condition of a person
may limit capacity for certain acts. Thus, physical incapacity to enter into
the married state, or impotence, is a ground for annulment of marriage, and
a person who is blind, or deaf or dumb, cannot be a witness to the execution
of a will.
 Applies to persons who are called to succeed each other like
mother and child. (Necessary to determine the amount of
inheritance one is to receive, transmission of rights, etc.)
 If there is no proof as to who died first, they are presumed to
have died at the same time and thus no transmission of rights
from one to the other.
 Proof of death cannot be established from mere inference or
presumptions. It must be established by clear positive evidence.

CHAPTER 2

NATURAL PERSONS

Art. 40. Birth determines personality; but the conceived

child shall be considered born for all purposes that are
favorable to it, provided it be born later with the conditions
specified in the following article. (29a)

Article 40: Birth determines personality; but the conceived

child shall be considered born for all purposes that are
favorable to it, provided it be born later with the conditions
specified in the following article. (29a)

COMMENCEMENT OF CIVIL PERSONALITY. Article 5 of

PD #603, “Child and youth welfare code,” amended article
40 of civil code

The civil personality of the child shall commence from the

time of his conception (the beginning of pregnancy) for all
purposes favorable to him, subject to the requirements of
article 41 of the civil code.
 Art. 47. Upon the dissolution of corporations, institutions
and other entities for public interest or purpose mentioned
CHAPTER 3 in No. 2 of Article 44,

JURIDICAL PERSONS their property and other assets shall be disposed of in

pursuance of law or the charter creating them.

Art. 44. The following are juridical persons: If nothing has been specified on this point, the property
and other assets shall be applied to similar purposes for the
(1) The State and its political subdivisions; benefit of the region, province, city or municipality which
during the existence of the institution derived the principal
(2) Other corporations, institutions and entities for public benefits from the same. (39a)
interest or purpose, created by law; their personality begins
as soon as they have been constituted according to law; Dissolution Defined
(3) Corporations, partnerships and associations for private
The dissolution of a corporation is the termination of its
interest or purpose to which the law grants a juridical
existence as a legal entity.
personality, separate and distinct from that of each
shareholder, partner or member. (35a)
No. 2 of Article 44
Art. 45. Juridical persons mentioned in Nos. 1 and 2 of the
preceding article are governed by the laws creating or
Other corporations, institutions and entities for public
recognizing them.
interest or purpose, created by law; their personality
begins as soon as they have been constituted according to
Private corporations are regulated by laws of general law
application on the subject.

Partnerships and associations for private interest or Corporations, institutions and other entities for public
purpose are governed by the provisions of this Code interest or purpose
concerning partnerships. (36 and 37a)
Examples of these are:
Art. 46. Juridical persons may acquire and possess
property of all kinds, as well as incur obligations and bring
civil or criminal actions, in conformity with the laws and  Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP)
regulations of their organization. (38a)  Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP)
 Duty Free Philippines
 Government Service Insurance System (GSIS)
STATE. It is the political organization of the society legally
supreme within and independent of legal control from  Home Development Mutual Fund (Pag-IBIG)
without. Under Article XVI, Section 2 of the 1987 Philippine  Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP)
Constitution, As a fundamental rule, the state cannot be sued
without its consent. This consent will be given by the state if
When do Corporations undergo dissolution?
it enters into a contract with a private entity. More so, If the
state exercising the power of eminent domain fails to give
just compensation to a property belonging to a private  voluntary filing of the dissolution because the
individual or ordinary citizen, the latter are in cases of corporation is incapable of continuing the business
progression of the government which inevitably requires
properties belonging to a Citizen.  involuntarily filing of the dissolution through
government action as a result of failure to pay tax
 surrender or expiration of its charter
Further it is not imperative upon suing the state that the  legal proceedings
State should be liable for its act which causes the State to be
sued. Like any other Individual, the State has also the right
Dissolution for Private Corporations
to establish its rightful position if there is.

