CHAPTER 1

GENERAL PROVISIONS

d. Injury or prejudice to the defendant in the event relief is accorded to the complainant, or
the suit is not held barred (Abraham vs. Recto-Kasten, G.R. No. L-16741, January 1962).

WHAT IS PRESCRIPTION?
Prescription is a mode of acquiring (or losing) ownership and other real rights thru the
lapse of time in the manner and under the conditions laid down by law (Article 1106).

HOW IS PRESCRIPTION DISTINGUISHED FROM LACHES?

a. Prescription is concerned with the fact of delay while laches is concerned with the effect
of delay;
b. Prescription is a matter of time while laches is principally a question of the inequity of
permitting a claim to be enforced, this inequity being founded on some change in the
condition of the property or the relations of the parties.
c. Prescription is statutory; laches is not.
d. Laches applies in equity, whereas prescription applies at law.
e. Prescription is based on a fixed time; laches is not (Nielson & Co., Inc. vs. Lepanto
Mining Co., G.R. No. L-21601, December 17, 1966, 18 SCRA 1040).

WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENT CONCEPTS OF PRESCRIPTION?

Prescription is a legal term used to refer to
a. Acquisitive prescription -- the acquisition of right by the lapse of time under the
conditions laid down by law (Article 1106, par. 1), which may be ordinary or extra-ordinary.
b. Extinctive prescription (or statute of limitation or limitation of actions)whereby rights
and actions are lost by the lapse of time (Articles 1106, par. 2 and 1139). This refers to the
time frame within which an action should be filed in court from the time the cause of action
has accrued, failing in which, the action is deemed barred by the lapse of the prescribed
time.
WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE TWO CONCEPTS?
a. Acquisitive prescription is a mode of acquiring ownership while extinctive prescription is
a way of extinguishing a cause of action for failure to file it within the required period.
b. In acquisitive prescription, a party becomes the owner of a property by prescription
while the previous owner loses the property. In extinctive prescription, if a party is barred
to file an action because of prescription, the opposite party, on the other hand, is liberated
from the obligation or liability.
c. Acquisitive prescription applies to civil cases while extinctive prescription is applicable to
all kinds of action whether civil or criminal. There are, however, exceptions wherein the
action, by mandate of the law, does not prescribe like an action to demand a right of way
(Article 1143); action to abate nuisance (Article 1143); action to declare the invalidity of a
void contract (Article 1410). [Vide Morales vs. Court of First Instance of Misamis
Occidental, G.R. No. L-52278, May 29, 1980, 97 SCRA 872.]
WHAT IS LACHES?
Laches is unreasonable delay in the bringing of a cause of action before the courts of
justice.
It is failure or neglect, for an unreasonable and unexplained length of time, to do that
which, by exercising due diligence, could or should have been done earlier; it is negligence
or omission to assert a right within a reasonable time, warranting a presumption that the
party entitled thereto either has abandoned it or declined to assert it.
The principle of laches is a creation of equity. It is applied, not really to penalize neglect or
sleeping upon ones right, but rather to avoid recognizing a right when to do so would
result in a clearly inequitable situation.
WHAT ARE THE REQUISITES OF LACHES?
The following are the requisites of laches:
a. Conduct on the part of the defendant, or of one under whom he claims, giving rise to the
situation of which complaint is made and for which the complaint seeks a remedy;
b. Delay in asserting the complainants rights, the complainant having had knowledge or
notice of the defendants conduct and having been afforded an opportunity to institute a
suit;
c. Lack of knowledge or notice on the part of the defendant that the complainant would
assert the right which he bases his suit; and

