Are churches public or private property?

Churches and other consecrated objects are considered outside the commerce of man; they are considered neither public nor private property. (The University of the Philippine Bar Reviewer for Civil Law, 2013)

From early times distinction has been made by authors and by law between things governed by divine law, called divine, and those governed by human law, called human, and although the former can not be the subject of civil juridical relations, their nature and species should be ascertained either to identify them and exclude them from such relations or because they furnish a complete explanation of the foregoing tabulated statement, or finally because the laws of the partida deal with them.

Divine things are those which are either directly or indirectly established by God for his service and sanctification of men and which are governed by divine or canonical laws. This makes it necessary to divide them into spiritual things, which are those which have a direct influence on the religious redemption of man such as the sacrament, prayers, fasts, indulgences, etc., and corporeal or ecclesiastical, which are those means more or less direct for the proper religious salvation of man.

"[I]t does not admit of doubt that the parish churches in the Philippines were built by the Spanish Government," and it would seem therefore that prior to their dedication, the beneficial ownership, the legal title, the possession and control of all this property must be taken to have been vested in that Government. But it must be admitted that after this property was dedicated, the ownership, in contemplation of Spanish law, was said to have been in God, and there can be no doubt that the physical possession and control of these churches for the purposes for which they were dedicated was given to the Roman Catholic Church — not, as I think, absolutely and conclusively, but limited by and subject to the royal patronage ( patronato real) which included the right to intervene in the appointment of the representatives of the church into whose hands the possession and control of the sacred editors were to be intrusted.The anomalous status thus created might well have given rise to doubts and uncertainties as to the legal title and beneficial ownership of this property had not the grantor and the lawgiver of Spain expressly and specifically provided that neither the Roman Catholic Church nor any other person was or could become the owner thereof, and that all these sacred edifices were to be regarded as beyond the commerce of men.

No sacred, religious, or holy thing, devoted to the service of God, can be the subject of ownership by any man, nor it can be considered as included in his property holdings. Although the priests may have such things in their possession, yet they are not the owners thereof. They hold them thus as guardians or servants, or because they have the care of the same and serve God in or with them. Hence they were allowed to take from the Revenues of the church and lands what was reasonably necessary for their support; the balance, belonging to God, was to be devoted to pious purposes, such as the feeding and clothing of the poor, the support of orphans, the marrying of poor virgins to prevent their becoming evil women because of their poverty; and for the redemption of captivers and the repairing of the churches, and the buying of chalices, clothing, books, and other things which they might be in seed of, and other similar charitable purposes. (Law 12, title 28, partida 3., cited in G.R. No. L-2832, November 24, 1906)