PERSONS AND FAMILY

RELATIONS
Judge Modesto D. Bahul, Jr.
RTC Branch 2-FC, Baguio City (Family Court)/
Acting Presiding Judge, RTC Branch 7, Baguio City
LLM, San Beda University – Graduate School of Law
LLB, University of the Cordilleras
BSA, Benguet State University (cum laude)
Introduction:
LAW
2 Concepts:
1) in its general or abstract sense (derecho [Spanish]), it is defined as “the
science of moral rules, founded on the rational nature of man, which
governs his free activity, for the realization of his individual and social
ends, of a nature both demandable and reciprocal.” (1 Sanchez Roman 3)

2) in its specific or material sense (ley [Spanish]), it is defined as “a rule of

conduct, just, obligatory, promulgated by legitimate authority, and of
common observance and benefit.” (1 Sanchez Roman 3)
Introduction:
FOUNDATIONS OF LAW:
- Law is a product of social life and is a creation of human nature intended
to serve man. It regulates the relations of human beings so that harmony
can be maintained in the social group, by placing restrictions on liberty in
order to make co-existence possible. Law, therefore, rests upon the
concepts of order, co-existence, and liberty.

CHARACTERISTICS OF LAW:
1. It is a rule of human conduct,
2. Promulgated by competent authority,
3. Obligatory, and
4. of general observance.
 Introduction:
LAWS AND MORALS:
- Is everything legal also moral?
- Not all human conduct is regulated by law. There are other forces of regulation, such as
morals and religion, but only the rules of law have legal sanction and can be enforced by
public authority.
- Laws and morals have a common ethical basis and spring from the same source – the social
conscience, hence, they have many identical precepts. (Roman “jus” is derived from justice
and defined as the art of being good and fair)
- Laws usually take into account moral concepts, but not all moral duties are converted into
juridical obligations because if it were so, morals would lose their essential characteristic of
being voluntary.
- The field of morals is more extensive than that of law. Law covers only social activities, or
the relations of between people, but the filed of morals includes not only the duties of
people to their fellow beings, but also those to themselves and their God. (duty of support
in law vs. duty of assistance and self-sacrifice in the field of morals)
Introduction:
General Divisions/Groups of Law (in its most comprehensive sense):
a) DIVINE LAW – that in which God himself is the legislator who has
promulgated the law
b) HUMAN LAW – that which is promulgated by man to regulate human
relations
2 Main Classes of Human Law:
b.1) General or Public Law – that which governs the relations of
individuals with the State or ruler or community as a whole
b.2) Individual or Private Law – that which regulates the relations
between members of the community with one another
Introduction:
2 Main Classes of Human Law:
1) General or Public Law
1.a) International Law – that which governs the relations between nations
or states, that is, between human beings in their collective concept.
1.b) Constitutional Law – that which governs the relations between
human beings as citizens of a state and the governing power.
1.c) Administrative Law – that which governs the relations between
officials and employees of the government.
1.d) Criminal Law – that which guarantees the coercive power of the law
so that it will be obeyed (that which defines crimes and provides for
their punishment).
2) Individual or Private Law
Introduction:
2 Main Classes of Human Law:
1) General or Public Law
2) Individual or Private Law
2.a) Civil Law – that which regulates the relations of individuals with other
individuals for purely private ends.
2.b) Mercantile Law – (“Commercial Law”) that which regulates the special
relations produced by commercial transactions.

*Substantive vs. Procedural Law

a) Substantive Law – that which establishes a right.
b) Procedural or Remedial Law – that which prescribes the manner or
procedure of enforcing a legal right or claim.
 Introduction:
Kinds/Classifications of Specific Law:
- In a sense, every law commands, because it is obligatory, but it commands in three
different ways:
a) Mandatory – it commands that something be done (ex. law that requires having
authority before being allowed to possess firearm)
b) Prohibitory – it commands that something should not be done (ex. law that
prohibits possession, use or sale of dangerous drugs)
c) Permissive – it commands that what it permits to be done should be tolerated or
respected (ex. law that allows the operation of casinos)
- The foregoing classification is criticized as unscientific, and it is said that the more
important classification is that of:
a) Absolute – one that has obligatory character.
b) Suppletory – one that leaves the will of the individual free to act.
Introduction:
CIVIL LAW
- is defined as the mass of precepts which determines and regulates those
relations of assistance, authority and obedience existing among members of
a family as well as among members of a society for the protection of private
interest. (1 Sanchez Roman 70)
Sources of Philippine Civil Law:
- Immediate sources:
1) Civil Code of the Philippines (Republic Act No. 386, as amended)
2) Other Statutes such as: the Family Code of the Philippines (E.O. No. 209,
as amended), “Copyright Law, Patent Law, the Law of Waters, and
various labor laws and social legislations”
- Indirect or remote sources: the origin of Spanish and American laws from
which we copied or derived a great bulk of our civil law
Introduction:
CODIFICATION OF LAWS
- is the systematic organization of laws of the same kind.
- “To reduce the bulk, clear out the refuse, condense and arrange the
residium, so that the people and the lawyer, and the judge as well, may
know what to practise and obey – this is codification, nothing more and
nothing less.” (David Dudley Field, cited in 1 Sherman 17; 9 Fabres 153; 1 Salvat 30; Miraglia, p.
311)
- As laws multiply, the need for their compilation arises; after compilation,
they need to be codified. The reasons for codification are: 1) the necessity
of simplifying and arranging the many juridical rules scattered in several
laws and customs; the necessity of unifying various legislations in the same
country; and 3) the necessity of introducing reforms occasioned by social
changes. (1 Ruggiero 102)
Introduction:
CODE
- A collection of laws of the same kind; a body of legal provisions referring to a
particular branch of law.