WHAT ARE THE BASIC REQUIREMENTS OF PRESCRIPTION AS A MODE OF

ACQUISITION?
As a mode of acquisition, prescription requires the following essential elements:
a. There must be actual possession of a property, which is susceptible of prescription;
b. Possession must be in the concept of an owner and not that of a mere holder (Article
1118);
c. Possession must be public or open (Article 1118);
d. Possession must be peaceful (Article 1118);
e. Possession must be continuous and not interrupted (Article 1118);
f. Possession must be averse, that is, exclusive and not merely tolerated; and
g. Possession must satisfy the full period required by law (Articles 1132; 1134; 1137).
WHO ARE THE PERSONS CAPACITATED TO ACQUIRE PROPERTY BY PRESCRIPTION?
Under Article 1107, the following may acquire property by prescription:
a. Persons who can acquire property rights through the other modes of acquiring
ownership.
When a person is capable of becoming an owner under Article 712, generally such a
person has full civil capacity and does not suffer from disqualification.
b. Minors or other incapacitated persons, either personally or through their parents,
guardians or legal representatives.
Minors and incapacitated persons may acquire property by prescription personally if they
have discernment. This means the presence of an intention to appropriate the property to
become their own. This intention is an essential ingredient of possession the principal
element of prescription.
However, if the minor or incapacitated person has no discernment, he can become an
owner by prescription only through representatives.
WHO ARE THE PERSONS AGAINST WHOM PRESCRIPTION MAY RUN?
Acquisitive and extinctive prescriptions run against certain persons:
(1) Minors and other incapacitated persons who have parents, guardians or other legal
representatives;
(2) Absentees who have administrators, either appointed by them before their
disappearance, or appointed by the courts;
(3) Persons living abroad, who have managers or administrators;

(4) Juridical persons, except the State and its subdivisions (Article 1108).
(5) Prescription, acquisitive and extinctive, runs in favor of, or against a married woman
(Article 1110). This presupposes a situation where the parties involved are a married
woman and another person not her husband. Prescription may be in favor of or against the
married woman.
Persons who are disqualified from administering their property have a right to claim
damages from their legal representatives whose negligence has been the cause of
prescription.
MAY PRESCRIPTION RUN BETWEEN HUSBAND AND WIFE OR BETWEEN PARENTS
AND CHILDREN OR BETWEEN GUARDIAN AND WARD?
Prescription does not run between husband and wife, even though there be a separation of
property agreed upon in the marriage settlements or by judicial decree.
Neither does prescription run between parents and children, during the minority or insanity
of the latter, and between guardian and ward during the continuance of the guardianship
(Article 1109).
Note that the prescription contemplated here is acquisitive and not extinctive. Thus, in the
filing of actions against each other, extinctive prescription is applicable.
EXAMPLES:
Legal separation must be filed within five (5) years from the occurrence of the ground for
legal separation (Article 57, FC);
Generally, action for annulment of marriage by a spouse against the other must be filed
within five (5) years (Article 47, FC);
Alienation made by the husband without the wifes consent provided that the marriage was
celebrated under the Civil Code (Article 173, CC).
WHAT IS THE EFFECT OF PRESCRIPTION OBTAINED BY A CO-PROPRIETOR OR A
CO-OWNER?
Prescription obtained by a co-proprietor or a co-owner shall benefit the others (Article
1111). Thus, if a co-owner obtained a property by prescription which property incidentally
must be related to the property held in common, the prescription benefits them all.
MAY PRESCRIPTION RUN AGAINST CO-OWNERS?
Prescription does not run against co-owners except when a co-owner made a definite
repudiation of the co-ownership disclosed to the other co-owners (Article 494).
WHO CAN RENOUNCE PRESCRIPTION ALREADY OBTAINED?
Persons with capacity to alienate property may renounce prescription already obtained, but
not the right to prescribe in the future (Article 1112, par. 1). The renouncing must not
prejudice the rights of others (Article 6).
WHEN IS THERE TACIT RENUNCIATION?
Prescription is deemed to have been tacitly renounced when the renunciation results from
acts which imply the abandonment of the right acquired (Article 1112, par. 2).
WHAT THINGS MAY BE SUBJECT OF PRESCRIPTION?
All things which are within the commerce of men are susceptible of prescription, unless
otherwise provided. Property of the State or any of its subdivisions not patrimonial in
character shall not be the object of prescription (Article 1113).

