UPDATED DISCUSSION: What is an Obligation? Obligations and Contracts General Provision. Part 1.

This video delves into obligations and contracts, focusing on the general provisions of obligations, particularly Article 1156 of the Civil Code of the Philippines. It will cover the law governing obligations, the exact wording of Article 1156, and different kinds of obligations based on various viewpoints.

In the Philippines, obligations and contracts are governed by Republic Act No. 386, also known as the Civil Code of the Philippines, specifically articles 1156 to 1422.

Article 1156 states that 'an obligation is a juridical necessity to give, to do, or not to do.' This serves as the legal definition of a civil obligation, contrasting it with natural and moral obligations that will be discussed later.

Juridical necessity means an obligation is legally demandable. If an obligation is not fulfilled, the aggrieved party can file a case in court. The debtor must comply, otherwise, legal consequences will follow. This legal demandability distinguishes civil obligations from moral and natural obligations, which cannot be enforced in court.

An 'obligation to give' signifies the delivery of a thing to the creditor. This is further classified into giving a determinate thing (specifically designated or segregated, e.g., a car with a specific plate number) and an indeterminate or generic thing (a general item, e.g., 'a car').

For a determinate thing, the debtor must deliver the specified item, take care of it with the diligence of a good father of a family, deliver all accessions and accessories, and pay damages for breach. For an indeterminate thing, the debtor must deliver a thing of neither superior nor inferior quality and pay damages for breach. Accessions are things produced by or attached to another (e.g., plants on land), while accessories are necessary for perfection, use, or preservation (e.g., car tools, a house key).

An 'obligation to do' covers all kinds of work or services, such as fixing a car. An 'obligation not to do' means refraining from certain acts, like an agreement not to sell a specific car for a period.

The four essential elements of an obligation are: an active subject (creditor/obligee, entitled to demand fulfillment), a passive subject (debtor/obligor, bound to fulfill), the object or prestation (subject matter or conduct required), and the juridical tie (legal bond connecting the parties, e.g., a contract).

From the viewpoint of sanction, obligations are categorized into: civil obligations (legally enforceable, as per Article 1156), natural obligations (not based on positive law, but on equity and natural law, where voluntary fulfillment allows retention of payment), and moral obligations (sanctioned by conscience or morality, like attending church or marital fidelity).

Obligations can also be classified by performance (positive: to give or to do; negative: not to do), by subject matter (real: to give; personal: to do or not to do), and by persons obliged (unilateral: one party bound; bilateral: both parties bound).