Reporter: Cuanan, Angel Ann Novem, G.

SECTION 4. — Joint and Solidary Obligations

• ART. 1207. The concurrence of two or more creditors or of two or more debtors in one and the
same obligation does not imply that each one of the former has a right to demand, or that each one
of the latter is bound to render, entire compliance with the prestations. There is a solidary liability
only when the obligation expressly so states, or when the law or the nature of the obligation
requires solidarity. (1137a)

• ART. 1208. If from the law, or the nature or the wording of the obligations to which the preceding
article refers the contrary does not appear, the credit or debt shall be presumed to be divided into
as many equal shares as there are creditors or debtors, the credits or debts being considered
distinct from one another, subject to the Rules of Court governing the multiplicity of suits. (1138a)

Kinds of obligation according to the number of parties

• Individual obligation. — one where there is only one obligor and one obligee;

• Collective obligation. — one where there are two or more debtors and/or two or more creditors. It
may be joint or solidary

Meaning of joint and solidary obligations

• A joint obligation is one where the whole obligation is to be paid or fulfilled proportionately by the
different debtors and/or is to be demanded proportionately by the different creditors. (Art. 1208.)

• A solidary obligation is one where each one of the debtors is bound to render, and/or each one of
the creditors has a right to demand entire compliance with the prestation. (Art. 1207.)

Collective obligation presumed to be joint

• If A is liable to B for P9,000.00, there can be no problem regarding the determination of the
following:

• the person liable to pay;

• the person entitled to demand payment;

• the extent of the liability of the debtor; and

• the extent of the right of the creditor.

• The presumption in Article 1208 is made “subject to the Rules of Court governing the multiplicity of
suits” (Art. 1208.)

• situations may arise where there are as many suits as there are debtors and creditors.

Words used to indicate joint liability

• Mancum

• Mancomunada

• Mancomunadamente

• pro rata

• Proportionately

• Jointly

• Conjoint “we promise to pay”

• It has been held that an admission of two debtors in their brief that their liability in the contract is a
solidary one does not convert the joint character of their obligation as appearing in their contract
for what determines the nature of the obligation is the tenor of their contract itself, not the
admission of the parties.

Characteristics, essence, and basis of a solidary obligation

• Every solidary obligation has these characteristics: unity of object and plurality of ties. The
prestation due, or to which a right exists, is one and the same thing.

• The essence of solidarity is that each and every one of the solidary creditors can demand and each
of the debtors must satisfy the same prestation, with the resulting duty on the part of the creditor
who received payment to pay to each of his co-creditors what belongs to him, and the resulting
right on the part of the debtor who made payment to claim from his co-debtors the share which
corresponds to each. (Art. 1217.)

• The basis of solidarity in either case has something of a legal fiction, i.e., that it is a mutual agency
among those interested in the same obligation.

When obligation solidary

• the obligation expressly so states;

• the law requires solidarity;

• the nature of the obligation requires solidarity.

• Solidary liability also exists when it is imposed in a final judgment against several defendants.

Words used to indicate solidary liability

• It is not necessary that the agreement should employ precisely the word “solidary” in order that an
obligation may be so considered. It is sufficient that the obligation declares.

• severally, jointly and/or severally; solidaria

• in solidum; solidarily

• together and/or separately; individually and/or collectively

• used interchangeably with “joint and several’’ or “several.’’

Kinds of solidarity

• According to the parties bound:

• Passive solidarity or solidarity on the part of the debtors, where anyone of them can
be made liable for the fulfillment of the entire obligation.

• Active solidarity or solidarity on the part of the creditors, where anyone of them can demand the
fulfillment of the entire obligation.

• Mixed solidarity or solidarity on the part of the debtors and creditors, where each one of the
debtors is liable to render, and each one of the creditors has a right to demand, entire compliance
with the obligation.

According to source:

• Conventional solidarity or where solidarity is agreed upon by the parties.

• Legal solidarity or where solidarity is imposed by the law.

• Real solidarity or where solidarity is imposed by the nature of the obligation.

• Article 2047 “If a person binds himself solidarily with the principal debtor, the provisions of Section
4, Chapter 3, Title 1 of this Book shall be observed. In such case, the contract is called a suretyship.”

• Similarities. — They are:

• In passive solidarity although some sort of mutual agency may be seen as in active solidarity,
guaranty is a characteristic which predominates over that of mere agency. By virtue of this, the
solidary debtor like the surety, answers for a debt which is not properly his own;

• Distinctions. — While a guarantor may bind himself solidarily with the principal debtor, the liability
of a guarantor is different from that of a solidary debtor.

• In passive solidarity, the debtor who made payment may claim reimbursement from his co-debtors
for the share which corresponds to each.

• In passive solidarity, an extension granted by the creditor to one of the solidary debtors without
the consent of the other solidary debtors would not release the latter from their obligations