EXAMPLES OF EXCEPTION:
a. Movables possessed through a crime can never be acquired by prescription by the
offender (Article 1133);
b. Lands covered by Torrens Title;
c. Those outside the commerce of men (Article 1133);
d. Properties of spouses, parents and children, wards and guardians, under the restrictions
imposed by law (Article 1109).
WHAT ARE THE RIGHTS OF CREDITORS AND ALL OTHER PERSONS INTERESTED IN
MAKING THE PRESCRIPTION EFFECTIVE?
Creditors and all other persons interested in making the prescription effective may avail
themselves thereof notwithstanding the express or tacit renunciation by the debtor or
proprietor (Article 1114).
Thus, where a current creditor of a corporation which had obtained prescription of its
debts, may interpose and plead prescription to stop the corporation from paying prescribed
debts to the prejudice of the said creditor. This complements Article 6 of the Civil Code.
WHAT IS THE RULE IN CASE OF CONFLICT BETWEEN THE PROVISIONS ON
PRESCRIPTION AND SPECIFIC PROVISIONS IN THE SAME CODE, OR IN SPECIFIC
LAWS?
The provisions of the present Title are understood to be without prejudice to what in this
Code or in special laws is established with respect to specific cases of prescription (Article
1115).
Thus, specific provisions on prescription separately found in the Code and in special laws
shall prevail over the general provisions on prescription provided under Title V of the Code.
WHAT ARE THE TRANSITIONAL RULES FOR PRESCRIPTION?
Prescription already running before the effectivity of this Code shall be governed by laws
previously in force; but if since the time this Code took effect the entire period herein
required for prescription should elapse, the present Code shall be applicable, even though
by the former laws a longer period might be required (Article 1116).
Thus:
a. If the period for prescription began and ended under the old laws, said old laws govern.
b. If the period for prescription began under the new Civil Code, the new Civil Code
governs.
c. If the period began under the old law, and continues under the new Civil Code, the old
law applies.
EXCEPTION:
In this third rule, it is the new Civil Code that will apply, provided two conditions are
present:
a. The new Civil Code requires a shorter period; and
b. This shorter period has already elapsed since August 30, 1950.
NOTE: It is more than fifty years since the new Civil Code became effective. The
transitional rules may no longer find application today, although the same were applied
before in several cases.
CHAPTER 2
PRESCRIPTION OF OWNERSHIP AND OTHER REAL RIGHTS

WHAT ARE THE KINDS OF ACQUISITIVE PRESCRIPTION?

Acquisitive prescription of dominion and other real rights may be ordinary or extraordinary
(Article 1117).
WHAT ARE ORDINARY AND EXTRA-ORDINARY PRESCRIPTIONS?
Prescription where there is good faith is called ordinary prescription; whereas prescription
where there is bad faith is called extra-ordinary prescription.
Prescription may arise even if the possessor is in bad faith. However, when the possessor is
in bad faith, the period required for the actual possession is much longer to the case of a
possessor in good faith.
WHAT ARE THE ADDITIONAL REQUISITES IN ORDINARY PRESCRIPTION?
Aside from the basic requirements of acquisitive prescription already stated, if prescription
is ordinary, the additional requisites are:
a. Good faith (Article 1128), and
b. Just title (Article 1129)
Note that the title for prescription must be true and valid (Article 1130); and for the
purposes of prescription, just title must be proved; it is never presumed (Article 1131).
WHEN IS A POSSESSOR CONSIDERED IN GOOD FAITH?
A possessor is considered in good faith, if he is not aware of the existence of any flaw or
defect in his title or mode of acquisition which invalidates it (Article 526 in relation to
Article 1128). Good faith consists in the reasonable belief that the person from whom he
received the thing was the owner thereof, and could transmit his ownership (Article 1127).
The related Articles which must be considered in the determination of good faith in
prescription of ownership are the following:
a. Article 526 -- He is deemed a possessor in good faith who is not aware that there exists
in his title or mode of acquisition any flaw which invalidates it. He is deemed a possessor in
bad faith who possesses in any case contrary to the foregoing. Mistake upon a doubtful or
difficult question of law may be the basis of good faith.
b. Article 527 -- Good faith is always presumed, and upon him who alleges bad faith on the
part of a possessor rests the burden of proof.
c. Article 528 -- Possession acquired in good faith does not lose this character except in the
case and from the moment facts exist which show that the possessor is not unaware that
he possesses the thing improperly or wrongfully.
d. Article 529 -- It is presumed that possession continues to be enjoyed in the same
character in which it was acquired, until the contrary is proved.
WHAT IS MEANT BY JUST TITLE?
Just title means that the possessor obtained the possession of the property through one of
the modes recognized by law for acquiring ownership (as enumerated under Article 712)
but the transferor or grantor was not the owner of the property or he has no power to
transmit the right (Article 1129). The just title is intended to transmit ownership and could
have actually transmitted ownership had the transferor or grantor been the true owner of
the property. This kind of possession arising from a just title can ripen into ownership if the
other elements of prescription are present.
WHAT ARE THE CHARACTERISTICS OF POSSESSION NEEDED FOR PRESCRIPTION?
Possession has to be in the concept of an owner, public, peaceful and uninterrupted
(Article 1118).

