15 'one-year' rules in the Civil Code
All provisions below are taken from the Civil Code of the Philippines. The Civil Code of the Philippines is the product of the codification of private law in the Philippines. It is the general law that governs family and property relations in the Philippines. It was enacted in 1950, and remains in force to date with some significant amendments. SOURCE: Civil Code of the Philippines. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_Code_of_the_Philippines
[1] Article 2. Laws shall take effect after fifteen days following the completion of their publication in the Official Gazette, unless it is otherwise provided. This Code shall take effect one year after such publication.
[2] Article 555. A possessor may lose his possession: (1) By the abandonment of the thing; (2) By an assignment made to another either by onerous or gratuitous title; (3) By the destruction or total loss of the thing, or because it goes out of commerce; (4) By the possession of another, subject to the provisions of article 537, if the new possession has lasted longer than one year. But the real right of possession is not lost till after the lapse of ten years.
[3] Article 769. The action granted to the donor by reason of ingratitude cannot be renounced in advance. This action prescribes within one year, to be counted from the time the donor had knowledge of the fact and it was possible for him to bring the action.
[4] Article 770. This action shall not be transmitted to the heirs of the donor, if the latter did not institute the same, although he could have done so, and even if he should die before the expiration of one year.
Neither can this action be brought against the heir of the donee, unless upon the latter's death the complaint has been filed.
[5] Article 1121. Possession is naturally interrupted when through any cause it should cease for more than one year.
The old possession is not revived if a new possession should be exercised by the same adverse claimant.
[6] Article 1122. If the natural interruption is for only one year or less, the time elapsed shall be counted in favor of the prescription.
[7] Article 1147. The following actions must be filed within one year: (1) For forcible entry and detainer; (2) For defamation.
[8] Article 1403. The following contracts are unenforceable, unless they are ratified:
(1) Those entered into in the name of another person by one who has been given no authority or legal representation, or who has acted beyond his powers;
(2) Those that do not comply with the Statute of Frauds as set forth in this number. In the following cases an agreement hereafter made shall be unenforceable by action, unless the same, or some note or memorandum, thereof, be in writing, and subscribed by the party charged, or by his agent; evidence, therefore, of the agreement cannot be received without the writing, or a secondary evidence of its contents:
(a) An agreement that by its terms is not to be performed within a year from the making thereof;
(b) A special promise to answer for the debt, default, or miscarriage of another;
(c) An agreement made in consideration of marriage, other than a mutual promise to marry;
(d) An agreement for the sale of goods, chattels or things in action, at a price not less than five hundred pesos, unless the buyer accept and receive part of such goods and chattels, or the evidences, or some of them, of such things in action or pay at the time some part of the purchase money; but when a sale is made by auction and entry is made by the auctioneer in his sales book, at the time of the sale, of the amount and kind of property sold, terms of sale, price, names of the purchasers and person on whose account the sale is made, it is a sufficient memorandum;
(e) An agreement for the leasing for a longer period than one year, or for the sale of real property or of an interest therein;
( f ) A representation as to the credit of a third person.
(3) Those where both parties are incapable of giving consent to a contract.
[9] Article 1560. If the immovable sold should be encumbered with any non-apparent burden or servitude, not mentioned in the agreement, of such a nature that it must be presumed that the vendee would not have acquired it had he been aware thereof, he may ask for the rescission of the contract, unless he should prefer the appropriate indemnity. Neither right can be exercised if the non-apparent burden or servitude is recorded in the Registry of Property, unless there is an express warranty that the thing is free from all burdens and encumbrances.
Within one year, to be computed from the execution of the deed, the vendee may bring the action for rescission, or sue for damages.
One year having elapsed, he may only bring an action for damages within an equal period, to be counted from the date on which he discovered the burden or servitude. (1483a)
[10] Article 1629. In case the assignor in good faith should have made himself responsible for the solvency of the debtor, and the contracting parties should not have agreed upon the duration of the liability, it shall last for one year only, from the time of the assignment if the period had already expired.
If the credit should be payable within a term or period which has not yet expired, the liability shall cease one year after the maturity.
[11] Article 1682. The lease of a piece of rural land, when its duration has not been fixed, is understood to have been for all the time necessary for the gathering of the fruits which the whole estate leased may yield in one year, or which it may yield once, although two or more years have to elapse for the purpose.
[12] Article 1687. If the period for the lease has not been fixed, it is understood to be from year to year, if the rent agreed upon is annual; from month to month, if it is monthly; from week to week, if the rent is weekly; and from day to day, if the rent is to be paid daily. However, even though a monthly rent is paid, and no period for the lease has been set, the courts may fix a longer term for the lease after the lessee has occupied the premises for over one year. If the rent is weekly, the courts may likewise determine a longer period after the lessee has been in possession for over six months. In case of daily rent, the courts may also fix a longer period after the lessee has stayed in the place for over one month.
