POSSESSION
It is the holding of a thing or enjoyment of a right
Requisites:
1. Occupancy or taking
2. Deliberate intention to possess by virtue of one’s own right
Degrees or forms of possession:
a. Right of possession independent of ownership
The exercise of possession may exist in the same person to whom the
right corresponds as a consequence of manifestation thereof or may
reside in another person who exercises the right without
corresponding to it. The latter is the true possession which is a
separate real right. The latter is possession separated from ownership.
b. Rights to possession included in the rights of ownership
I. CLASSES OF POSSESSION
1. In whose name is possession maintained:
a. Possession in one’s own name: where possessor claims the thing for
himself
b. Possession in the name of another: there is another person for whom
the thing is held by the possessor. This type of possession may be
voluntary as in the case of possession by an appointed agent or
necessary as in the case of court- appointed guardians of minors.
2. As to concept of possession
a. Possession in the concept of owner
Possessor of the thing or right, by his actions, is considered or is
believed by other people as the owners. What is important is the
opinion of the possessor but of the other. He may be the real owner or
one who claims to be the owner.
b. Possession in the concept of holder
Possessor holds it merely to keep or enjoy it, and he acknowledges in
another a superior right which he believed to be ownership. It should
be noted however that they may also be considered as possessors in
the concept of owner, or under claim of ownership, of the right. i.e. the
usufructuary does not possess the land in the concept of an owner but
he is the owner of the right of usufruct; the lessee also owns the
leasehold right although he is not the owner of the leased property.
3. Good faith or bad faith
In good faith -- possessor is not aware that there exists in his title or
mode of acquisition, a flaw that invalidates it.
Requisites:
a. Title or mode of acquisition
b. Flow or defect in the title
c. Possessor is ignorant of the vice or defect and must have
an honest belief that the things belong to him.
In bad faith -- possessor is aware of the defect of his title or he has no
just title
4. Object of possession
Only things and rights susceptible of being appropriated may be the
object of possession
5. How possession is acquired:
a. Material occupancy of the thing or exercise of a right
b. Subjection of the thing or right to the action of our will (tradicio
simbolica and tradicio longa manu)
c. Proper acts and legal formalities established for acquiring such
right
i.e. The execution of a sale through a public instrument shall be
equivalent to the delivery of the thing, unless there is stipulation
to the contrary. If, however, notwithstanding the execution of
the instrument, the purchaser cannot have the enjoyment and
material tenancy of the thing and make use of it herself, because
such tenancy and enjoyment are opposed by one another, then
delivery has not been effected.
6. Constructive possession of immovables
Complete control is possible only in movable. With respect to
immovables, it is required that there is uninterrupted repetition
of acts of the owner. Possession in the eyes of the law does not
mean that a man has to have his feet on every square meter of
the ground before it can be said that he is in possession. It is
sufficient that petitioner was able to subject the property to the
action of his will.
i.e. Petitioner was considered to be in possession because it was
established that he took possession of the property sometime in
1974 when he planted the property with coconut trees. In 1976,
he started the construction of a building on the property. It is
immaterial that the building was unfinished and that he left for
Kidapawan for employment reasons and visited the property
only intermittently. ( Somodio vs, Court of Appeals, August 15,
1994)
7. Conflict of Possession
The following rules should be applied if there are conflicts between
several claimants of possession:
General Rule: Possession as a fact cannot be recognized in two
different personalities except in case of co-possession. In case of
conflict or two or more persons are claiming to be the possessors, the
order of preference is as follows:
a. The present possessor shall be preferred;
b. If there are two possessors, the one longer in possession;
c. If the dates of possession are the same, the one with a title;
d. If all the conditions are equal, the fact of possession shall be
judicially determined; in the meantime, the thing shall be placed in
judicial deposit.
8. Presumptions involving possession
a. Disputable presumptions:
• Presumption that the possessor is in good faith.
• Presumption of continuity of good faith on the part of the
possessor.
• Presumption that possessor in the concept of an owner is
with just title.
• Presumption that the possessor of the immovable is the
possessor of the movables found therein.
