Article 1179 This is not a void condition and neither a suspensive condition

because there is already a pre-existing obligation even before the

Every obligation whose performance does not depend upon a fulfillment of this condition. When a person borrows a money from
future or uncertain event, or upon a past event unknown to another, upon a receipt of loan, there immediately arises the
the parties, is demandable at once. obligation to pay on the part of the debtor – only that its
demandability may be suspended.
Every obligation which contains a resolutory condition shall
also be demandable, without prejudice to the effects of the But in this kind of arrangement., we follow Articles 1180 and 1197,
happening of the event. wherein rather being treated as a conditional obligation, it is
converted into an obligation with a term or period. In this case,
Pure Obligation is an obligation which is immediately what depends upon the debtor’s will is not whether he should pay
demandable, and is not dependent upon any condition and/period. or not for indeed he binds himself to pay. What is left only to his
This means that the obligee may demand from the obligor the will is the duration of a period. If the debtor and creditor cannot
immediate compliance of the obligation. Take note, however, that agree to the specific time for payment, the court shall fix the
by immediately demandability, it does not always mean right duration thereof as per Article 1197.
here, right now, right away. Taking into consideration the nature
of the obligation involved, the debtor must at least given a “little by little”
reasonable period of time to enjoy beneficial use of the object of “as soon as possible”
the agreement and to comply with his obligation. Furthermore, an “from time to time”
obligation is also demandable if it is subject to a condition or
period, when the same is resolutory in nature. On the other hand, if Article 1181
the obligation is subject to a condition (other than a resolutory
condition), then the obligation loses its immediate demandability In conditional obligations, the acquisition of rights, as well as
and becomes dependent upon the happening of the condition and the extinguishment or loss of those already acquired, shall
this is the case of Conditional Obligation. depend upon the happening of the event, which constitutes
Example: I will give you money if you have high grades. the condition.

Characteristics of a Condition Article 1182

1. Future and uncertain: In order to constitute an event
as a condition…. When the fulfillment of the condition depends upon the sole
2. Past but unknown: A past event can be treated as a will of the debtor, the conditional obligation shall be void. If it
condition if it is unknown to the parties of the contract. depends upon chance or upon the will of a third person, the
But since the event already happened, the element of obligation shall take effect in conformity with the provisions
uncertainty no longer exists. A condition in the category of this Code.
of a "past event unknown to both parties" is deemed
fulfilled when the fact of its prior happening comes to the Classification of Conditions as to Cause or Origin
knowledge of at least one of the parties. a. Potestative condition is a condition that is suspensive
in nature and which depends upon the sole will of one of
Two Principal Kinds of Condition the contracting parties
1. Suspensive Condition: will give rise to an obligation b. Casual condition is one which is subject to chance or
- Ipagbibili ko ang lupa sayo kapag sakin ito napunta upon the will of a third person.
mula sa pamana ng aking ama. The obligation is c. Mixed condition, as the word connotes, is a
demandable only after the condition is fulfilled. The combination of potestative and casual conditions - ie.,
obligation is suspended and for the mean time, I am one that is subject to the will of either parties and upon
not liable to you. chance or the will of a third person.
2. Resolutory Condition: will extinguish the obligation that
is already existing Take note however that a potestative condition, when its fulfillment
- Susuportahan kita hanggang sa makatapos ka. is based solely on the will of the debtor, cannot be suspensive at
- The obligation is demandable now but it will be the same time. If an obligation is subject to a potestative
extinguished or terminated upon the happening of suspensive condition, then the same will be rendered invalid. The
the resolutory condition. reason is simple: why would a person allow an event to take place
which will eventually oblige and require him to be chained to an
Article 1180 obligation? In order not to be liable, the debtor will not just fulfill the
condition. There is no burden on the debtor and no juridical tie is
When the debtor binds himself to pay when his means permit created. Only the potestative condition dependent solely upon the
him to do, the obligation shall be deemed to be one with a will of the debtor will be considered void, but not the entire
period, subject to the provisions of Article 1197. obligation.

