PROPERTY LAW : ARTS.

457 – 465
RIGHT OF ACCESSION WITH RESPECT TO IMMOVABLE PROPERTY

Art. 457. To the owners of lands adjoining the banks of rivers belong the accretion which
they gradually receive from the effects of the current of the waters.

ALLUVIUM (or Alluvio) – is the soil deposited or added to (accretion) the lands
adjoining the banks of rivers, and gradually received as an effect of the current of the
waters.

 By law, the accretion is automatically owned by the owner of the estate fronting the
river bank (riparian owner).

Technical Differences between Alluvium and Accretion:

1. Acrretion is the process whereby the soil is deposited; Alluvium is the soil
deposited on the estate fronting the river bank;

2. Accretion is broader as it can apply to deposits gradually made upon lands

beside creeks, streams, lakes and rivers. Alluvium applies only to the soil
deposited on river banks.

Q. What are the Essential Requisites of Alluvium ?

1.) The deposit is gradual & imperceptible as a process.
2.) Cause is current of river, not human intervention
3.) Current must be that of a river
4.) River must continue to exist (otherwise Art. 461 applies and not Art. 457)
5.) Increase is comparatively smaller and not more than twice than the riparian area.

NOTA BENE:
1.) It is not necessary that the riparian owner should make an express act of
possession of the alluvium that attached to his land; it is automatically his by
accession from the moment of accretion. (Accession - is the right of property owner to
everything which is produced thereby or incorporated or attached thereto, naturally or artificially.)

2.) It is not necessary that the riparian owner has completely paid for the value of the
riparian estate (e.g. contract to sell of land) as long as he has equitable or
beneficial title, he will be deemed owner of the alluvium. (Read: Director of Lands v.
Rizal, L-2925, Dec. 29, 1950)

3.) Alluvium by artificial means is prohibited and penalized unless authorized by

govt.

4.) If alluvium is caused by fish traps, it will be deemed an alluvium if there is no

deliberate means to cause alluvium.

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Q. WHY is Alluvium granted to the Riparian Owner?
o To compensate the Riparian Owner (RO) for the loss suffered from erosion
caused by the water/floods
o To compensate the RO because his property is subject to encumbrance or legal
easements (e.g. right of way)
o The interest of agriculture requires that the soil be given to the person who is in
the best position to cultivate the same
o Since certain identification of source of soil is impossible, it´s logical to give it to
the person who can best use the property.

Q. What are the Requisites for Accretion to benefit a Riparian Owner: (Reynante v. CA
207 SCRA 794, 1992)

1. That the deposit is gradual and imperceptible

2. That it resulted from the current of the water
3. That the land where accretion takes place is adjacent to the bank of river

NOTA BENE: Jurisprudence on Ownership of Accretions & its Registration, Title

1. While accretion or alluvium automatically becomes property of the riparian owner,

the same does not automatically become registered land unless actually so
registered. (Grande v. CA, L-17652, June 30, 1962).

Note: The alluvium automatically owned by the riparian owner, may be subject to
acquisitive prescription by another, if not registered and covered by a certificate of title
under the Torrens system.

2. There must be judicial application for registration of the land to make the ownership
of the alluvium or dried up river bed come under the Torrens system. (Republic v. Heirs
of Luisa Villa Abrille, L-39248, May 7, 1976). This will entitle the riparian owner the
protection of imprescriptibility of registered land.

3. Failure to register the acquired alluvium for a period of 50 years opens it to

acquisition thru prescription by third persons. (Reynante v. CA 207 SCRA 794, 1992).

4. Torrens Certificate of Title will not protect the riparian owner against diminution or
loss of area of his land thru gradual erosion or natural changes in the adjoining river.
(Payatas Estate Improvement Co. v. Tuason, 53 Phil. 55)

5. Accretions on a sea bank belongs to the public domain and is not available for
private ownership until officially declared by the government as no longer needed for
public use, or lawfully converted into patrimonial property. (RP v. Lat Vda. de Castillo, GR
69002, June 30, 1988)
6. Accretions on the bank of a lake, (like Laguna de Bay) belong to the owners of the
estate to which they have been added. (supra)

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7. Accretions on the bank of an island formed in non-navigable river belongs to the
owner of the island. (Banatao v. Dabbay, 38 Phil. 612)

Q. What are the Effects of Public Service Constructions or Easements on River Banks?

1. The government or public service entity will own the accretion if the road or
railroad is made on a river bank for in this case, this strip of land is no longer
owned by the former riparian owner.

2. If instead of public service construction, there is only easement for the benefit of
navigation, floatage, fishing, and salvage, the right of the riparian owner to the
accretion subsists, because in easements, the owner of the servient estate does
not lose his ownership over the portion occupied. (Ayala de Roxas v. City of Manila,
9 Phil. 215)

Art. 458. The owners of estates adjoining ponds or lagoons do not acquire the
land left dry by the natural decrease of the waters, or lose that inundated by them
in extraordinary floods.

 This article does not deal with alluvium.

 It applies to ponds or lagoons only – not to lakes, rivers, creeks or streams.
 Portion of land covered by water in extraordinary floods is not lost by the owner
 This may however be lost by prescription
 Study cases of Govt. v. Colegio de San Jose, 53 Phil. 423; Paredes v. Laureta

Art. 459. Whenever the current of a river, creek or torrent segregates from an
estate on its bank a known portion of land and transfers it to another estate, the
owner of the land to which the segregated portion belonged retains the
ownership of it, provided that he removes the same within two years.
Define AVULSION:

o The process whereby the current of a river, creek or torrent segregates from an
estate on its bank a known portion of land and transfers it to another estate
o The removal of a considerable quantity of earth annexing this to the land of
another, suddenly and by perceptible action of the water
o A violent tearing or breaking away of land by the force of the river and transferring it
to another estate
o It is also referred to as “delayed accession” in the sense that if the owner abandons
the soil torn, or fails to remove it from the other estate within 2 years, the estate to
which it has attached acquires ownership by law.