• Presumption in favor of the present possessor that there is
possession in the intermediate period if there is evidence that
one is in possession at an earlier date.
b. Conclusive presumptions:
• Presumption of non-interruption of possession of an heir
upon the death of the decedent predecessor in interest.
• Co-owner’s possession of part of the co-owned property
assigned to him upon partition from the time of the start of
the co-ownership.
• Presumption of non-interruption of possession which was
unjustly lost in favor of the possessor who legally recovered
such possession.
If the possessor died in good faith and the heir who took over
is in good faith, his good faith will benefit him only from the
time of the predecessor’s death. Bad faith of the predecessor
will not affect the heir because the rights of the decedent is
transmitted only as to its essentials and not in their accidental
attributes which are personally and exclusively subjective to
the decedent.
• The presumption of good faith ceases if there is proof of
interruption of good faith. If there is no other, good faith is
deemed to cease from the time of the services of summons of
the complaint filed by the real owners.
9. Effects of possession
The possessor has the right to be respected in his possession. Even if
the possessor does not have legal title, his possession is to be respected
even by the owner himself. The owner cannot take the law in his own
hands and eject the possessor without the aid of the courts.
Prescription: The possessor may eventually acquire ownership over
the property through prescription provided that the possession is in
the concept of an owner.
10. Fruits
a. He is entitled to the fruits up to the time of interruption of his good
faith (generally from service of summons)
b. He can retain gathered fruits.
c. Pending fruits and the expenses to generate these pending fruits
shall be divided in proportion to the time of possession of the
possessor in good faith and the owner.
Liability of possessor in bad faith
a. He must return fruits that he already gathered.
b. He has no right to pending fruits.
11. Expenses
a. Necessary expenses are those spent to preserve the thing. i.e.
expenses to repair the foundation of the building
b. Useful expenses are those that increase the properties’ use or value.
i.e. expenses for constructing a building
c. Ornamental expenses for mere luxury are expenses incurred for
something the value of which is determined according to the whims
of certain individuals and is not valuable to everybody in general.
12. Rights of possessor in good faith regarding expenses. If the real owner
of the property from a possessor in good faith regarding expenses.
If the real owner of the property was able to recover property from a
possessor in good faith, the following are the rights of the possessor in
good faith with respect to the expenses that he incurred:
a. Necessary expenses – right to refund with right of retention
pending payment
b. Useful expenses – right of refund with right of retention pending
reimbursement and limited right of removal- if the improvement
can be removed without damage and the owner (one who recovers)
does not choose to retain the improvement ( the owner is given the
option to allow removal or not)
c. Ornamental expenses or expenses for luxury – No right of refund
but with limited right of removal if there is no damage – he can
remove if the owner does not opt to retain.
Rights of possessor in bad faith with respect to expenses:
a. Necessary expenses – right of refund but NO right of retention
b. Useful expenses - NO right of refund and NO right of removal
c. Ornamental expenses - NO right of refund and NO right of
removal; the owner gets the improvement.
13. Causes of loss of possession:
a. Loss due to possessor’s will. i.e. abandonment; onerous or
gratuitous assignment or transfer
b. Loss due to a cause against the will of the possessor i.e. possession
of another for more than one year; recovery through a decision or
order of a court of competent jurisdiction, including decision on
expropriation case and the different actions for recovery of
possession.
c. Loss through the nature of the object. i.e. total destruction or loss of
the thing; when the thing goes out of commerce; escape in the case
of wild animals or the moment the possessor losses physical control.
POSSESSION OF MOVABLES
Presumption: Possession of movables in good faith is equivalent to
title. Thus, the possessor is presumed to have title and generally,
his possession cannot be disturbed.
When can the owner recover from possessor in good faith. The
owner can recover the movable if he has:
a. Lost the thing,
b. Has been unlawfully deprived of the thing --- taking that is
criminal in nature
No reimbursement
The owner may recover in case of loss or unlawful deprivation
without any obligation to reimburse the possessor.
Exception: Reimbursement of the price paid is necessary if the
possessor in good faith acquired the thing in public sale. A public sale
is one where there has been public notice of sale in which anybody has
the right to bid and buy.
