CHAPTER 1

General Provisions

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

Article 1157. Obligations arise from:

(1) Law;
(2) Contracts;
(3) Quasi-contracts;
(4) Acts or omissions punished by law; and
(5) Quasi-delicts. (1089a)

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 them; and as to what has
not been foreseen, by the provisions of this Book. (1090)

Article 1159. Obligations arising from contracts have the force of law between
the contracting parties and should be complied with in good faith. (1091a)

Article 1160. Obligations derived from quasi-contracts shall be subject to the

provisions of Chapter 1, Title XVII, of this Book. (n)

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. (1092a)

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. (1093a)

CHAPTER 2
Nature and Effect of Obligations
Article 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. (1094a)

Article 1164. The creditor has a right to the fruits of the thing from the time the
obligation to deliver it arises. However, he shall acquire no real right over it until
the same has been delivered to him. (1095)

Article 1165. When what is to be delivered is a determinate thing, the creditor,

in addition to the right granted him by article 1170, may compel the debtor to
make the delivery. If the thing is indeterminate or generic, he may ask that the
obligation be complied with at the expense of the debtor. If the obligor delays, or
has promised to deliver the same thing to two or more persons who do not have
the same interest, he shall be responsible for any fortuitous event until he has
effected the delivery. (1096)

Article 1166. The obligation to give a determinate thing includes that of

delivering all its accessions and accessories, even though they may not have
been mentioned. (1097a)

Article 1167. If a person obliged to do something fails to do it, the same shall be
executed at his cost. This same rule shall be observed if he does it in
contravention of the tenor of the obligation. Furthermore, it may be decreed that
what has been poorly done be undone. (1098)

Article 1168. When the obligation consists in not doing, and the obligor does
what has been forbidden him, it shall also be undone at his expense. (1099a)

Article 1169. Those obliged to deliver or to do something incur in delay from the
time the obligee judicially or extra judicially demands from them the fulfilment of
their obligation. However, the demand by the creditor shall not be necessary in
order that delay may exist:
(1) When the obligation or the law expressly so declare; or
(2) When from the nature and the circumstances of the obligation it appears that
the designation of the time when the thing is to be delivered or the service is to
be rendered was a controlling motive for the establishment of the contract; or
(3) When demand would be useless, as when the obligor has rendered it beyond
his power to perform. In reciprocal obligations, neither party incurs in delay if the
other does not comply or is not ready to comply in a proper manner with what is
incumbent upon him. From the moment one of the parties fulfills his obligation,
delay by the other begins. (1100a)

Article 1170. Those who in the performance of their obligations are guilty of
fraud, negligence, or delay, and those who in any manner contravene the tenor
thereof, are liable for damages. (1101)

Article 1171. Responsibility arising from fraud is demandable in all obligations.

Any waiver of an action for future fraud is void. (1102a)

Article 1172. Responsibility arising from negligence in the performance of every

kind of obligation is also demandable, but such liability may be regulated by the
courts, according to the circumstances. (1103)

Article 1173. The fault or negligence of the obligor consists in the omission of
that diligence which is required by the nature of the obligation and corresponds
with the circumstances of the persons, of the time and of the place. When
negligence shows bad faith, the provisions of articles 1171 and 2201, paragraph
2, shall apply. If the law or contract does not state the diligence which is to be
observed in the performance, that which is expected of a good father of a family
shall be required. (1104a)

Article 1174. Except in cases expressly specified by the law, or when it is

otherwise declared by stipulation, or when the nature of the obligation requires
the assumption of risk, no person shall be responsible for those events which
could not be foreseen, or which, though foreseen, were inevitable. (1105a)

Article 1175. Usurious transactions shall be governed by special laws. (n)

Article 1176. The receipt of the principal by the creditor without reservation with
respect to the interest, shall give rise to the presumption that said interest has
been paid. The receipt of a later installment of a debt without reservation as to
prior installments, shall likewise raise the presumption that such installments
have been paid. (1110a)

Article 1177. The creditors, after having pursued the property in possession of
the debtor to satisfy their claims, may exercise all the rights and bring all the
actions of the latter for the same purpose, save those which are inherent in his
person; they may also impugn the acts which the debtor may have done to
defraud them. (1111)

Article 1178. Subject to the laws, all rights acquired in virtue of an obligation are
transmissible, if there has been no stipulation to the contrary. (1112)

CHAPTER 3
Different Kinds of Obligations

SECTION 1
Pure and Conditional Obligations

Article 1179. Every obligation whose performance does not depend upon a
future or uncertain event, or upon a past event unknown to the parties, is
demandable at once. Every obligation which contains a resolutory condition shall
also be demandable, without prejudice to the effects of the happening of the
event. (1113)

