Property in the Civil Code Considered as an object, is that, which is, or may be, appropriated Property as a Subject in a law Course Property is that branch of Civil law which classifies and defines the different kinds of appropriable objects, provides for their acquisition and loss, and in general, treats of the nature and consequences of real rights. Thing vs. Property Thing is broader in scope for it includes both appropriable and non-appropriable objects. Classification of Things 1. Res Nullius (belonging to no one)- not yet appropriated or abandoned by the owner with the intention of no longer owning them. 2. Res Communes (belonging to everyone)- use and enjoyment belong to all mankind. 3. Res Alicujus (belonging to someone)- tangible or intangible objects owned privately, either in a collective or individual capacity. Classification of Property

1. Mobility and non-mobility a. Movable b. Immovable

2. Ownership a. Public Dominion b. Private Dominion

3. Alienability a. Within the commerce of man b. Outside the commerce of man

4. Existence a. Present property b. Future property

5. Materiality or Immateriality a. Tangible or corporeal – can be touch eg – printed money b. Intangible or incorporeal – rights, credits

6. Dependence or importance a. Principal b. Accessory

7. Capability of Substitution a. Fungible (capable of substitution by other things of the same quantity or

quality) b. Non-fungible (incapable of substitution, hence, the identical thing must be

returned) 8. Nature of Definiteness

a. Generic b. Specific

9. Whether in the custody of the Court or Free a. In custodia legis b. Free

Characteristics of Property

Utility for the satisfaction of moral or economic wants

Susceptibility of appropriation

Individuality or substantivity Art.414. All things which are or may be the object of appropriation are considered either: 1. Immovable or real property; or 2. Movable or personal property.

different provisions of the law govern the acquisition, possession, disposition, loss, and registration (APDLR) of immovables and movables

**donation of real property, like land, must be in a public instrument while donation of personal property like a car needs only to be in a private document. **ownership of real property may be acquired by prescription although there is bad faith in 30 years, whereas acquisition of personal property in bad faith needs only 8 years. **to affect third persons, transactions involving real property must be recorded in the Registry of property; not so in the case of personal property

There should be a third kind, the mixed, or the semi-immovable. This refers to movable properties, which under certain conditions, may be considered immovable by virtue of their being attached to an immovable for certain specified purposes

Under certain conditions, it is undeniable that parties to a contract may by agreement, treat as personal property that which by nature would be real property. (Standard Oil Co. of New York vs. Jaranillo) Reclassification vs. Conversion

Reclassification is the act of specifying how agricultural lands shall be utilized for non-agricultural uses. Conversion is the act of changing the current use of a piece of agricultural land into some other use as approved as DAR.

The human body is not a property because it can’t be appropriated and it is outside the commerce of man.

Art. 415. The following are immovable property: 1. Land, buildings, roads, and constructions of all kinds adhered to the soil. **Land is immovable by its nature. A shovelful of land is personal since it is no longer adhered to the soil. **Buildings are considered immovable provided they are more or less of a permanent structure, substantially adhering to the land and not mere superimpositions of the land.

- GR – buildings are real property thus falling into real estate mortgage

- A dismantled building (or to be dismantled) is considered personal prop. Eg-

a house which will be demolished.

- House built on rented land can be object of real estate mortgage and even

chattel mortgage, provided that:

o Parties agree

o No innocent 3rd party will be prejudiced.

2. Trees, plants and growing crops, while they are attached to the land or form an integral part of an immovable. **Trees are considered real property by nature if they are the spontaneous products of the soil, and real property by incorporation if they are planted thru labor. 3. Everything attached to an immovable in a fix manner, in such a way that it cannot be separated therefrom without breaking the material or deterioration of the objects. **the injury or breakage or deterioration in case of separation, must be substantial. 4. Statues, reliefs, paintings or other objects for use or ornamentation, placed in buildings or on land by the owner of the immovable in such a manner that it reveals the intention to attach them permanently to the tenements. **Placing by the owner. The objects must be placed by the owner of the immovable and not necessarily by the owner of the object. If the owner of the building is not incapacitated he may act thru his agent or guardian. **intent to attach the object permanently 5. Machinery, receptacles, instruments, or implements intended by the owner of the tenement for an industry or works which may be carried on in a building or on a piece of land, and which tend directly to meet the needs of said industry or works. **Requisites; a) The placing must be made by the owner of the tenement, his agent, or duly authorized legal representative b) The industry or works must be carried on in the building or on the land. c) The machines, etc., must tend directly to meet the needs of said industry or works. d) The machines must be essential and principal elements of the industry, and not merely incidental. ** par. 5 refers to real property by destination or purpose B.H. Berkenkotter vs Cu Unjieng. 61 Phil 663 Mabalacat sugar company mortgage their lot with all their buildings and improvements to gain a loan. Later, the company purchased additional machines to help productivity. Issue: whether the additional machines is covered by the mortgage? Held: Mortgage of land includes all future improvements. In the case at bar, the additional machines are essential to the industry.