Period is a future and CERTAIN event upon the arrival of which EXAMPLE: ONLY THE POTESTATIVE CONDITION IS VOID
the obligation subject to it either arises or extinguished. AND NOT THE OBLIGATION TO PAY

“I will pay you when I already have the money to pay you back, or “I will pay you my indebtness upon your demand.”
when my means allow me to do so.”
However, if the potestative suspensive condition is one that is X obliges himself to give 10,000 to B if B will marry C before B
dependent upon the will of the creditor, then it will not have the reaches the age of 23.
same effect as that provided in Article 1182. The reason too is
simple: as the creditor, he has an economic interest in the Article 1186
fulfillment of the condition that may benefit him.
The condition shall be deemed fulfilled when the obligor
If a suspensive condition depends upon chance or upon a will of a voluntary prevents its fulfillment.
thrd person, then it would be valid as well.
3 Requisites for the Application of this Article:
Example: Ipagbibili ko ang lupa ko kapag nanalo ako sa pending 1. The condition is suspensive
case ko sa Supreme Court. 2. The obligor actually prevents the fulfillment of the
condition.
Article 1183 3. He acts voluntarily.

Impossible conditions, those contrary to good customs or The law does not require that the obligor acts with malice or
public policy and those prohibited by law shall annul the fraud as long as his purpose is to prevent the fulfillment of
obligation which depends upon them. If the obligation is the condition. He should not be allowed to profit from his own
divisible, the part thereof which is not affected by an fault or bad faith to the prejudice of the obligee.
impossible or unlawful condition shall be valid.
S promised to sell his land to Y if Y would be able to secure a loan
The condition not to do an impossible thing shall; be from a certain bank. Later on, S changed his mind about selling his
considered as not having been agreed upon. land. He induced the bank not to give Y a loan.

Article 1183 refers to suspensive condition. It applies only to cases Under the above article, the condition is deemed complied
where the impossibility already existed at the time obligation was with and S is liable to sell his land. S should not be allowed to
constituted. profit by his own fault or bad faith.

Two Kinds of Impossible Conditions Article 1188

1. Physically Impossible Conditions: nature of things The creditor may, before the fulfillment of the obligation, bring the
2. Legally impossible Conditions: against law, morals….. appropriate actions for the preservation of his right.

From the above-quoted provision, impossible conditions shall The debtor may recover what, during the same time, he has paid
render the obligation null and void. Hence, if the condition of by mistake in case of a suspensive condition.
an obligation is to kill someone, then the entire obligation is
considered annulled. Rights of creditor. - He may take or bring appropriate actions
for the preservation of his right, as the debtor may render
However, if the obligation is divisible, then only the part nugatory (invalid; of no force or effect) the obligation upon
thereof that is subject to the impossible condition shall be the happening of the condition. Thus, he may go to court to
invalidated. prevent the alienation or concealment of the property the debtor
has bound himself to deliver, or to have his right annotated on the
I will give you 10,000 if you sell my land, and a car if you kill Pedro. title to the property in the registry of deeds.

If the condition not to do an impossible thing, it is Whenever, Mr. A who is a father of Mr. B promised to give a parcel
disregarded and the obligation is rendered valid. The of land, provided that the latter finished his Bachelor of Law. Mr. B,
condition is always fulfilled. in order to preserve his right against Mr. A may take appropriate
actions such as causing registration and put annotation at the back
“I will sell you my land if you do not give me a dog that talks.” portion of the title covering said parcel of land, so that even if the
parcel of land is alienated by Mr. A, the buyer will take that land
Article 1184 subject to the right to Mr. B.

The condition that some event happen at a determinate time shall Rights of debtor. He is entitled to recover what he has paid by
extinguish the obligation as soon as the time expires or if it has mistake prior to the happening of the suspensive condition. This
become indubitable that the event will not take place. right is granted to the debtor because the creditor may or may not
be able to fulfill the condition imposed and hence, it is not certain
The article refers to a positive suspensive condition – the
that the obligation will arise. This is a case of solutio indebiti
happening of an event at a determinate time. The obligation is
which is based on the principle that no one shall enrich himself at
extinguished:
the expense of another.
i. As soon as the time expires without the event taking
Note that the payment before the fulfillment of the condition must
place
be "by mistake"; otherwise, the debtor is deemed to have impliedly
ii. As soon as it has become indubitable that the event
waived the condition. In any case, he cannot recover what he has
will not take place although the time specified has
prematurely paid once the suspensive condition is fulfilled.
not yet expired.