According to Section 40 Title IV of the Corporation Code,

a corporation may, by a majority vote of its board of
What are Political Subdivision? Basically they are the
directors sell, lease, exchange, mortgage, pledge, or
Municipal Corporation; In the Philippines they are the
dispose all its property and assets, including goodwill.
Provinces, Municipalities and Cities. The latter has two fold
functions. In one it can function as Governmental and
political act, and on the other hand their Fucntion can be
Private or propriety .
 MARRIAGE
Chapter 1. Requisites of Marriage
Article 1. Marriage is a special contract of permanent union
between a man and a woman entered into in accordance
with law for the establishment of conjugal and family life.
It is the foundation of the family and an inviolable social
institution whose nature, consequences, and incidents are
governed by law and not subject to stipulation, except that
marriage settlements may fix the property relations during
the marriage within the limits provided by this Code. (52a)
Art. 2. No marriage shall be valid, unless these essential
requisites are present:LC
(1) Legal capacity of the contracting parties who must be a
male and a female; and
(2) Consent freely given in the presence of the solemnizing
officer. (53a)
Consent freely given: A marriage
entered into by a person whose real intent is to avoid
prosecution for rape is void for total
lack of consent. The accused did not intend
to be married. He merely used such
marriage to escape criminal liability.
Art. 3. The formal requisites of marriage are:AVC
(1) Authority of the solemnizing officer;
(2) A Valid marriage license except in the cases provided for
in Chapter 2 of this Title; and
(3) A marriage Ceremony which takes place with the
appearance of the contracting parties before the solemnizing
officer and their personal declaration that they take each
other as husband and wife in the presence of not less than
two witnesses of legal age. (53a, 55a)
Art. 4. The absence of any of the essential or formal
requisites shall render the marriage void ab initio, except as
stated in Article 35 (2).
A defect in any of the essential requisites shall not affect the
validity of the marriage but the party or parties responsible
for the irregularity shall be civilly, criminally and
administratively liable. (n)
Art. 5. Any male or female of the age of eighteen years or
upwards not under any of the impediments mentioned in
Articles 37 and 38, may contract marriage. (54a)
Art. 6. No prescribed form or religious rite for the
solemnization of the marriage is required. It shall be
necessary, however, for the contracting parties to appear
personally before the solemnizing officer and declare in the
presence of not less than two witnesses of legal age that
they take each other as husband and wife. This declaration
shall be contained in the marriage certificate which shall be
signed by the contracting parties and their witnesses and
attested by the solemnizing officer.
In case of a marriage in articulo mortis, when the party at
the point of death is unable to sign the marriage certificate,
it shall be sufficient for one of the witnesses to the marriage
to write the name of said party, which fact shall be attested
by the solemnizing officer. (55a)
Art. 7. Marriage may be solemnized by:
(1) Any incumbent member of the judiciary within the
court's jurisdiction;
(2) Any priest, rabbi, imam, or minister of any church or
religious sect duly authorized by his church or religious sect
and registered with the civil registrar general, acting within
the limits of the written authority granted by his church or
religious sect and provided that at least one of the
contracting parties belongs to the solemnizing officer's
church or religious sect;
(3) Any ship captain or airplane chief only in the case
mentioned in Article 31;
(4) Any military commander of a unit to which a chaplain is
assigned, in the absence of the latter, during a military
operation, likewise only in the cases mentioned in Article
32;
(5) Any consul-general, consul or vice-consul in the case
provided in Article 10. (56a)
Article. 8. The marriage shall be solemnized publicly in the
chambers of the judge or in open court, in the church,
chapel or temple, or in the office the consul-general, consul
or vice-consul, as the case may be, and not elsewhere,
except in cases of marriages contracted on the point of
death or in remote places in accordance with Article 29 of
this Code, or where both of the parties request the
solemnizing officer in writing in which case the marriage
may be solemnized at a house or place designated by them
in a sworn statement to that effect. (57a)
Art. 9. A marriage license shall be issued by the local civil
registrar of the city or municipality where either contracting
party habitually resides, except in marriages where no
license is required in accordance with Chapter 2 of this
Title. (58a)
Art. 10. Marriages between Filipino citizens abroad may be
solemnized by a consul-general, consul or vice-consul of the
Republic of the Philippines. The issuance of the marriage
license and the duties of the local civil registrar and of the
solemnizing officer with regard to the celebration of
marriage shall be performed by said consular official. (75a)
Art. 15. Any contracting party between the age of twenty-
one and twenty-five shall be obliged to ask their parents or
guardian for advice upon the intended marriage. If they do
not obtain such advice, or if it be unfavorable, the marriage
license shall not be issued till after three months following
the completion of the publication of the application therefor.
A sworn statement by the contracting parties to the effect
that such advice has been sought, together with the written
advice given, if any, shall be attached to the application for
marriage license. Should the parents or guardian refuse to
give any advice, this fact shall be stated in the sworn
statement. (62a)
Art. 16. In the cases where parental consent or parental
advice is needed, the party or parties concerned shall, in
addition to the requirements of the preceding articles,
attach a certificate issued by a priest, imam or minister
 authorized to solemnize marriage under Article 7 of this
Code or a marriage counselor duly accredited by the proper
government agency to the effect that the contracting parties
have undergone marriage counseling.
Failure to attach said certificates of marriage counseling
shall suspend the issuance of the marriage license for a
period of three months from the completion of the
publication of the application. Issuance of the marriage
license within the prohibited period shall subject the issuing
officer to administrative sanctions but shall not affect the
validity of the marriage.
Should only one of the contracting parties need parental
consent or parental advice, the other party must be present
at the counseling referred to in the preceding paragraph.
Art. 18. In case of any impediment known to the local civil
registrar or brought to his attention, he shall note down the
particulars thereof and his findings thereon in the
application for marriage license, but shall nonetheless issue
said license after the completion of the period of publication,
unless ordered otherwise by a competent court at his own
instance or that of any interest party. No filing fee shall be
charged for the petition nor a corresponding bond required
for the issuances of the order.
the marriage to the local civil registrar of the municipality
where it was performed within the period of thirty days after
the performance of the marriage. (75a)
Art. 31. A marriage in articulo mortis between passengers
or crew members may also be solemnized by a ship captain
or by an airplane pilot not only while the ship is at sea or
the plane is in flight, but also during stopovers at ports of
call. (74a)
Art. 32. A military commander of a unit, who is a
commissioned officer, shall likewise have authority to
solemnize marriages in articulo mortis between persons
within the zone of military operation, whether members of
the armed forces or civilians. (74a)
Art. 33. Marriages among Muslims or among members of
the ethnic cultural communities may be performed validly
without the necessity of marriage license, provided they are
solemnized in accordance with their customs, rites or
practices. (78a)
Art. 34. No license shall be necessary for the marriage of a
man and a woman who have lived together as husband and
wife for at least five years and without any legal impediment
to marry each other. The contracting parties shall state the
foregoing facts in an affidavit before any person authorized
by law to administer oaths. The solemnizing officer shall
also state under oath that he ascertained the qualifications
of the contracting parties are found no legal impediment to
the marriage. (76a)