Article 1180. When the debtor binds himself to pay when his means permit him
to do so, the obligation shall be deemed to be one with a period, subject to the
provisions of article 1197. (n)

Article 1181. In conditional obligations, the acquisition of rights, as well as the

extinguishment or loss of those already acquired, shall depend upon the
happening of the event which constitutes the condition. (1114)

Article 1182. When the fulfillment of the condition depends upon the sole will of
the debtor, the conditional obligation shall be void. If it depends upon chance or
upon the will of a third person, the obligation shall take effect in conformity with
the provisions of this Code. (1115)

Article 1183. Impossible conditions, those contrary to good customs or public

policy and those prohibited by law shall annul the obligation which depends upon
them. If the obligation is divisible, that part thereof which is not affected by the
impossible or unlawful condition shall be valid. The condition not to do an
impossible thing shall be considered as not having been agreed upon. (1116a)

Article 1184. The condition that some event happen at a determinate time shall
extinguish the obligation as soon as the time expires or if it has become
indubitable that the event will not take place. (1117)

Article 1185. The condition that some event will not happen at a determinate
time shall render the obligation effective from the moment the time indicated has
elapsed, or if it has become evident that the event cannot occur. If no time has
been fixed, the condition shall be deemed fulfilled at such time as may have
probably been contemplated, bearing in mind the nature of the obligation. (1118)

Article 1186. The condition shall be deemed fulfilled when the obligor voluntarily
prevents its fulfillment. (1119)

Article 1187. The effects of a conditional obligation to give, once the condition
has been fulfilled, shall retroact to the day of the constitution of the obligation.
Nevertheless, when the obligation imposes reciprocal prestations upon the
parties, the fruits and interests during the pendency of the condition shall be
deemed to have been mutually compensated. If the obligation is unilateral,
the debtor shall appropriate the fruits and interests received, unless from the
nature and circumstances of the obligation it should be inferred that the intention
of the person constituting the same was different. In obligations to do and not to
do, the courts shall determine, in each case, the retroactive effect of the condition
that has been complied with. (1120)

Article 1188. The creditor may, before the fulfillment of the condition, bring the
appropriate actions for the preservation of his right. The debtor may recover what
during the same time he has paid by mistake in case of a suspensive condition.
(1121a)

Article 1189. When the conditions have been imposed with the intention of
suspending the efficacy of an obligation to give, the following rules shall be
observed in case of the improvement, loss or deterioration of the thing during the
pendency of the condition:
(1) If the thing is lost without the fault of the debtor, the obligation shall be
extinguished;
(2) If the thing is lost through the fault of the debtor, he shall be obliged to pay
damages; it is understood that the thing is lost when it perishes, or goes out of
commerce, or disappears in such a way that its existence is unknown or it cannot
be recovered;
(3) When the thing deteriorates without the fault of the debtor, the impairment is
to be borne by the creditor;
(4) If it deteriorates through the fault of the debtor, the creditor may choose
between the rescission of the obligation and its fulfillment, with indemnity for
damages in either case;
(5) If the thing is improved by its nature, or by time, the improvement shall inure
to the benefit of the creditor;
(6) If it is improved at the expense of the debtor, he shall have no other right than
that granted to the usufructuary. (1122)

Article 1190. When the conditions have for their purpose the extinguishment of
an obligation to give, the parties, upon the fulfillment of said conditions, shall
return to each other what they have received. In case of the loss, deterioration or
improvement of the thing, the provisions which, with respect to the debtor, are
laid down in the preceding article shall be applied to the party who is bound to
return. As for the obligations to do and not to do, the provisions of the second
paragraph of article 1187 shall be observed as regards the effect of the
extinguishment of the obligation. (1123)

Article 1191. The power to rescind obligations is implied in reciprocal ones, in

case one of the obligors should not comply with what is incumbent upon him. The
injured party may choose between the fulfillment and the rescission of the
obligation, with the payment of damages in either case. He may also seek
rescission, even after he has chosen fulfillment, if the latter should become
impossible. The court shall decree the rescission claimed, unless there be just
cause authorizing the fixing of a period. This is understood to be without prejudice
to the rights of third persons who have acquired the thing, in accordance with
articles 1385 and 1388 and the Mortgage Law. (1124)

Article 1192. In case both parties have committed a breach of the obligation, the
liability of the first infractor shall be equitably tempered by the courts. If it cannot
be determined which of the parties first violated the contract, the same shall be
deemed extinguished, and each shall bear his own damages.