- Exceptions to par 5 o When placed by a tenant

- Exception to the exceptions o Tenant promise to leave property at the end of the lease o When he acted as an agent of the owner.

Board of Assessment Appeals vs MERALCO Steel tower/poles of MERALCO are personal properties because:

- They are not constructions adhered to the soil (par. 1)

- Not attached to an immovable in a fixed manner (par. 3)

- Not intended for an industry to be carried on in the premises (par. 5)

6. Animal houses, pigeon-houses, beehives, fishponds, or breeding places of similar nature, in case their owner has placed them or preserves them with the intention to have them permanently attached to the land, and forming a permanent part of it; the animals in these places are included.

**even if the animals are temporarily outside, they may be considered as real property, as long as the intent to return is present. 7. Fertilizer actually used on a piece of land **important term “actually used” or spread over the land. 8. Mines, quarries, and slag dumps while the latter thereof forms part of the bed, and waters, either running or stagnant. **Mines, including the minerals still attached thereto, are real properties, but when the minerals have been extracted, the latter becomes chattels **Slag dump is the dirt and soil taken from a mine and piled upon the surface of the ground. Inside the “dump” are minerals **the waters referred to are those still attached to or running thru the ground. 9. Docks and structures which, though floating, are intended by their nature and object to remain at a fixed place on a river, or coast. **A floating house tied to a shore or bank post and used as a residence is considered real property, considering that the “waters” on which it floats are considered immovables. However, if the floating house journey from place to place, it may assume the category of a vessel. **Vessels are considered personal property. Being movable property, they can be the subject of a chattel mortgage. However, their registration is not in the Registry of Deeds or property, but in the record of the Collector of Customs. **Although vessels are personal property, they partake to a certain extent of the nature and conditions of a real property because of either their values or importance in the world of commerce. Hence, the rule for acquisition of immovable property in the Civil Code may be applied to them. 10. Contracts for public works, and servitudes and other real rights over immovable property. **refers not to material things but rights, which are necessarily intangible. E.g. contract, right to contract itself ** Real property by analogy Academic Classification of Real Property 1. By nature 2. By incorporation 3. By destination/ purpose (machinery directed to be used by the industry) 4. By Analogy (contracts, usufruct etc.)

Art. 416. The following things are deemed to be personal property: 1) Those movable susceptible of appropriation which are not included in the preceding article; 2) Real property which by any provision of law is considered as personalty; **growing crops for the purposes of the Chattel Mortgage Law; machinery placed by a tenant in a tenement who did not act as a the agent of the tenement owner 3) Forces of nature which are brought under control by science **electricity, gas 4) In general, all things which can be transported from place to place without impairment of the real property to which they are fixed. 3 tests to determine

1) If the property is capable of being moved from one place to another (test by description) 2) If such change in location can be made without injuring the real property to which it in the meantime is attached (test by description) 3) If the object is none of those enumerated in Art 415(test by exclusion) Art. 417. The following are also considered as personal property: 1) Obligations and actions which have for their object movables or demandable sums; and **right to bring an action to recover stolen property, right to collect credit, promissory note 2) Shares of stock of agricultural, commercial, and industrial entities, although they may have real estates. **

Shares in partnership are considered personal property because there is no reason to discriminate between shares in a corporation.

Shares of stock in a gold mining corp is personal prop, but the gold mine itself, as well as any land of the corp, is regarded as personal prop.

Shares is partnership are personal property

Money is not merchandise because it is legal tender. But! If it is exported or smuggled then it would be.

Art. 418. Movable property is either consumable or non-consumable. To the first class belong those movables which cannot be used in a manner appropriate to their nature without their being consumed; to the second class belong all the others.

Classification and examples 1. According to their nature

a. Consumable

b. Non- consumable

2. According to intention

a. Fungible

- Equivalent to be returned. It must be off the same quality and quantity

b. Non- fungible

- Identical thing be returned even if consumable.

Art 419. Property is either of public dominion or private ownership

Property classified according to ownership: 1) public capacity (dominio public) 2) private capacity (propiedad privado) Art. 420. The following are things of public dominion: 1. Those intended for public use, such as roads, canals, rivers, torrents, ports and bridges, constructed by the State, banks, shores, roadsteads and other of similar character 2. Those which belong to the State, without being for public use, and are intended for some public service or for the development of national wealth

Public Dominion - Ownership by the State in which it has control and administration.

- In another sense it could be ownership of the public in general. o Town plaza, river

3 kinds of Public Dominion 1. Public use – used by anybody (roads, canals) 2. Public service – used by authorized persons (national buildings, army rifles, batuta!) 3. For development of national wealth – natural resources

Public lands are lands of the national domain under the Legislative Power of Congress as has not been subjected to private rights or public use

Public agricultural lands are those alienable portions of the public domain which are neither timber nor mineral lands.

