Property Lecture Notes
Student’s Copy
Law on Property
LECTURE NOTES MODULES
Preliminary Notes:
A. Coverage- Book II and Book III specifically from Article 414 to Article 1115
(exclude Law on Succession) of the New Civil Code of the Philippines.
Book II- Property, Ownership, and its Modification
Article 414-426 - Classification of property
Article 427-483 - Ownership
Article 484-501 - Co-ownership
Article 523-561 - Possession
Article 562-612 - Usufruct
Article 613-693 - Easements or Servitudes
Article 694-707 - Nuisance
Book III- Different Modes of Acquiring Ownership
Article 713-720 - Occupation
Article 721-724 - Intellectual Creation (Special Penal Law)
Article 725-773 - Donation
Article 774-1105 - Succession (to be handled by another Law professor)
Article 1106-1155 - Prescription
B. Reference Book/s- Any book on the Law on Property.
C. Jurisprudence- (Cases to be assigned for students to report in class).
D. Written Report Format-
• Identity of the parties (Focus on the principal parties as stated in the title of the case)
• Factual Antecedents (What are the facts of the case which resulted into legal
controversy between the parties?)
• Issues (What were the legal or factual issues considered by the court with respect to the
Law on Property only?)
• Theories of the parties (What legal doctrine or theory under the Law on Property did
the parties anchor their respective claims?)
• Ruling. (Whose argument prevails and what was the justification that supports the
decision of the court).
Module No. 1
I. Basic Facts on Property
a. Property defined. Exclusions by physical or legal impossibility.
b. Other characteristics of property.
c. Classification of property.
(1) Immovable or movable (real or personal) - Articles 414-417;
(2) Movables are classified into consummable or non-consummable - Article 418;
(3) With respect to ownership, property is classified as property of public dominion or of
private ownership - Articles 419-425
d. Importance of classification.
II. Kinds of immovable properties (Article 415).
1. Lands, buildings, roads and construction of all kinds adhered to
the soil.
Cases:
i. Serg’s Products Inc. and Sergio T. Goquiolay vs. PCI Leasing and
Finance, Inc., G.R. 137705, August 22, 2000.
Ruling: Agreement with respect to classification of property subject of
contract is binding between the parties, barred to question erroneous
classification by the principle of estoppel.
ii. Board of Assessment Appeals (BAA) vs. Manila Electric Company, 10
SCRA 68 (1964).
Ruling: Steel towers that were mere bolted to a concrete foundation,
can be dismantled and transferred to another location is classified as
personal property.
iii. Meralco Securities Industrial Corp. vs. CBAA, 114 SCRA 261 (1982).
Ruling: Pipelines consisting of various welded pipes and embedded to
the soil is considered real property.
iv. Manila Electric Company vs. The City Treasurer and City Assessor of
Lucena City, G.R. No. 166102, August 5, 2015.
Ruling: Steel towers, posts and poles for electrification are
considered real properties and subject to real property taxation
overturning the ruling in BAA case.
2. Plants, trees and growing crops still attached to the land.
3. Anything attached to an immovable in a fixed manner.
4. Statues, reliefs, paintings or other objects for use or
ornamentation with certain requisites.
5. Things destined for use in the industry or work in the tenement
with certain requisites.
Case:
i. Ago vs. Court of Appeals, 6 SCRA 360 (1962).
Ruling: Sawmill machineries installed in a sawmill for use in sawing
logs are classified as real properties. Thus, publication of notice of
foreclosure sale is indispensable for such sale to be valid.
ii. Provincial Assessor of Agusan del Sur vs. Filipinas Palm Oil
Plantation, Inc., G.R. No. 183416, October 5, 2016.
Ruling: Road equipment and haulers actually used for palm oil
production are real properties subject to realty taxes.
6. Animal houses, pigeon houses, beehives, fishponds or breeding
places of similar nature including animals found therein.
7. Fertilizers.
8. Mines, quarries and slag dumps.
9. Docks and other floating structures.
i. FELS Energy, Inc vs. The Province of Batangas, etc., G.R. No. 168507,
February 16, 2007.
Ruling: Power barges moored and fixed in a wharf for use in the
supply of electricity, though floating, is a real property.
10. Contracts for public works and personal patrimonial rights.
III. Kinds of Movable property: Six (6) classes.
Case:
i. HPS Software and Communication Corp., et. al. vs. PLDT, et. al., G.R. No.
170217, December 10, 2012.
Ruling: Interest in business is a personal property which can be subject of
the crime theft.
-End of Lecture-
