Art. 539. Every possessor has a right to be respected in his possession; and should he be disturbed therein he shall be protected in or restored to said possession by the means established by the laws and the Rules of Court. A possessor deprived of his possession through forcible entry may within ten days from the filing of the complaint present a motion to secure from the competent court, in the action for forcible entry, a writ of preliminary mandatory injunction to restore him in his possession. The court shall decide the motion within thirty (30) days from the filing thereof. (446a)

RIGHTS TO BE RESPECTED IN POSSESSION—GENERAL NATURE

1. Right of a person to be respected in his possession
2. Protection in said right or restoration to said possession thru legal means

3. The writ of preliminary mandatory injunction

SPECIFIC RIGHT TO BE RESPECTED IN POSSESSION

1. Reasons for protection of possession
a. Possession is very similar to ownership and as a matter of fact modifies ownership
b. Possession almost invariably gives rise to the presumption that the possessor is the owner

2. Every possessor is protected—whether concept of owner or holder

LEGAL MEANS FOR RESTORATION TO POSSESSION

1. To prevent spoliation or a disregard of public order
2. To prevent deprivation of property without due process
3. To prevent a person from taking the law into his own hands

WRIT OF PRELIMINARY MANDATORY INJUNCTION

1. Injunction cannot substitute for the other, actions to recover possession. The possessor in the meantime has in his favor, the presumption of rightful possession, at least, till the case is finally
decided

2. Requisites for the issuance—
a. In forcible entry cases—file within 10 days from the time of the complaint
b. In unlawful detainer cases—within 10 days from the time appeal is perfected only if
i. The lessee’s appeal is frivolous or dilatory
ii. The lessor’s appeal is prima facie meritorious

Art. 540. Only the possession acquired and enjoyed in the concept of owner can serve as a title for acquiring dominion. (447)

POSSESSION IN THE CONCEPT OF OWNER

 If a person possesses in the concept of owner—he may eventually become the owner by prescription
 Thus, a possessor merely in the concept of holder cannot acquire property by acquisitive prescription—one cannot recognize the right of another and at the same time claim adverse possession.

POSSESSION IN THE CONCEPT OF HOLDER

1. Lessees
2. Trustees
3. Antichrectic creditors
4. Agents
5. Depositaries
6. Co-owners
Art. 541. A possessor in the concept of owner has in his favor the legal presumption that he possesses with a just title and he cannot be obliged to show or prove it. (448a)

PRESUMPTION THAT POSSESSOR HAS JUST TITLE

1. One must be in possession—actual or constructive
2. The possession must be in the concept of owner

THE KINDS OF TITLE

1. True and valid title (titulo verdadero y valido)—there was a mode of transferring ownership and the grantor was the owner
2. Colorable title (titulo Colorado)—that title, although there was a mode of transferring ownership, still something is wrong since the grantor is not the owner
3. Putative title—where although the person believes himself to be the owner, he is nonetheless is not, because there was no mode of acquiring ownership

Art. 542. The possession of real property presumes that of the movables therein, so long as it is not shown or proved that they should be excluded. (449)

PRESUMPTION OF POSSESSION OF MOVABLES FOUND IN AN IMMOVABLE APPLICABILITY OF ARTICLE

1. Whether the possessor be in good faith or bad faith
2. Whether the possessor be in one own’s name or in another’s
3. Whether the possessor be in concept of owner or holder

Art. 543. Each one of the participants of a thing possessed in common shall be deemed to have exclusively possessed the part which may be allotted to him upon the division thereof, for the entire period during which the co-possession lasted. Interruption in the possession of the whole or a part of a thing possessed in common shall be to the prejudice of all the possessors. However, in case of civil interruption, the Rules of Court shall apply. (450a)

EXCLUSIVE POSSESSION BY A PREVIOUS CO-OWNER “SHALL BE DEEMED”