[13] Article 1878. Special powers of attorney are necessary in the following cases:
(1) To make such payments as are not usually considered as acts of administration;
(2) To effect novations which put an end to obligations already in existence at the time the agency was constituted;
(3) To compromise, to submit questions to arbitration, to renounce the right to appeal from a judgment, to waive objections to the venue of an action or to abandon a prescription already acquired;
(4) To waive any obligation gratuitously;
(5) To enter into any contract by which the ownership of an immovable is transmitted or acquired either gratuitously or for a valuable consideration;
(6) To make gifts, except customary ones for charity or those made to employees in the business managed by the agent;
(7) To loan or borrow money, unless the latter act be urgent and indispensable for the preservation of the things which are under administration;
(8) To lease any real property to another person for more than one year;
(9) To bind the principal to render some service without compensation;
(10) To bind the principal in a contract of partnership;
(11) To obligate the principal as a guarantor or surety;
(12) To create or convey real rights over immovable property;
(13) To accept or repudiate an inheritance;
(14) To ratify or recognize obligations contracted before the agency;
(15) Any other act of strict dominion.
[14] Article 2241. With reference to specific movable property of the debtor, the following claims or liens shall be preferred:
(1) Duties, taxes and fees due thereon to the State or any subdivision thereof;
(2) Claims arising from misappropriation, breach of trust, or malfeasance by public officials committed in the performance of their duties, on the movables, money or securities obtained by them;
(3) Claims for the unpaid price of movables sold, on said movables, so long as they are in the possession of the debtor, up to the value of the same; and if the movable has been resold by the debtor and the price is still unpaid, the lien may be enforced on the price; this right is not lost by the immobilization of the thing by destination, provided it has not lost its form, substance and identity; neither is the right lost by the sale of the thing together with other property for a lump sum, when the price thereof can be determined proportionally;
(4) Credits guaranteed with a pledge so long as the things pledged are in the hands of the creditor, or those guaranteed by a chattel mortgage, upon the things pledged or mortgaged, up to the value thereof;
(5) Credits for the making, repair, safekeeping or preservation of personal property, on the movable thus made, repaired, kept or possessed;
(6) Claims for laborers' wages, on the goods manufactured or the work done;
(7) For expenses of salvage, upon the goods salvaged;
(8) Credits between the landlord and the tenant, arising from the contract of tenancy on shares, on the share of each in the fruits or harvest;
(9) Credits for transportation, upon the goods carried, for the price of the contract and incidental expenses, until their delivery and for thirty days thereafter;
(10) Credits for lodging and supplies usually furnished to travellers by hotel keepers, on the movables belonging to the guest as long as such movables are in the hotel, but not for money loaned to the guests;
(11) Credits for seeds and expenses for cultivation and harvest advanced to the debtor, upon the fruits harvested;
(12) Credits for rent for one year, upon the personal property of the lessee existing on the immovable leased and on the fruits of the same, but not on money or instruments of credit;
(13) Claims in favor of the depositor if the depositary has wrongfully sold the thing deposited, upon the price of the sale.
In the foregoing cases, if the movables to which the lien or preference attaches have been wrongfully taken, the creditor may demand them from any possessor, within thirty days from the unlawful seizure.
[15] Article 2244. With reference to other property, real and personal, of the debtor, the following claims or credits shall be preferred in the order named:
(1) Proper funeral expenses for the debtor, or children under his or her parental authority who have no property of their own, when approved by the court;
(2) Credits for services rendered the insolvent by employees, laborers, or household helpers for one year preceding the commencement of the proceedings in insolvency;
(3) Expenses during the last illness of the debtor or of his or her spouse and children under his or her parental authority, if they have no property of their own;
(4) Compensation due the laborers or their dependents under laws providing for indemnity for damages in cases of labor accident, or illness resulting from the nature of the employment;
(5) Credits and advancements made to the debtor for support of himself or herself, and family, during the last year preceding the insolvency;
(6) Support during the insolvency proceedings, and for three months thereafter;
(7) Fines and civil indemnification arising from a criminal offense;
(8) Legal expenses, and expenses incurred in the administration of the insolvent's estate for the common interest of the creditors, when properly authorized and approved by the court;
(9) Taxes and assessments due the national government, other than those mentioned in articles 2241, No. 1, and 2242, No. 1;
(10) Taxes and assessments due any province, other than those referred to in articles 2241, No. 1, and 2242, No. 1;
(11) Taxes and assessments due any city or municipality, other than those indicated in articles 2241, No. 1, and 2242, No. 1;
(12) Damages for death or personal injuries caused by a quasi-delict;
(13) Gifts due to public and private institutions of charity or beneficence;
(14) Credits which, without special privilege, appear in (a) a public instrument; or (b) in a final judgment, if they have been the subject of litigation. These credits shall have preference among themselves in the order of priority of the dates of the instruments and of the judgments, respectively.