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 Distinguish Alluvium from Avulsion:

ALLUVIUM
- deposit of soil is gradual
- soil cannot be identified
- belongs to owner of property
to which it has attached
AVULSION
- sudden/abrupt process seen
- may be identified or verified
- belongs to owner of property
from which it has detached

Nota Bene : JURISPRUDENCE RE ALLUVIUM, AVULSION

1.) In the absence of evidence that the change in the course of river was sudden or
that it occurred thru alluvium, the presumption is that the change was gradual
and was caused by alluvium and erosion. (Payatas Estate Improvement Co. v.
Tuason, 53 Phil. 55; Hodges v. Garcia, L-12730, Aug. 22, 1960)

2.) In avulsion, the owner of the land detached must not only claim and but also
remove the land from the other estate, otherwise, she may lose it after two years
as he is deemed by law to have abandoned his right.

3.) In avulsion it is essential that the detached land is known and identifiable. If
identification is no longer possible, then Art. 459 does not apply. The principle of
commixtion or confusion may be applied if possible.

4.) If the detached portion is not attached to another´s land but is placed in the
middle of the river, ownership will remain with the original owner from whose
land it was detached.

Art. 460. Trees uprooted and carried away by the current of the waters belong to
the owner of the land upon which they may be cast, if the owners do not claim
them within six months. If such owners claim them, they shall pay the expenses
incurred in gathering them or putting them in a safe place.

o Claim must be made by original tree owner within six months. Otherwise the owner
of the land where tree is cast acquires its ownership.

o If claim is made within six months but the tree is not immediately recovered, the
original owner has 4 years within which to file the action to recover it.

o If tree is attached to the land that is detached, and cast on another´s estate, then
Art. 459 applies.

o Owner of the estate on whose land the tree is cast, may be indemnified for
expenses incurred in gathering and preserving it.

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Art. 461. River beds which are abandoned through the natural change in the
course of the waters ipso facto belong to the owners whose lands are occupied
by the new course in proportion to the area lost.

However, the owners of the lands adjoining the old bed shall have the right to
acquire the same by paying the value thereof, which value shall not exceed the
value of the area occupied by the new bed.

 If only one landowner lost land due to the change of course of the waters, then
he gets the entire abandoned river bed.

 If two or more lost areas of their land due to the change of the course of waters,
then they shall divide ownership of the abandoned river bed in proportion to their
loss.
 The purpose of this article is to compensate the owner for the loss of his land
now occupied by the new river bed.

 He who suffers loss of land thru the change of the course of the water shall own
the abandoned river bed whether it be private persons or the government. Thus,
if the waters now occupy land of public domain, then the owner of the
abandoned river bed is now the State.

Requisites for Art. 461 to Apply:

1.) The change must be sudden for the old river bed to be identified
2.) The change of course must be permanent and not a temporaty overflooding.
3.) The change of river bed is by natural force and not artificial
4.) There is definite abandonment by the govt.
5.) The river must continue to exist and not completely dry up or disappear.

o The abandoned river bed is given to the owner of the land unto which the river
changed its course instead of the riparian owner. (Celestial v. Cachopero, 413
SCRA 469, 2003). This is to compensate him for the loss of his land now occupied
by the new river bed.

Art. 462. Whenever a river, changing its course by natural causes, opens a new
bed through a private estate, this bed shall become of public dominion.

 Even if the new river bed is on private property, this new river bed becomes
property of public dominion. The new river bank shall also be deemed of public
dominion. ( Hilario v. City of Manila, L-19570, Apr. 27, 1967)

Art. 463. Whenever the current of a river divides itself into branches, leaving a
piece of land or part thereof isolated, the owner of the land retains his ownership.
He also retains it if a portion of land is separated from the estate by the current.

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o This rule applied whether or not the river is navigable.

o The estate owner remains owner of the land which has been isolated or has
become an island, and that which may be separated from the rest.

Art. 464. Islands which may be formed on the seas within the jurisdiction of the
Philippines, on lakes and on navigable or floatable rivers belong to the State.

Art. 465. Islands which through successive accumulation of alluvial deposits are
formed in non-navigable rivers, belong to the owners of the margins or banks
nearest to each of them, or to the owners of both margins if the island is in the
middle of the river, in which case it shall be divided longitudinally in halves. If a
single island thus formed be more distant from one margin than from the other,
the owner of the nearer margin shall be the sole owner thereof.

OWNERSHIP OF ISLANDS: Who owns the island formed by unidentifiable accumulated

deposits?

a.) IF FORMED ON THE SEA –

 Within territorial waters of the Phils. – State (Art.464); Patrimonial property
 Outside Phil. Territory – First country to effectively occupy it per International
Law: “discovery/occupation is considered as a mode of acquiring territory.”

b.) IF FORMED ON LAKES, OR NAVIGABLE OR FLOATABLE RIVERS – the State will

own the island as patrimonial property.

c.) IF FORMED ON NON-NAVIGABLE OR NON-FLOATABLE RIVERS –

 If nearer in margin to one bank, owner of the nearer margin is sole owner (Art.
465)
 If equidistant, the island shall be divided longitudinally in halves, each bank
getting half (Art. 465)

Q. What is the rule if a new island is formed between the older island and the bank?

A. The owner of the older island is deemed a riparian owner, and if the new island is
nearer in margin to the older island, the owner of the latter becomes also the owner of
the new island.