CIVIL CODE
- A collection of laws, which regulates the private relations of members of civil society,
determining their respective rights and obligations, with reference to persons, things,
and civil acts. (9 Fabres 10)

*Before R.A. No. 386 (usually referred to as the “New Civil Code”), the civil code in force
in the Philippines was the Spanish Civil Code of 1889 [“Old Civil Code”?] that was
extended to this country by Royal Decree of July 31, 1889 and took effect on December 7,
1889. (Mijares v. Nery, 3 Phil. 196, 199)
Introduction:
Sources of the Civil Code of the Philippines:
1) Civil Code of 1889 (which embodied principles from Ley de Bases of Spain of May 11, 1888;
from the common law of Castilla; from opinions of jurisconsults on Spanish civil legislation;
and from foreign legislation, especially the French civil code)
2) The codes, laws, and judicial decisions, as well as works of jurists of other countries, such as
Spain, the various states of the American Union (especially California and Lousiana), France,
Argentina, Germany, Mexico, Switzerland, England, and Italy.
3) Doctrine laid down by the Supreme Court of the Philippines
4) Filipino customs and traditions
5) Philippine statutes, such as Marriage Law (Act No. 3613), the Divorce Law (Act No. 2710),
the Code of Civil Procedure (Act No. 190), and the Rules of Court
6) The Code Commission itself, which suggested amendments and new rules, not having in
mind any code, decision or treatise, in order to rectify unjust or unwise provisions formerly
in force, or to clarify doubtful articles and clauses in the Civil Code of 1889, or to afford
solution to numerous questions and situations not foreseen in that Code and other laws.
“Civil Code of the Philippines”
(R.A. No. 386, as amended) [“New Civil Code”(NCC)]
- Consists of 2,270 articles divided as follows:
1) Preliminary Title – Articles 1-36
2) Book I – Articles 37-51, NCC; Articles . 1-237, Family Code of the Philippines
(repealing portions of the NCC); Articles 305-310, NCC; Articles 356-396, NCC;
and Articles 407-413, NCC.
3) Book II – Property, Ownership, and its Modifications, Articles 414-711
4) Book III – Modes of Acquiring Ownership, Articles 712-1155
5) Book IV – Obligations and Contracts, Articles 1156-2251
6) Transitional Provisions – Articles 2252-2269
7) Repealing Clause – Article 2270.
*PFR, as a course, covers items 1 and 2 above.
 “Civil Code of the Philippines” [“New Civil Code”(NCC)]
1) Preliminary Title – Articles 1-36
Article 1. This Act shall be known as the "Civil Code of the Philippines." (n)
Article 2. Laws shall take effect after fifteen days following the completion
of their publication in the Official Gazette, or in any newspaper of general
circulation in the Philippines,* unless it is otherwise provided. (This Code
shall take effect one year after such publication.) (1a) (*amendment introduced
by Executive Order No. 200 issued on June 18, 1987)
- The NCC took effect on August 30, 1950 (Lara v. Del Rosario, 94 Phil. 778
– one year after August 30, 1949 when the Official Gazette publishing the
Code was released [although it was published in the Supplement to the
June 1949 issue of the OG, the OG Editor certified that it was released for
circulation on August 30, 1949])
 “Civil Code of the Philippines” [“New Civil Code”(NCC)]
Article 2. Laws shall take effect after fifteen days following the completion of their
publication in the Official Gazette, or in any newspaper of general circulation in the
Philippines, unless it is otherwise provided. Xxx
When do laws take effect?
Laws shall take effect after 15 days following the completion of their publication
either in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation in the
Philippines, unless otherwise provided.
May a law provide for its own effectivity?
Yes. (Note: “unless otherwise provided”) [ex. EO No. 200 “shall take effect
immediately after its publication in the Official Gazette”; EO No. 209 [FC], Art. 257 –
”shall take effect one year after the completion of its publication in a newspaper of
general circulation xxx”]
*If the law provides for its own effectivity, its provision will apply. If the law is silent
as to its effectivity, then Article 2 of the Civil Code applies.
“Civil Code of the Philippines” [“New Civil Code”(NCC)]
Article 2. Laws shall take effect after fifteen days following the completion
of their publication in the Official Gazette, or in any newspaper of general
circulation in the Philippines, unless it is otherwise provided. Xxx

“15 days after its publication” (ex. R.A. No. 7659 “An Act to Impose the
Death Penalty on Certain Heinous Crimes”)
- the law takes effect on the 15th day after such publication
“after 15 days following its publication” (ex. R.A. No. 7691, the law
expanding the jurisdiction of first level courts)
- the law takes effect on the 16th day after such publication
 “Civil Code of the Philippines” [“New Civil Code”(NCC)]
Assignment:
1. Can publication of laws be dispensed with?
2. Can a law take effect immediately upon its approval?
3. What does it mean by newspaper of general circulation?
4. Does “laws” in Article 2 include administrative rules and regulations and local
ordinances?
5. What does “ignorantia legis non excusat” mean?
6. Distinguish between ignorance of law and ignorance of fact.
7. What does “lex prospicit, non respicit” mean?
8. When can a law have retroactive effect?
9. What is a right?
10. What is does it mean by waiver of right?