 It gives a right and not just a mere presumption

RULES TO APPLY FOR CIVIL INTERRUPTION

 Civil interruption is produced by judicial summons to the possessor
 Judicial summons shall be deemed not to have been issued and shall not give rise to interruption
o If it should be void for lack of legal solemnities
o If the plaintiff should desist from the complaint or should allow the proceedings to lapse
o If the possessor should be absolved from the complaint

Art. 544. A possessor in good faith is entitled to the fruits received before the possession is legally interrupted. Natural and industrial fruits are considered received from the time they are gathered or severed. Civil fruits are deemed to accrue daily and belong to the possessor in good faith in that proportion. (451)

RIGHTS OF A POSSESSOR IN GOOD FAITH TO FRUITS ALREADY RECEIVED

Art. 545. If at the time the good faith ceases, there should be any natural or industrial fruits, the possessor shall have a right to a part of the expenses of cultivation, and to a part of the net harvest, both in proportion to the time of the possession. The charges shall be divided on the same basis by the two possessors. The owner of the thing may, should he so desire, give the possessor in good faith the right to finish the cultivation and gathering of the growing fruits, as an indemnity for his part of the expenses of cultivation and the net proceeds; the possessor in good faith who for any reason whatever should refuse to accept this concession, shall lose the right to be indemnified in any other manner. (452a)

Art. 546. Necessary expenses shall be refunded to every possessor; but only the possessor in good faith may retain the thing until he has been reimbursed therefor. Useful expenses shall be refunded only to the possessor in good faith with the same right of retention, the person who has defeated him in the possession having the option of refunding the amount of the expenses or of paying the increase in value which the thing may have acquired by reason thereof. (453a)

Art. 547. If the useful improvements can be removed without damage to the principal thing, the possessor in good faith may remove them, unless the person who recovers the possession exercises the option under paragraph 2 of the preceding article. (n)

Art. 548. Expenses for pure luxury or mere pleasure shall not be refunded to the possessor in good faith; but he may remove the ornaments with which he has embellished the principal thing if it suffers no injury thereby, and if his successor in the possession does not prefer to refund the amount expended. (454)

Art. 549. The possessor in bad faith shall reimburse the fruits received and those which the legitimate possessor could have received, and shall have a right only to the expenses mentioned in paragraph 1 of Article 546 and in Article 443. The expenses incurred in improvements for pure luxury or mere pleasure shall
not be refunded to the possessor in bad faith, but he may remove the objects for which such expenses have been incurred, provided that the thing suffers no injury thereby, and that the lawful possessor does not prefer to retain them by paying the value they may have at the time he enters into possession. (445a)

Art. 550. The costs of litigation over the property shall be borne by every possessor. (n)

Art. 551. Improvements caused by nature or time shall always insure to the benefit of the person who has succeeded in recovering possession. (456)

Art. 552. A possessor in good faith shall not be liable for the deterioration or loss of the thing possessed, except in cases in which it is proved that he has acted with fraudulent intent or negligence, after the judicial summons. A possessor in bad faith shall be liable for deterioration or loss in every case, even if caused by a fortuitous event. (457a)

Art. 553. One who recovers possession shall not be obliged to pay for improvements which have ceased to exist at the time he takes possession of the thing. (458)

IMPROVEMENTS WHICH CEASE TO EXIST

Art. 554. A present possessor who shows his possession at some previous time, is presumed to have held possession also during the intermediate period, in the absence of proof to the contrary. (459)

PRESUMPTION OF POSSESSION DURING INTERVENING PERIOD

Art. 555. A possessor may lose his possession:
(1) By the abandonment of the thing;
(2) By an assignment made to another either by onerous or gratuitous title;
(3) By the destruction or total loss of the thing, or because it goes out of commerce;
(4) By the possession of another, subject to the provisions of Article 537, if the new possession has lasted longer than one year. But the real right of possession is not lost till after the lapse of ten years. (460a)

ABANDONMENT

1. Possessor in the concept of owner
2. The abandoner must have the capacity to renounce or to alienate
3. There must be physical relinquishment of the thing or object
4. There must be no more spes recuperandi/expectation to recover or animus revertendi/intent to return or get back
N.B: Abandonment which converts the thing into res nullius—ownership of which may ordinarily be obtained by occupation—doesn’t apply to land. Ownership of land cannot be obtained through occupation.