a. Possession in the CONCEPT OF AN OWNER means the possessor is exercising the

attributes of ownership over the property. He does not recognize any ownership over the
property except his own.
b. Possession of a property is considered PUBLIC when the employment thereof is visible to
all, especially to the very person against whom possession is being asserted. The
possession must be publicly known to the community.
c. Possession is PEACEFUL when it is acquired without force or intimidation, and such
character is maintained all throughout the period fixed by law.
d. Possession is UNINTERRUPTED OR CONTINUOUS when the possessor has not stopped
exercising the rights of an owner over the property during the time fixed by law. However,
if the right is exercisable at intervals, and the right is so exercised, there is still continuity
in the possession of the property. Example: Harvesting of seasonal fruits from fruit bearing
trees.
e. The possession must be ADVERSE. Thus, mere possession with juridical title, such as by
a lessee, mortgagee, usufructuary, trustee, or agent does not hold the proper adversely
and in the concept of an owner, unless the juridical relationship is first expressly
repudiated and such repudiation has been communicated to the other party.
f. The acts of possessory character must not be executed in virtue of LICENSE OR BY MERE
TOLERANCE of the owner because the acts shall not be available for the purposes of
possession (Article 1119).
HOW IS POSSESSION INTERRUPTED FOR PURPOSES OF PRESCRIPTION?
Possession is interrupted for the purposes of prescription, naturally or civilly (Article 1120).
WHEN IS POSSESSION INTERRUPTED?
a. Possession is naturally interrupted when through any cause it should cease for more
than one year (Article 1121, par. 1).
b. Civil interruption is produced by judicial summons to the possessor (Article 1123),
except:
a) If it should be void for lack of legal solemnities;
b) If the plaintiff should desist from the complaint or should allow the proceedings
to lapse;
c) If the possessor should be absolved from the complaint (Article 1124).
c. Any express or tacit recognition which the possessor may make of the owner's
right also interrupts possession (Article 1125).
WHAT ARE THE CONSEQUENCES OF INTERRUPTION?
a. The old possession is not revived if a new possession should be exercised by the same
adverse claimant (Article 1121, par. 2).
b. If the natural interruption is for only one year or less, the time elapsed shall be counted
in favor of the prescription (Article 1122).
AGAINST A TITLE RECORDED IN THE REGISTRY OF PROPERTY, MAY ORDINARY
PRESCRIPTION OF OWNERSHIP OR REAL RIGHTS TAKE PLACE TO THE PREJUDICE
OF A THIRD PERSON?
Against a title recorded in the Registry of Property, ordinary prescription of ownership or
real rights shall not take place to the prejudice of a third person, except in virtue of another
title also recorded; and the time shall begin to run from the recording of the latter.
As to lands registered under the Land Registration Act, the provisions of that special law
shall govern (Article 1126).

WHAT IS THE PERIOD OF PRESCRIPTION OF MOVABLES?

a. The ownership of movables prescribes through uninterrupted possession for FOUR
YEARS IN GOOD FAITH.
b. The ownership of personal property also prescribes through uninterrupted possession for
EIGHT YEARS, WITHOUT NEED OF ANY OTHER CONDITION.
c. With regard to the right of the owner to recover personal property lost or of which he has
been illegally deprived, as well as with respect to movables acquired in a public sale, fair,
or market, or from a merchant's store the provisions of Articles 559 1 and 1505 2 of this
Code shall be observed (Article 1132).
d. Movables possessed through a crime can never be acquired through prescription by the
offender (Article 1133).
1 Article 559. The possession of movable property acquired in good faith is equivalent to a
title. Nevertheless, one who has lost any movable or has been unlawfully deprived thereof,
may recover it from the person in possession of the same. If the possessor of a movable
lost or which the owner has been unlawfully deprived, has acquired it in good faith at a
public sale, the owner cannot obtain its return without reimbursing the price paid therefor.
2 ARTICLE 1505. Subject to the provisions of this Title, where goods are sold by a person
who is not the owner thereof, and who does not sell them under authority or with the
consent of the owner, the buyer acquires no better title to the goods than the seller had,
unless the owner of the goods is by his conduct precluded from denying the seller's
authority to sell.
Nothing in this Title, however, shall affect:
(1) The provisions of any factors' acts, recording laws, or any other provision of law
enabling the apparent owner of goods to dispose of them as if he were the true owner
thereof;
(2) The validity of any contract of sale under statutory power of sale or under the order of
a court of competent jurisdiction;
(3) Purchases made in a merchant's store, or in fairs, or markets, in accordance with the
Code of Commerce and special laws. (n) casia
WHAT IS THE PRESCRIPTIVE PERIOD FOR IMMOVABLE?
a. Ownership and other real rights over immovable property are acquired by ordinary
prescription through possession of TEN YEARS (Article 1134).
b. Ownership and other real rights over immovables also prescribe through uninterrupted
adverse possession thereof for THIRTY YEARS, without need of title or of good faith (Article
1137).
WHAT IS THE RULE WHEN THERE IS DISCREPANCY IN THE AREA POSSESSED AND
IN THE AREA EXPRESSED IN THE TITLE?
In case the adverse claimant possesses by mistake an area greater, or less, than that
expressed in his title, prescription shall be based on the possession (Article 1135).
WHAT IS THE EFFECT OF POSSESSION IN WAR TIME ON PRESCRIPTION?
Possession in wartime, when the civil courts are not open, shall not be counted in favor of
the adverse claimant (Article 1136).
WHAT ARE THE RULES IN THE COMPUTATION OF TIME NECESSARY FOR
PRESCRIPTION?
In the computation of time necessary for prescription the following rules shall be observed:

