Alvin Claridades' Legal Dictionary 4th Edition

Alvin Claridades’ Legal and
Jurisprudential Lexicon
Fourth Edition
September 2014
PUP College of Law
Sta. Mesa, Manila

Preface
When the idea of coming up with this revolutionary piece of work first nestled in our
mind some years back, all that we had then was our plain devotion to the college which we
had the rare chance to be a part of as well as our deep concern for future law students who
would follow our trail. As early as then, we had already set our sights on our goal of leaving
some guiding tracks which others after us could follow in their expectedly long and tough
quest for legal education.
Challenged by the lack of adequate library facilities coupled with the scarcity of law
books and reading materials, especially legal dictionaries that are supposed to be up-to-date
and comprehensive enough to sufficiently aid the students in their studies, we thought then of
writing a lexicon from our own compilation of notes and collection of definitions of terms
which we have meticulously and unwearyingly jotted down from memory during lectures,
recitations, review sessions and researches, all built up in a span of nearly five (5) years.
And on August 8, 2004, we boldly embarked on one of our most intricate tasks yet
of putting together our collected works of the past three or so years and of beefing them up
further with new words and phrases we had encountered in other dictionaries, law books and
journals, the official records of Malacañang, the Supreme Court reports, various websites --
both local and foreign -- other relevant publications and postings, and, of course, in our
continuing anthology of law-and-jurisprudence-based vocabulary. The product of this huge
undertaking is called “Alvin Claridades’ Legal & Jurisprudential Lexicon.”
First Edition
This undertaking has by no means been an easy one; it was in fact a formidable
and daunting mission that we realized would inevitably eat up on the meager time left for us
to study and prepare for our class each day. But we remained staunch and undaunted and,
in between our office works, classes and time-offs, we would casually slouch on the
computer swivel for a few minutes or, at times, even for hours and pound on the keyboard to
key in and save our daily supply of legal jargon.
The overwhelming odds notwithstanding, we vigorously pursued the undertaking for
a total of 566 calendar days, comprising a total of 146 cumulative drafts, the latest one
containing a total of 1,150 pages typed in 11-point Tahoma font. The entire final manuscript
was made up of nearly 420,000 words and around 9,000 definitions. What’s more, we
painstakingly placed after each definition the source and, if practicable, the original citation
for easy reference by end-users. Where necessary, we interspersed contemporary definitions
with ancient ones. Moreover, we cited Supreme Court decisions mostly in their official
reference numbers (G.R. No., A.M. No. etc.) with their respective dates of promulgation
rather than the customary reference to the unofficial SCRA or Phil. Reports citations. Laws
were cited not by the title by which they are commonly known but by their official legislative
numeric designations and, where available, the particular reference to the specific provisions
were cited.

While great efforts were exerted to purge the work of errors and imperfections and
thus ensure its relative reliability as a reference material, certain lapses owing to various
factors which have slipped our watchful eyes have inevitably found their way into the final
manuscript. For this reason, we will be very grateful if such slip-ups and inaccurate entries
can be promptly brought to our attention for future rectification.
We were inspired in this humble work by the late former appellate court Justice
Federico B. Moreno after whose law dictionary we modeled this one. We wonder how much
effort the venerable jurist-cum-lexicographer poured into his work then considering that he
had not the benefit of modern technologies of our time such as personal computers, internet
and desktop publishing. In recognition of his great, valuable contribution to both the legal
education and legal profession, we have humbly consecrated and credited to him a good part
of this modest opus.
Dean Antonio Tupaz (+) was also instrumental in encouraging us further to
complete the work which we have begun eighteen (18) months ago. Without his final shove
and inspiring words, this piece of work would have remained languishing in our personal
computer archives. Assoc. Dean Marjorie Uyengco-Nolasco (now RTC Judge), our professor
in Legal Ethics years back, was no less supportive and was always ready to lend a helping
hand. We have been buoyed up no end by their words of encouragement and acts of
benefaction. Our profound appreciation also goes to our first Dean, the venerable Supreme
Court Associate Justice Dante O. Tinga, to his immediate successor Dean Honesto L. Cueva
(+), to former Associate Dean (and later Dean) Felipe P. Cahayon and Associate Dean
Carmelo I. Valera, as well as to our other former professors when the college opened in
2001, namely: Dean Willard B. Riano of the San Sebastian College Institute of Law, former
Assistant (now Deputy) Ombudsman Cyril E. Ramos, and election lawyer Atty. Nelson S.
Santos, for their invaluable contribution and self-sacrificing efforts in nurturing the college
during its indubitably most trying infancy stage.
To all of them, we can only express our sincerest gratitude by this humble token and
by way of donating this dictionary to the PUP College of Law Library.
Second Edition (2011)
It took us all of 5 more years to complete the second leg of revising and
supplementing a research work we started 10 years ago as a law student. It seemed like we
spent more time doing the additional inputs than the time we spent piecing together the
contents of the original manuscript which was begun in 2001 and completed in 2006.
While the statistical data of the revised edition seem to be dwarfed by the sheer
volume of entries and the number of pages of the maiden copy, the efforts we poured in to
finish this recent work were no less huge than those previously exerted. The incremental
quantities may not be reflective of the actual time spent in rectifying erroneous entries and
correcting clerical errors noted in the 1,050-page initial lexicon but the extra editing and
revision works were what made up the bulk of the present undertaking.