Characteristics of prop of Public Dominion 1. Outside the commerce of man 2. Cannot be acquired by prescription 3. Cannot be registered

- If erroneously registered, the land remains public prop 4. Cannot be levied upon by execution, nor can they be attached 5. Can be used by everybody 6. Real or personal

Streets and plazas are outside of the commerce of man Rivers are not subject to private appropriation. The law of prescription does not apply to

them. Portions of the territorial waters of the public domain not being capable of registration,

their inclusion in a certificate of title does not convert the same into properties of private ownership or confer title on the registrant.

The Torrens System of registration is not a means of acquiring ownership over private or public land; it merely confirms and registers whatever right or title may already be possessed or had by the applicant.

The land produced by the action of the sea is of public ownership and cannot be therefore acquired by any private person or entity as same belongs to the state.

The government owns the reclaimed land because the owner, by letting the land be submerged, is said to have abandoned his ownership of the same. Having been part of the sea or seashore, the land became property for public use.

Santos vs Moreno, Dec. 4, 1967 Owner dug canals for the use of his property. Soon such canals, through erosion, gradually became a river. Owner sold said property to Santos, who closed said rivers for fishponds. Residents who uses the river for transportation filed a complaint. Issue: Whether the canals are public dominion Held: NO! Canal constructed by private persons in a private lands are devoted exclusively for private use must be private ownership.

-But if connected to a public place then it should be public

Mercado vs Mun. Pres.of Macabebe

Z owns a land where a canal and a river was present (both are of public dominion. Z built a canal to connect such. Residents used such canals. Z later on closed the canals for fishponds. Residents filed a complaint. Issue: Whether the interlinking canal is public dominion. Held: Yes! It is of public use. Also, Z allowed others to use the canal thus losing exclusive right to use the same.

Par 1. “and other of similar character” 1. Public streams 2. Natural beds or rivers 3. River channels 4. Waters of rivers 5. Creeks – arm extending from a river 6. Lands formed by accretion 7. Reclaimed lands (mall of asia) 8. Private lands converted naturally into a shore or a beach.

- owner loses right in favor to the State (Natural expropriation) - Shore – space alternately covered and uncovered by the movement of

the tide. 9. Streets, even planted by persons with coconut trees.

Torrent – amount of water which in case of heavy rains gathers in deep places or canals where it is supposed to flow afterwards.

Government vs Cabangis, 53 Phil 112 (1896) X owned a land which was submerged by the waves of Manila bay. It remained submerged until 1912, where the gov’t decided to reclaim the land. As soon as the land X took possession. Issue: Whether the reclaimed land is public dominion Held. Yes. Gov’t owns the reclaimed land because it had become public dominion by being submerged in the sea. Public Lands

- Not subjected to private right or devoted to public use. - Gov’t lands thrown open to private appropriation and settlement by

homestead and other laws. Like mining, forest and agri lands (Agri lands may be sold while mines and forest cannot be transferred but may be leased)

Art 421 All other property of the State, which is not of the character stated in the preceding article, is patrimonial property.

Patrimonial Property of the state is the property it owns but which is not devoted to public use, public service, or the development of the national wealth. It is wealth owned by the State in its private capacity.

**Examples 1. Friar lands 2. San Lorenzo Estate 3. Escheat properties or those inherited or donated to Gov’t

- Prop has no legal heir of a decedent 4. Municipal-owned water works

Patrimonial prop could be acquired by private individuals thru prescription(Art.

1113) Art 422 Property of public dominion, when no longer intended for public use or public service, shall form part of the patrimonial property of the State. Executive and legislative departments have the authority and power to make

declaration if such prop is for public use. If no declaration was made then it would form part of the public domain, thus making such prop not subject for acquisitive prescription.

Cebu Oxygen and Acetylene Co., Inc vs Bercilles City council of Cebu considered an abandoned road as a terminal portion of one of its streets. City authorized the sale of said prop in bidding. Cebu Oxygen purchased said street. Cebu oxygen then sought for registration. Fiscal opposed such petition arguing that the prop is part of the public domain, thus cannot be registered. Issue: Whether the prop is public domain. Held: Prop is public domain. The street has already been withdrawn from public use. Abandoned river beds are exceptions to the rule

- Art 461 states that abandoned river bed, though no longer for public use, shall belong to the private owner whose land is now occupied by the changed course, on proportion to the area lost.

Although as a rule, property of public dominion no longer used for public service shall form part of the patrimonial property of the state, an abandoned river bed belongs not to the state, but to the private land owner whose land is now occupied by the changed course, in proportion to the area los. (art.461)