(1) When the possession of the present possessor is just a continuation of the possession
of the predecessor in interest - The present possessor may complete the period necessary
for prescription by tacking his possession to that of his grantor or predecessor in interest;
(2) When the character of the possession of the possessor has changed from good faith to
bad faith - It is presumed that the present possessor who was also the possessor at a
previous time, has continued to be in possession during the intervening time, unless there
is proof to the contrary;
(3) The first day shall be excluded and the last day included (Article 1138).
WHAT IS MEANT BY TACKING OF POSSESSIONS OF TWO OR MORE POSSESSORS?
Tacking of possession is the linking of the possession of the present possessor to the
possession of the immediate past possessor of an identical property for the purpose of
completing the period needed for the prescription.
The condition for the tacking of possession is that privity must exist between the present
possessor and the predecessor in interest. In brief, the present possessor got his
possession from the predecessor in interest. Consequently, a mere usurper cannot invoke
the possession of the previous possessor.
There is no privity of interest where the present possessor came into possession of the
disputed land by virtue of a void and fictitious sale (Ruiz vs. CA, 79 SCRA 525).
Tacking is not allowed if the predecessor in interest has not satisfied the requirements of
prescription. Otherwise, there can be no continuity in the nature of the possession.
WHAT IS THE RULE TO FOLLOW WHEN THE CHARACTER OF THE POSSESSION OF
THE PREDECESSOR IS DIFFERENT FROM THAT OF THE PRESENT POSSESSOR?
The law does not provide any solution to such kind of contingency. Thus, sound judgment
must be resorted to, thus:
a. If the predecessor was in good faith but the successor is in bad faith, should there be
any tacking of possession? There are different views. Some writers say there must be no
tacking. Others say, the good faith of the predecessor should not be set at naught. The
second is the better view. The computation of the periods to be tacked should be
proportionate, that is, in the proportion of what the period of possession in good faith bears
to the period of extraordinary prescription. So it is in the proportion of 2:1 as regards
movables and 3:1 for immovables.
b. If the possession of the predecessor was in bad faith and the possession of the
successor is in good faith, should there be tacking of possession?
Possession of the predecessor in bad faith cannot be counted and added to that of the
present possessor. Here, the possession of the predecessor cannot be considered ordinary
prescription because such requires good faith all throughout the period fixed by law.
However, for purposes of extraordinary prescription, the possession in bad faith of the
predecessor can be tacked to the possession in bad faith of the successor. There is no
prohibition to this.
CHAPTER 3
PRESCRIPTION OF ACTIONS
HOW DO ACTIONS PRESCRIBE?
Actions prescribe by the mere lapse of time fixed by law (Article 1139).
WHEN DO ACTIONS PRESCRIBE?
1. ACTIONS TO RECOVER MOVABLES:

Actions to recover movables shall prescribe EIGHT YEARS from the time the possession
thereof is lost, unless the possessor has acquired the ownership by prescription for a less
period, according to Articles 1132, and without prejudice to the provisions of articles 559,
1505, and 1133 (Article 1140), thus:
1. The ownership of movables prescribes through uninterrupted possession for FOUR
YEARS IN GOOD FAITH.
2. The ownership of personal property also prescribes through uninterrupted possession for
EIGHT YEARS, WITHOUT NEED OF ANY OTHER CONDITION.
3. With regard to the right of the owner to recover personal property lost or of which he
has been illegally deprived, as well as with respect to movables acquired in a public sale,
fair, or market, or from a merchant's store the provisions of Articles 559 and 1505 of this
Code shall be observed (Article 1132).
4. Movables possessed through a crime can never be acquired through prescription by the
offender (Article 1133).
2. REAL ACTIONS OVER IMMOVABLES:
Real actions over immovables prescribe after THIRTY YEARS. This provision is without
prejudice to what is established for the acquisition of ownership and other real rights by
prescription (Article 1141).
3. MORTGAGE ACTION:
A mortgage action prescribes after TEN YEARS (Article 1142).
4. ACTIONS UPON A WRITTEN CONTRACT; UPON AN OBLIGATION CREATED BY LAW; UPON A
JUDGMENT:
They must be brought within TEN YEARS from the time the right of action accrues (Article
1144).
5. ACTIONS UPON AN ORAL CONTRACT; ACTIONS UPON A QUASI-CONTRACT :
They must be commenced within SIX YEARS (Article 1145).
6. ACTIONS UPON AN INJURY TO THE RIGHTS OF THE PLAINTIFF; ACTIONS UPON A QUASIDELICT:
They must be instituted within FOUR YEARS.
However, when the action arises from or out of any act, activity, or conduct of any public
officer involving the exercise of powers or authority arising from Martial Law including the
arrest, detention and/or trial of the plaintiff, the same must be brought within ONE (1)
YEAR. (Article 1146 as amended by PD No. 1755, Dec. 24, 1980.)
7. FORCIBLE ENTRY AND DETAINER; FOR DEFAMATION:
They must be filed within ONE YEAR (Article 1147).
NOTE: The limitations of action mentioned in Articles 1140 to 1142, and 1144 to 1147 are
without prejudice to those specified in other parts of this Code, in the Code of Commerce,
and in special laws (Article 1148). The phrase without prejudice means that, in proper
cases, the prescriptive period in this chapter may be availed of notwithstanding other
special provisions in other parts of the Civil Code, in the Code of Commerce and in special
laws. Thus, even though the claim falls under the prescriptive period provided for in the
Labor Code because of illegal and unlawful dismissal, the case may still fall within the
ambit of injury to the rights of the plaintiff (Virgilio Callanta vs. Carnation Phi., Inc., G.R.
No. L-70615, October 28, 1986, 145 SCRA 286).

WHAT RIGHTS ARE NOT EXTINGUISHED BY PRESCRIPTION?

The following rights, among others specified elsewhere in this Code, are not extinguished
by prescription:
(1) To demand a right of way, regulated in Article 649;
(2) To bring an action to abate a public or private nuisance (Article 1143).
OTHERS:
(1) An action to declare a contract null and void;
(2) An action to quite title initiated by the person having possession of the property;
(3) An action to partition a property among co-heirs;
(4) When the trust is merely an implied one, unless expressly repudiated by the trustee.
WHAT IS THE PRESCRIPTIVE PERIOD FOR FILING ACTIONS WHOSE PERIODS ARE
NOT FIXED BY THE CIVIL CODE AND OTHER LAWS?
All other actions whose periods are not fixed in this Code or in other laws must be brought
within five years from the time the right of action accrues (Article1149).
EXAMPLES:
a. Action to impugn the recognition of a natural child (Article 296 Civil Code);
b. Action to impugn the legitimation of a child (Article 275, Civil Code);
c. Action to reduce inofficious donations (to be counted from the death of the donor) (Vide
Article 772, Civil Code).
FROM WHAT TIME SHALL THE PERIOD OF PRESCRIPTION BE COUNTED?
a. The time for prescription for all kinds of actions, when there is no special provision which
ordains otherwise, shall be counted from the day they may be brought (Article 1150).
b. The time for the prescription of actions which have for their object the enforcement of
obligations to pay principal with interest or annuity runs from the last payment of the
annuity or of the interest (Article 1151).
c. The period for prescription of actions to demand the fulfillment of obligation declared by
a judgment commences from the time the judgment became final (Article 1152).
d. The period for prescription of actions to demand accounting runs from the day the
persons who should render the same cease in their functions (Article 1153).
e. The period for the action arising from the result of the accounting runs from the date
when said result was recognized by agreement of the interested parties (Article 1153, 2nd
par.).
f. The period during which the obligee was prevented by a fortuitous event from enforcing
his right is not reckoned against him (Article 1154).
WHEN IS PRESCRIPTION OF ACTIONS INTERRUPTED UNDER THE CIVIL CODE?
The prescription of actions is interrupted when:
a. They are filed before the court; or
b. When there is a written extrajudicial demand by the creditors, and when there is any
written acknowledgment of the debt by the debtor (Article 1155).