The current edition should have contained a total of 1,390 pages but the resulting
thickness would have made it difficult to book-bind the dictionary in one volume. Hence, the
decision to reduce the typeface to 10 points Tahoma instead of 11 points in order for the
entries to consume only 1,144 pages. The resulting revised manuscript is now made up of
over half a million words (515,400) and around 10,465 definitions, up from the 420,000-word,
9,000-term first edition.
Having completed yet another piece and for a worthy cause has given us a greater
sense of fulfillment. That we have seen how useful the lexicon has been for PUP law
students has made us all the more buoyed up in our desire to continue to share the product
of our meticulous work to those who would be needing it.
Third Edition (2013)
Updating a dictionary is a continuing, seemingly endless process and as soon as
the second edition came off our desktop printer in 2011, we already set our sights on the next
revision. In the next two years, we thoroughly reviewed our manuscript after which we
decided to purge it of some entries, check it for some spotted flaws in grammar, spelling and
syntax, rearrange it in such way as to make it conform to standard alphabetical sorting, and
infuse it with new definitions straight from the latest laws churned out by Congress and from
the freshest decisions out of the eminent chambers of the Supreme Court.
This edition contains 13,355 definitions, nearly 3,000 more than those contained in
the second edition (2011). This prompted us to again change the typeface, this time to Arial
Narrow 11 points, and to abridge some definitions without sacrificing their substance in order
to approximate the thickness of the first 2 editions and to maintain its readability as well.
Certain words repeatedly used were also abbreviated and the words they refer to have been
separately listed at the last pages of this dictionary. The final copy is now made up of
589,000 words spread over 1,213 pages.
Around 200 legal doctrines and principles heretofore left out from the previous
editions were finally incorporated in this latest work to afford its users better access to their
definitions as found in jurisprudence both here and in foreign jurisdictions. Novel legal terms
such as “Kasambahay”, “Driving under the influence of alcohol”, “Sin tax”, “Human Rights
Violations Victim”, “Sex tourism”, “Enhanced basic education program”, “Reproductive
Health”, “Judicial affidavit”, and “Efficient Use of Paper Rule”, among other terms, have found
their way in this latest revision.
Fourth Edition (2014)
Coming up with another edition in a period of one year after the last one was out
seems to be a more formidable and tougher job to hurdle considering that the lexicon’s
entries are bound to pile up and consume more print spaces such that the resulting material
would necessarily require additional pages if maintained at the previous edition’s
specifications. The need to update its contents, rectify some noted errors, whether clerical or

substantive, and condense the entries further to save on space without materially altering
their substance compelled us to revise the manuscript this early.
We have also added novel terms from the more recent laws enacted by Congress
and from case laws based on the latest decisions promulgated by the Supreme Court as well
as supplemented our compendium of legal doctrines, principles, theories and rules that could
aid our law students, academicians and practitioners in their studies and relevant research
works.
The definitions of new terms such as the “Disbursement Acceleration Fund” or
“DAP”, “cross-border transfer” and “augmentation”, among others, have found their way into
this relatively more compact but more definition-filled edition. The use of the unofficial
reporters, the SCRA and Phil. Reports, in citing jurisprudential definitions has been discarded
and in lieu thereof, the case titles with their respective official General Reference (GR)
numbers and dates of promulgation have been put to use.
In order to save much-needed space, more abbreviations and acronyms have been
used (see the end pages) and the typeface was changed to Arial Narrow, 10 points with each
entry being separated by a 6-point space. All in all, this edition contains more than 14,000
definitions contained in 1,064 pages.
Acknowledgment
In ending, allow us the liberty of thanking our former classmates, schoolmates,
professors, fellow faculty members and our law students for their inspiring presence and
guidance. A sense of gratitude, both deep and abiding, is also in order for the members of
our family who have patiently and uncomplainingly allowed us to “snatch” from them
thousands of our “precious manhours” in order to accomplish this herculean but worthwhile
task.
We especially thank former Dean Felipe Cahayon for allowing the use of the 1st
desk-top produced copy of this lexicon at the PUP College of Law Library beginning AY
2010-2011. Our gratitude also goes to Dean Gemy Lito Festin for graciously accepting and
recommending the use of this lexicon as a reference material for the PUP law students and
professors.
And lastly, to the Almighty God be the glory for making this meaningful handiwork
possible and continually moved by His divine touch from its initial conception up to the fruition
of what was initially thought of as just a pipe dream.
ALVIN T. CLARIDADES
City of Manila
17 September 2014

