ObliCon: First Semester

1156. An obligation is a juridical necessity to give, to do, or not to do.

JURIDICAL NECESSITY – juridical tie; connotes that in case of noncompliance, there
will be legal sanctions
● An obligation is nothing more than the duty of a person (obligor) to satisfy a
specific demandable claim of another person (obligee) which, if breached, is
enforceable in court.
● A contract necessarily gives rise to an obligation but an obligation does not always
need to have a contract.
Nature of Obligation under Civil Code
- Civil Obligation- an obligation, if not fulfilled when it becomes due and
demandable, may be enforced in court through action; based on law; the sanction is
judicial due process
- Natural Obligation- do not grant a right of action to enforce their performance.
- Moral Obligation- conscience or morality, or the law of the church

Elements or Requisites of an Obligation (APOL)

Active (creditor)- person entitled to demand.
Passive (debtor)- bound to fulfill the obligation.
Object (prestation)- conduct required to be observed by the debtor.
Legal tie (juridical)- binds or connects the parties. Determined by knowing the source of
the obligation.

KINDS OF OBLIGATION according to subject matter

Real Obligation- to give (Ex. Seller X binds himself to deliver a piano to Y)
Personal Obligation- to do or not to do.
a. Positive- to do or to render service. (Ex. X binds himself to repair the piano of Y)
b. Negative- not to do or not to give.

1157. SOURCES OF OBLIGATION obligations arise from: (LCQDQ)

Law- imposed by law itself; cannot be presumed. (Ex. Obligation to pay taxes)
Contracts- arise from the stipulation of the parties (meeting of the minds).
(Ex. agreement on paying loan, agreement to deliver sacks of rice and get paid).
Quasi-Contracts-arise from lawful, voluntary and unilateral acts and which are
enforceable to the end that no one shall be unjustly enriched or benefited at the expense
of another.
a. Negotiorum gestio- unauthorized management-person voluntarily takes charge of
another’s abandoned business or property, without the owner’s authority. (Ex.
towing a car without the knowledge of the owner to save it from the flood).
b. Solutio indebiti- when something is received when there is no right to demand it
and it was unduly delivered thru mistake. (Ex. payment by mistake).
Delicts- arise from civil liability which is the consequence of a criminal offense.
(Ex. Obligation of the thief to return the car he stole).
Quasi-Delicts/Torts- act or omissions that cause harm or injury to another person, even
though there was no intention to cause harm. (Ex. The dog destroyed the couch of a pet
shop. There is an obligation for the dog owner to replace the couch or compensate).

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 NATURE AND EFFECTS OF OBLIGATION
1163. Every person obliged to give something is also obliged to take care of it with the
proper diligence of a good father of a family, unless the law or the stipulation of the
parties requires another standard of care.
❖ Speaks of an obligation to care of a DETERMINATE thing (that is one which is
specific; a thing identified by its individuality) which an obligor is supposed to
deliver to another.
❖ Reason: the obligor cannot take care of the whole class/genus
SPECIFIC OR GENERIC
Specific or determinate- designated or physically segregated from others. Identified by
its individuality. Cannot be substituted with another.
Examples:
a. X will deliver Bianca’s Bulova calendar watch to buyer B
b. Bianca paid for her Mitsubishi XPander GLX Cross
c. The money I gave you.
Generic or indeterminate- refers only to a class or genus. Identified only by its specie.
Examples:
a. A police dog
b. Deliver a cavan of rice
c. Produce and deliver a 2016 Toyota car.

DUTIES OF DEBTOR:
➢ Preserve or take care of the things due.
a. DILIGENCE OF A GOOD FATHER – a good father does not abandon his
family, he is always ready to provide and protect his family; ordinary care
which an average and reasonably prudent man would do. - Defined in the
negative in Article 1173
b. ANOTHER STANDARD OF CARE – extraordinary diligence provided in
the stipulation of parties.
c. FACTORS TO BE CONSIDERED – diligence depends on the nature of
obligation and corresponds with the circumstances of the person, time, and
place.
** Debtor is not liable if his failure to deliver the thing is due to fortuitous events or
force majeure… without negligence or fault in his part.

a. Deliver the fruits of a thing- The debtor must hand over not just the item itself,
but also any benefits or yields it has produced (e.g., rent from property).
b. Deliver the accessions/accessories- The debtor must deliver any attachments
or accessories that naturally belong to or enhance the main thing (e.g., keys
with a car).
c. Deliver the things itself- The debtor is required to provide the specific item
that was agreed upon in the contract.
d. Answer for the damage in case of non-fulfillment or breach- If the debtor fails
to fulfill these obligations or breaches the contract, they are responsible for
compensating any resulting damage or loss.

