ACCESSION NATURAL
Art. 457. To the owners of lands adjoining the banks of rivers belong the accretion which they gradually receive from the effects of the current of the waters. (336)
FORMS OF ACCESSION NATURAL
1. Alluvium
2. Avulsion
3. Change of course of rivers
4. Formation of islands
ALLUVIUM
The soil deposited or added to the lands adjoining the banks of rivers, and gradually received as an effect of the current of the waters
ACCRETION
Process by which the soil is deposited
A broader term than alluvium
REQUISITES OF ALLUVIUM
1. The deposit should be gradual and imperceptible
2. Cause is the current of river
a. Cannot be done artificially or man-made causes
3. That the land where accretion takes place is adjacent to the bank of river
4. The owner of the adjacent lot will own the increase
REASONS WHY ALLUVIUM IS GRANTED THE RIPARIAN OWNER
1. To compensate him for the loss he may suffer
2. To compensate him because the property is subject to encumbrances and legal easements
3. The interests of agriculture require that the soil be given to the person who is in the best position to cultivate the same
4. Since after all, it cannot be said with certainty from whom the soil came
ACCRETION ON THE BANK OF A LAKE AND ON THE BANK OF AN ISLAND FORMED IN A NON-NAVIGABLE RIVER
Belong to the owners of the estate to which they have been added
ACCRETION ON A SEA BANK
Still belongs to the public domain
EFFECT OF PUBLIC SERVICE CONSTRUCTIONS OR EASEMENTS ON RIVER BANKS
Public service construction—the owner of the land is no longer the riparian owner and the government which will own the accretion
Easement for the benefit of navigation, floatage, fishing or salvage—right still subsists because in easements, the owner of the serviant estate doesn't lose his ownership over the portion
occupied
NOTE:
1. Loss of alluvium not affected by registration under the Land Registration Act
2. Registered land is not protected from the process of accretion
THE ALLUVIAL DEPOSIT ISNT AUTOMATICALLY REGISTERED UNDER THE TORRENS SYSTEM
The alluvial deposit may still be lost through acquisitive prescription
Remember the source of ownership is law
Art. 458. The owners of estates adjoining ponds or lagoons do not acquire the land left dry by the natural decrease of the waters, or lose that inundated by them in extraordinary floods. (367)
POND
A body of stagnant water without an outlet, larger than a puddle and smaller than a lake, or a like body of water with a small outlet
LAGOON
A small lake, ordinarily of fresh water, and not very deep, fed by floods, the hollow bed of which is bounded by the elevations of the land
LAKE
A body of water formed by the depressions of the earth, ordinarily fresh water, coming from rivers, brooks, or springs, and connected with the sea by them
Art. 459. Whenever the current of a river, creek or torrent segregates from an estate on its bank a known portion of land and transfers it to another estate, the owner of the land to which the segregated portion belonged retains the ownership of it, provided that he removes the same within two years. (368a)
AVULSION
The process whereby the current of a river, creek, or torrent segregates from an estate on its bank a known portion of land and transfers it to another estate
The removal of a considerable quantity of earth upon or annexation to the land of another, suddenly, and by the perceptible action of the water
REQUISITES OF AVULSION
1. Sudden and violent
2. Land is identifiable and known
3. Owner of the land where the land was detached retains ownership—subject to remove land within 2 years
N.B: it doesn't matter if it adds or lands on top. It also doesn't matter if there were trees attached to the detached land.
RIVER
A natural stream of water, of greater volume than a creek or rivulet flowing, in a more or less permanent bed or channel, between defined banks or walls with a current which may either be continuous in one direction or affected by the ebb and flow of the tide
CREEK
A small stream less than a river
TORRENT
Violent, rushing or turbulent stream
Art. 460. Trees uprooted and carried away by the current of the waters belong to the owner of the land upon which they may be cast, if the owners do not claim them within six months. If such owners claim them, they shall pay the expenses incurred in gathering them or putting them in a safe place. (369a)
NOTE: The six-month period given in Article 460 should be considered only a condition precedent. The recovery period must be made within the period for prescription.
Art. 461. River beds which are abandoned through the natural change in the course of the waters ipso facto belong to the owners whose lands are occupied by the new course in proportion to the area lost. However, the owners of the lands adjoining the old bed shall have the right to acquire the same by paying the value thereof, which value shall not exceed the value of the area occupied by the new bed. (370a)
REQUISITES FOR ARTICLE 461 TO APPLY
1. The change must be sudden in order that the old river bed may be identified
2. The changing of the course must be more or less permanent and not temporary overflooding of another’s land
3. The change of the river bed must be a natural one caused by natural forces
4. There must be a definite abandonment by the government
5. The river must continue to exist, that is, it must not completely dry up or disappear
CHANGE IN THE COURSE OF RIVERS
1. Owner of new bed will own the old river bed
2. Adjacent owners has the right to acquire the old land
3. If new owners refuse to sell, their refusal would be contrary to law—the adjacent owners have a preemptive right over the old bed
a. In case of the government, it has the right to return the river to its former course—following the Water Code
Art. 462. Whenever a river, changing its course by natural causes, opens a new bed through a private estate, this bed shall become of public dominion. (372a)
RULE IS NEW RIVER BED IS ON PRIVATE ESTATE
Even if the new bed is on private property the bed becomes property of public dominion, just as the old bed had been of public dominion before the abandonment
Art. 463. Whenever the current of a river divides itself into branches, leaving a piece of land or part thereof isolated, the owner of the land retains his ownership. He also retains it if a portion of land is separated from the estate by the current. (374)
FORMATION OF ISLAND BY THE BRANCHING OFF OF A RIVER
1. May be isolated from the rest
2. Or may be separated from the rest
THREE PARTS OF A RIVER
1. Water
2. River bed
3. River bank
Art. 464. Islands which may be formed on the seas within the jurisdiction of the Philippines, on lakes, and on navigable or floatable rivers belong to the State. (371a)
Art. 465. Islands which through successive accumulation of alluvial deposits are formed in non-navigable and non-floatable rivers, belong to the owners of the margins or banks nearest to each of them, or to the owners of both margins if the island is in the middle of the river, in which case it shall be divided longitudinally in halves. If a single island thus formed be more distant from one margin than from the other, the owner of the nearer margin shall
be the sole owner thereof. (373a)
OWNERSHIP OF ISLANDS
1. If formed on the sea
a. Within the territorial waters or maritime zone or jurisdiction of the Philippines—STATE
b. Outside the jurisdiction—the first country to occupy effectively
2. If formed on lakes, navigable or floatable rivers—STATE
3. If formed on non-navigable or non-floatable rivers
a. If nearer in margin to one bank, owner of nearer margin is sole owner
b. If equidistant, the island shall be divided longitudinally in halves
NAVIGABLE OR FLOATABLE RIVER
If useful for floatage and commerce, whether the tides affect the water or not
RULE TO FOLLOW IF A NEW ISLAND IS FORMED BETWEEN THE OLDER ISLAND AND THE BANK
The owner of the older island is the riparian owner and if the new island is nearer in margin the older island, the owner of the older island should be considered also the owner of the new island
