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This article was originally published on June 1, 2022 and has been updated to reflect recent legal developments.

The following post does not create a lawyer-client relationship between Alburo Alburo and Associates Law Offices (or any of its lawyers) and the reader. It is still best for you to engage the services of a lawyer or you may directly contact and consult Alburo Alburo and Associates Law Offices to address your specific legal concerns, if there is any.

Also, the matters contained in the following were written in accordance with the law, rules, and jurisprudence prevailing at the time of writing and posting, and do not include any future developments on the subject matter under discussion.

AT A GLANCE:

Possession is the holding of a thing or the enjoyment of a right. It may be exercised in one’s own name or in that of another. The Civil Code provides that the possession of things or rights may be had in one of two concepts: either in the concept of owner, or in that of the holder of the thing or right to keep or enjoy it, the ownership pertaining to another person.

Many people have certain property in their possession without actually owning it. This is because possession is not necessarily the same as ownership.

What is Possession?

Article 523 of the Civil Code defines possession as the holding of a thing or the enjoyment of a right.

In the grammatical sense, to possess means to have, to actually and physically occupy a thing, with or without right. Possession always includes the idea of occupation. It is not necessary that the person in possession should himself be the occupant. The occupancy can be held by another in his name. Without occupancy, there is no possession. (Yu v. Pacleb, G.R. No. 130316, January 24, 2007)

Article 525 of the Civil Code provides that the possession of things or rights may be had in one of two concepts: either in the concept of owner, or in that of the holder of the thing or right to keep or enjoy it, the ownership pertaining to another person.

Thus, possession may be had in one of two ways: possession in the concept of an owner and possession of a holder.

A possessor in the concept of an owner may be the owner himself or one who claims to be so. On the other hand, one who possesses as a mere holder acknowledges in another a superior right which he believes to be ownership, whether his belief be right or wrong. (Garcia v. Court of Appeals, G.R. No. 133140, August 10, 1999)

In Heirs of Soriano v. Court of Appeals (G.R. No. 128177, August 15, 2001), the Supreme Court held that possession and ownership are distinct legal concepts. There is ownership when a thing pertaining to one person is completely subjected to his will in a manner not prohibited by law and consistent with the rights of others. Ownership confers certain rights to the owner, among which are the right to enjoy the thing owned and the right to exclude other persons from possession thereof. On the other hand, possession is defined as the holding of a thing or the enjoyment of a right. Literally, to possess means to actually and physically occupy a thing with or without right. Possession may be had in one of two ways: possession in the concept of an owner and possession of a holder. A person may be declared owner but he may not be entitled to possession. The possession may be in the hands of another either as a lessee or a tenant. A person may have improvements thereon of which he may not be deprived without due hearing. He may have other valid defenses to resist surrender of possession. A judgment for ownership, therefore, does not necessarily include possession as a necessary incident.

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Alburo Alburo and Associates Law Offices specializes in business law and labor law consulting. For inquiries regarding legal services, you may reach us at info@alburolaw.com, or dial us at (02)7745-4391/ 09175772207/ 09778050020.

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