Law on Divisible and Indivisible Obligations

Joint and Solidary Obligations

• A joint obligation is one where the whole obligation is to be paid or fulfilled proportionately by the different debtors or is to be demanded proportionately by the different creditors.
• Examples of words indicating joint liability: pro rata, proportionately, jointly.

Solidary Obligations

• A solidary obligation is one where each of the debtors is bound to render, and/or each one of the creditors has a right to demand the entire compliance with the prestation.
• Characteristics:
  • Unity of object and plurality of ties.
  • Each creditor can demand, and each debtor must satisfy the entire prestation.
  • The resulting duty on the part of the creditor who received payment to pay his co-creditors what belongs to him, and the resulting right on the part of the debtor who made payment to claim from his co-debtors the share which corresponds to each.
• Basis: has something of a legal fiction, i.e., mutual agency among those interested in the same obligation.

When is an Obligation Solidary?

• When the obligation expressly so states.
• When the law requires solidarity.
• When the nature of the obligation requires solidarity.
• Among solidary creditors, the receiving creditor is jointly liable to the others for their corresponding shares.

Payment by a Solidary Debtor

• Payment by a solidary debtor does not entitle him to reimbursement from his co-debtors if such payment is made after the obligation has prescribed or become illegal.
• Situations where the paying debtor is not entitled to reimbursement:
  • When the obligation has prescribed.
  • When the obligation becomes illegal.

Prescriptive Period of Actions

• 10 years:
  • Upon written contract.
  • Upon an injury to the rights to the plaintiff.
  • Upon an obligation created by law.
  • Upon a quasi-delict.
  • Upon judgment.
• 6 years:
  • Upon oral contracts.
  • Upon quasi-contracts.

Remission of Debt after Payment

• Effects of remission of debt after payment:
  • If payment was made first, remission or waiver has no effect as there is no more obligation to remit.

Indivisibility of Obligations

• Obligations are deemed indivisible when:
  • The object or service is physically indivisible.
  • The obligation is not susceptible of partial performance.
  • The purpose requires performance of all parts.
• Examples of indivisible obligations:
  • Obligation to give definite things (e.g., a specific electric fan, a specific car).
  • Obligations which are not susceptible of partial performance (e.g., to sing a song, to dance).
  • Obligations provided by law to be indivisible.
  • Obligations intended by the parties to be indivisible.

Divisibility of Obligations

• Obligations are deemed divisible when:
  • The object or service is physically divisible.
  • The obligation is susceptible of partial performance.
• Examples of divisible obligations:
  • Obligations which have for their object the execution of a certain number of days of work.
  • Alternative obligations (e.g., obligation to give P1,000 or a specific item).

Penal Clause

• A penal clause is a provision that imposes a penalty for non-compliance with the obligation.
• Kinds of penal clauses:
  • As to origin: legal penal clause (provided by law) or conventional penal clause (provided by the stipulation of the parties).
  • As to purpose: compensatory penal clause (takes the place of penalty) or punitive penal clause (imposed merely as breach).
  • As to dependability or effect: subsidiary or alternative penal clause (only the penalty can be enforced) or joint or cumulative penal clause (both the obligation and the penalty are enforceable).

Effects of Penal Clause

• The debtor cannot exempt himself from the performance of the obligation by paying the penalty, save in the case where this right has been expressly reserved for him.
• Neither can the creditor demand the fulfillment of the obligation and the satisfaction of the penalty at the same time, unless this right has been clearly granted him.
• If after the creditor has decided to require the fulfillment of the obligation, the performance thereof should become impossible without his fault, the penalty may be enforced.
• Proof of actual damages suffered by the creditor is not necessary in order that the penalty may be demanded.
• The judge shall equitably reduce the penalty when the principal obligation has been partly or irregularly complied with by the debtor.

Test your knowledge on the divisibility of obligations as per the preceding articles. Learn about when obligations are deemed indivisible and when they are considered divisible based on their nature and characteristics.