Property in Relation to the Person to Whom it Belongs

Excerpted from Civil Law, Vol. 2 by Justice Jose Vitug, pp. 7-10.

Read the Legal Basis of this comment.

Property may be of public or private ownership. The property of public dominion, in turn, may be classified into:

1. Those intended for public use (generally open for use by the public indiscriminately) such as roads, canals, rivers, torrents, ports and bridges constructed by the State, banks, shores, roadsteads, and others of similar character;
2. Those which belong to the State, without being for public use and are intended for some public service (under authority of law), like government edifices for its use or for the development of the national wealth (Art 420, Civil Code; see the Water Code; Republic vs. Court of Appeals, 131 SCRA 532); and
3. Patrimonial property of the State comprising all those that are not, or are no longer, for public use or public service (Arts. 421-422, Civil Code).

Alienable public land may be acquired by prescription. (Ocsio vs. Court of Appeals, G.R. No. 44237, 28 February 1989, abandoning the Bartolome doctrine) once so classified by the government as alienable and disposable (Din of Lands vs. Court of Appeals, G.R. No. 81961, 18 April 1989).

Foreshore, which is part of the public domain, refers to the portion covered by the high and low tide during normal periods, not that which is covered caused by extraordinary events like heavy rain or precipitation (Republic vs. Alagad, G.R. No. 66807, 26 January 1988).

A “creek” is a recess or an arm of a river, and it is not thus susceptible to private ownership (Maneclang vs. Intermediate Appellate Court, 161 SCRA 649).

Mangrove swamps form part of public forests and are not thus susceptible to private ownership until released or classified as agricultural land (Din of Forestry vs. Villareal, G.R. No. 32266, 27 February 1989; see also Tottoc vs. Intermediate Appellate Court, 180 SCRA 383).

Forestal lands are not susceptible to private ownership, and the registration thereof is void (Rep. vs. Court of Appeals, 135 SCRA 156).

Continuation - In the case of political subdivisions ...

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