Art. 20. The license shall be valid in any part of the

Philippines for a period of one hundred twenty days from
the date of issue, and shall be deemed automatically
canceled at the expiration of the said period if the
contracting parties have not made use of it. The expiry date
shall be stamped in bold characters on the face of every
license issued. (65a)

Chapter 2. Marriages Exempted from License Requirement

Art. 27. In case either or both of the contracting parties are

at the point of death, the marriage may be solemnized
without necessity of a marriage license and shall remain
valid even if the ailing party subsequently survives. (72a)

Art. 28. If the residence of either party is so located that

there is no means of transportation to enable such party to
appear personally before the local civil registrar, the
marriage may be solemnized without necessity of a marriage
license. (72a)

Art. 29. In the cases provided for in the two preceding

articles, the solemnizing officer shall state in an affidavit
executed before the local civil registrar or any other person
legally authorized to administer oaths that the marriage was
performed in articulo mortis or that the residence of either
party, specifying the barrio or barangay, is so located that
there is no means of transportation to enable such party to
appear personally before the local civil registrar and that the
officer took the necessary steps to ascertain the ages and
relationship of the contracting parties and the absence of
legal impediment to the marriage. (72a)

Art. 30. The original of the affidavit required in the last

preceding article, together with the legible copy of the
marriage contract, shall be sent by the person solemnizing