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CLASSIFICATIONS OF OBLIGATIONS
Pure Obligation- An obligation which is immediately demandable since it is not subject
to any condition nor specific date for its fulfillment.
(Ex. Bianca paid P500 to the delivery guy).
Conditional Obligation- dependent upon future and uncertain event. It only arises when
a specific condition or event occurs.
a. Suspensive Condition- the demandability of the obligation is suspended until
the happening of a future and uncertain event.
Ex. Atty. Ibe will give siopao to Bianca if she perfect the quiz.
b. Resolutory Condition- condition in a contract that, when fulfilled, causes the
contract and its obligation to end.
Ex. Bianca will receive allowances from her mother until she graduates.
Obligations with a Period- are obligations whose fulfillment is tied to a specific future
date or event that is certain to happen. The obligation becomes enforceable only when
the period arrives. (Ex. Atty. Ibe will buy Bianca Jollibin on her birthday.)

Obligation with a Period: Linked to a certain future date or event.

Resolutory Condition: Obligation ends if a condition is met.
Suspensive Condition: Obligation begins only if a condition is met.

Solidary Obligation- involves multiple debtors or creditors, where each debtor is

responsible for the entire debt, and each creditor can demand the full amount from any
debtor. Similarly, each debtor is liable for the full amount, and each creditor is entitled to
the entire debt.
Example: If three debtors (A, B, and C) owe 90,000 pesos to a creditor, each debtor
is responsible for the whole amount. The creditor can collect the full 90,000 pesos from
any one of the debtors, and the debtor who pays can seek reimbursement from the other
debtors for their shares.
Joint Obligation- multiple debtors or creditors share responsibility, but each is only
liable for their respective portion of the obligation.
Example: If three debtors (A, B, and C) owe a total of 90,000 pesos, each debtor is
responsible for 30,000 pesos. The creditors must collect their shares (30,000 pesos each)
from any of the debtors, but each debtor only pays their own 30,000 pesos.

Joint Obligation with Joint Creditors and Solidary Debtor- each creditor can only claim
their specific share of the debt. However, the solidary debtor is liable for the entire debt
and can be asked to pay the full amount by any one of the creditors.
Ex. There are three joint creditors (A, B, C) and two solidary debtors (X and Y). If
the total debt is 90, each creditor is entitled to 30. Creditor A can demand the full 30
from either X or Y (the solidary debtors), but once paid, X or Y can seek reimbursement
from each other for half of the payment (i.e., 15 from the other).

Joint Obligation with Joint Creditors and Joint Debtors- each creditor can only claim
their proportionate share of the debt, and each debtor is only responsible for their own
portion of the debt. No creditor can demand more than their share, and no debtor is
liable for more than their share of the obligation.
Example:

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 Suppose there are three joint creditors (A, B, C) and three joint debtors (X, Y, Z). The
total debt is 90.

● Each creditor (A, B, C) is entitled to 30 (1/3 of 90).

● Each debtor (X, Y, Z) is responsible for paying 30 (1/3 of 90).

Creditor A can only ask for 30 from any of the debtors, and Debtor X is only liable for 30,
not more. Each creditor and debtor can only deal with their own specific portion of the
debt.

Alternative Obligation- debtor has several options to fulfill their obligation but only
needs to choose and complete one of them.
Ex. If someone owes you either a laptop or 50,000 pesos, they can choose to give
you the laptop or the money. Once they fulfill one option, the obligation is settled.
Facultative Obligation- obligation where the debtor is required to perform one specific
prestation (act or thing), but they have the option to substitute it with a different one.
Only the debtor has the right to make this substitution.
Ex. A debtor is required to deliver a specific car to the creditor. However, the
debtor has the option to pay 500,000 pesos instead of delivering the car. The creditor
cannot demand the 500,000 pesos; only the debtor can choose to offer the money as a
substitute. If the debtor decides to pay the 500,000 pesos, the obligation is fulfilled.

Divisible Obligation- An obligation wherein the performance can be divided into

portions, and each portion can be fulfilled independently.
Ex. A contractor is hired to renovate a house by completing five tasks: painting,
flooring, cabinets, plumbing, and windows. The obligation is divisible because each task
can be done separately.

Indivisible Obligation- Opposite of Divisible Obligation. Performance cannot be divided

into parts.
Ex. Bianca sells food packages. She received an order worth P5000 composed of sisig
platter, maja blanca, menudo, and baked sushi. Bianca’s obligation is to deliver the
whole package complete at once, not in parts.