1. WHAT IS USUFRUCT?Usufruct gives a right to enjoy the property of another with the obligation of preserving its form and substance, unless the title constituting it or the law otherwise provides. (467) (NCC: Article 562)Usufruct, in essence, is nothing else but simply allowing one to enjoy anothers property.[9]It is also defined as the right to enjoy the property of another temporarily, including both thejus utendiand thejus fruendi,[10]with the owner retaining thejus disponendior the power to alienate the same (Eleizegui vs. Manila Lawn Tennis Club, 2 Phil. 309 (1909); cited in De Leon& De Leon, Jr.,Comments & Cases on Property, 2003 ed., p. 397 )2. HOW IS USUFRUCT CONSTITUTED?Usufruct is constituted by law, by the will of private persons expressed in acts inter vivos or in a last will and testament, and by prescription. (468) (NCC: Article 563)3. CAN A USUFRUCT BE CONSTITUTED BY A PERSON NOT AN OWNER OF THE PROPERTY?It depends. YES, when the person constituting the usufruct is the usufructuary. Article 572 of NCC provides:Article 572. The usufructuary may personally enjoy the thing in usufruct, lease it to another, or alienate his right of usufruct, even by a gratuitous title; but all the contracts he may enter into as such usufructuary shall terminate upon the expiration of the usufruct, saving leases of rural lands, which shall be considered as subsisting during the agricultural year. (480)NO, when the person is neither a usufructuary nor the owner of the property. Article 562 is clear when it says property of another. OWNERSHIP is a requirement preceding the usufruct. Article 428 of NCC provides:Art. 428. The owner has the right to enjoy and dispose of a thing, without other limitations than those established by law.The owner has also a right of action against the holder and possessor of the thing in order to recover it. (348a)

As stated, it is worth noting that a person can only give what he/she owns. Not being the owner, the principle NEMO DAT QOUD NON HABET (ONE CANNOT GIVE WHAT ONE DOES NOT HAVE) squarely applies.