TITLE I
Chapter 1 - General Provisions of
Obligations
Article 1156. An obligation is a juridical necessity to give, to do, or not
to do.
Juridical necessity - because it's a kind of obligation that in case you fail
to fulfill it, the consequence may be on a civil liability.
Obligation - derived from Latin word obligatio which means tying or
binding.
Essential Requisites of an Obligation:
1. Passive Subject (umutang) - debtor/obligor; person bound to the
fulfillment of obligation.
2. Active Subject (inutangan) - creditor/obligee; person entitled to
demand the fulfillment of obligation.
3. Object or Prestation - subject matter of the obligation; conduct
required to be observed by the debtor.
➢ To give - real obligation
➢ To do - personal positive obligation
➢ Not to do - personal negative obligation
4. Juridical/Legal Tie or Vinculum Juris - efficient cause; that which
binds the parties to the obligation.
➢ Obligation - act or performance which the law will enforce.
➢ Right - the power to demand from another any prestation.
➢ Wrong - course of action; an act or omission of one party in
violation of the legal right of another.
Article 1157. Obligations arise from: Law, Contracts, Quasi-Contracts,
Acts or omissions punished by law, and Quasi-delicts.
Sources of Obligations:
Law - when they are imposed by law itself.
Contracts - when they arise from the stipulation of the parties; a contract
is a meeting of the minds between two or more persons and it may be
written or verbal.
Quasi-Contracts - when they arise from lawful, voluntary, and unilateral
acts.
Acts or omissions punished by law - when they arise from a consequence
of a criminal offense.
Quasi-delicts or torts - when they arise from damage caused to another
through an act or omission, there being fault or negligence.
Article 1158. Obligations derived from law are not presumed. Only
those expressly determined in this Code or in special laws are
demandable, and shall be regulated by the precepts of the law which
establishes; and as to what has not been foreseen, by the provisions of
this Book.
Article 1159. Obligations arising from contracts have the force of law
between the contracting parties and should be complied with in good
faith.
Compliance in good faith - performance in accordance with the
stipulations or terms of the contract or agreement.
Article 1160. Obligations derived from quasi-contracts shall be subject
to the provisions of Chapter 1, Title XVII of this Book.
Kinds of Quasi-Contracts:
1. Negotiorum gestio - the voluntary management of the property or
affairs of another without the knowledge or consent of the latter.
2. Solution indebiti - the juridical relation which is created when
something is received when there is no right to demand it and it was
unduly delivered through mistake.
Article 1161. Civil obligations arising from criminal offenses shall be
governed by the penal laws, subject to the provisions of Article 2177,
and of the pertinent provisions of Chapter 2, Preliminary Title, on
Human Relations, and of Title XVIII of this Book, regulating damages.
Civil liability:
1. Restitution
2. Reparation for the damage caused
3. Indemnification for consequential damage
Article 1162. Obligations derived from quasi-delicts shall be governed
by the provisions of Chapter 2, Title XVII of this Book, and by special
laws.
Requisites of Quasi-delict:
1. There must be an act or omission
2. There must be fault or negligence
3. There must be damage caused
4. There must be direct relation of cause and effect between the act and
the damage
5. There is no pre-existing contractual relation between the parties