ASSIGNMENT

1. Complete transmission of ownership rights to another person
2. At no time did the thing not have a possessor
3. Both possession de facto and de jure are lost and no action will allow recovery

POSSESSION OF ANOTHER

1. If person isn’t in possession for more than 1 year, he loses his possession de facto
2. If a person loses possession for more than 10 years, he loses possession de jure or the real right of a possessor

Art. 556. The possession of movables is not deemed lost so long as they remain under the control of the possessor, even though for the time being he may not know their whereabouts. (461)

WHEN POSSESSION OF MOVABLES IS NOT LOST OR NOT LOST

 If the possessor has no idea at all about the whereabouts of the movable, possession is lost
 BUT not when he more or less knows its general location, though he may not know its precise or definite location

Art. 557. The possession of immovables and of real rights is not  deemed lost, or transferred for purposes of prescription to the prejudice of third persons, except in accordance with the provisions of the Mortgage Law and the Land Registration laws. (462a)

LOSS OF IMMOVABLES WITH RESPECT TO THIRD PERSONS

Art. 558. Acts relating to possession, executed or agreed to by one who possesses a thing belonging to another as a mere holder to enjoy or keep it, in any character, do not bind or prejudice the owner, unless he gave said holder express authority to do such acts, or ratifies them subsequently. (463)

ACTS OF MERE HOLDER

Art. 559. The possession of movable property acquired in good faith is equivalent to a title. Nevertheless, one who has lost any movable or has been unlawfully deprived thereof may recover it from the person in possession of the same.
If the possessor of a movable lost or which the owner has been unlawfully deprived, has acquired it in good faith at a public sale, the owner cannot obtain its return without reimbursing the price paid therefor. (464a)

WHEN POSSESSION OF MOVABLE IS EQUIVALENT TO TITLE

1. In bad faith—is never equivalent to title
2. In good faith
a. D is entitled to title—as a general rule
b. Is not equivalent to tile when the owner has lost or has been unlawfully deprived of it, unless the possessor had acquired in good faith at a public sale

SUMMARY OF RECOVERY OR NON-RECOVERY POSSESSION

1. Owner may recover without reimbursement
a. From possessor in bad faith
b. From possessor in good faith—if owner has lost or has been unlawfully deprived

2. Owner may recover but should reimburse
a. If the possessor acquired the object in good faith at a public sale or auction

3. Owner cannot recover, even if he offers to reimburse
a. If the possessor acquired it in good faith and for value by purchase from a merchant’s store, fairs, or markets in
accordance with the Code of Commerce
b. If owner by his own conduct precluded form denying the seller’s authority to sell
c. If possessor had obtained the goods because he was an innocent purchaser for value and holder of a negotiable
document of title

Art. 560. Wild animals are possessed only while they are under one's control; domesticated or tamed animals are considered domestic or tame if they retain the habit of returning to the premises of the possessor. (465)

THREE KINDS OF ANIMALS

1. Wild animals—which live naturally independent of man
2. Domesticated—wild by nature but recognizes the authority of man
3. Domestic—born and reared ordinarily under the control of and care of man

POSSESSION OF WILD ANIMALS

 One’s possession of wild animals is lost when they are under another’s control or under no one’s control

DOMESTICATED OR TAMED ANIMALS

 The possessor doesn’t lose possession of them—as long as habitulally they return to the possessor’s premises
 Impliedly, possession of them is lost if the aforementioned habit has ceased

Art. 561. One who recovers, according to law, possession unjustly lost, shall be deemed for all purposes which may redound to his benefit, to have enjoyed it without interruption. (466)

LAWFUL RECOVERY OF POSSESSION THAT HAD BEEN UNJUSTLY LOST

 Applies to both possessors in good faith and bad faith, but only if beneficial to them
 Thus, a possessor in good faith for the purpose of prescription may make use of this article