The Lexicographer
The lexicographer, Atty. Alvin T. Claridades, was a
senior law student -- at the time the final draft of this lexicon
was completed -- at the PUP College of Law. He belonged
to the first batch of law students, originally made up of 23
“plucky pioneers” who enlisted when the college opened in
2001. He was a founding officer of the PUP Law Students
Society, Inc. (PULSO), the forerunner of the current PUP
Law Student Council. He was also the first editor-in-chief of
“Lex Novus”, the official student organ of the college which
first saw print in 2003. Likewise, he was a contributor of the
“Law Review” of the college the maiden issue of which
came off the press in May 2005.
As a licensed civil engineer, the lexicographer had his first job as an engineering
aide at the Department of Public Works and Highways - Third Metro Manila Engineering
District (DPWH-TMMED) based in Malabon, Metro Manila from 1988 to 1992. In between his
working time and private errands, he tried to find time to write articles, essays and, at times,
poems. He edited community newspapers like “Pahayagang Obando”, “Tinig”, “Parish
Newsette”, Balitang CROWD” and “Pascualian”, contributed in “Pilipino Reporter” magazine
and had some of his opinion writings published in national dailies like “Malaya”, “We Forum”,
“Inquirer”, “Philippine Star”, “Manila Times”, “Manila Standard”, “Balita” and “Today”.
Atty. Claridades hails from the suburban town of Obando (which is renowned for its
3-day fertility dance festival in May for childless couples in honor of its three patron saints,
namely: San Pascual Baylon, Sta. Clara and Nuestra Señora de Salambao), in the historic
province of Bulacan. At a young age of 27, he ran and was elected municipal councilor of the
Sangguniang Bayan ng Obando and served as such from 1992 to 1995. Overly idealistic, the
activist in him got him disheveled into many political tussles that nearly made him vulnerable
to threats of all kinds. More disillusioned than petrified, he hung up his “political gloves” for
good after his term was over in June 1995.
Atty. Claridades earned his undergraduate degree at the Technological Institute of
the Philippines (TIP) in Manila in 1986 as a scholar of the Secretary Guillermo De Vega
Memorial Scholarship grant. A ghostwriter for the local chapter of the League of Filipino
Students(LFS), he exposed the repressive anti-student policies of the martial law regime. He
was also an active student leader and founded the Leaders’ Alliance for a Genuine,
Democratic and Autonomous Student Council(LAGDA-SC). When not donning his militant
hat then, the Lexicographer was actively participating in extra-curricular campus activities. He
was a bemedalled essay writer, extemporaneous and impromptu speaker, and a quiz bee
and math wizard contest medalist as well.
In 1999, Atty. Claridades pursued graduate studies at the PUP as a scholar of the
Civil Service Commission (CSC) and completed his academic requirements leading to the

degree of Master in Public Administration (MPA) in just three semesters. However, while in
the thick of preparations for his masteral thesis, the PUP College of Law was born in June
2001 and opened its doors to would-be law students. Not wanting to pass up the chance of
finally fulfilling his cherished dream of becoming a member of the august profession, he tried
his luck.
And the rest, as the popular cliché goes, was history.
After spending hundreds of hours on the recitation floor and more hours spent
poring over tons of reading materials and digesting oodles of case laws, Atty. Claridades
finally graduated with a degree of Bachelor of Laws on May 5, 2006. He took the bar
examinations in September 2006 and passed the same in April 2007, becoming one of the
first eight (8) lawyers produced by the then fledgling PUP College of Law.
At present, Atty. Claridades is a Director IV at the Housing and Urban Development
Coordinating Council (HUDCC), an attached agency of the President of the Philippines
currently chaired by Vice President Jejomar Binay. He has also been a member of the faculty
of the PUP College of Law since 2010, teaching various subject such as Statutory
Construction, Legal Writing, Legal Forms, Environmental Law, Agrarian Reform Law and
Civil Procedure.

1
- A -
A. Abbrev. of the Roman word, absolvo, which
means to absolve or to acquit from criminal
liability.
A contrario. Lat. On the contrary.
A contrario sensu. Lat. 1. From the contrary
sense. 2. On the other hand.
A converso. Lat. Conversely.
A fortiori. Lat. More effective; with greater
reason.
A gratis argumentis. Lat. For the sake of
argument.
A mensa et thoro. Lat. From bed and board.
A quo. Lat. From which. A court a quo is a
court from which a cause has been re-moved.
A sensu contrario. Lat. In a contrary sense.
See also A contrario sensu.
A vinculo matrimonii. Lat. From the bond
marriage. 1. The term is now used to refer to
a final and permanent divorce. 2. The Civ.
Code of the Phils., now in force, does not
admit absolute divorce, quo ad vinculo mat-rimonii;
and in fact it does not even use that
term, to further emphasize its restrictive pol-icy
on the matter, in contrast to the preced-ing
legislation [Act 2710] that admitted abso-lute
divorce on grounds of adultery of the
wife or concubinage of the husband.
[Tenchavez v. Escaño, GR L-19671. Nov.
29, 1965].
Ab. Lat. Away from.
Ab inconvenienti. Lat. From an inconvenient
thing.
Ab initio. Lat. 1. From the start [or beginning].
A term that means ―from the beginning,‖ ―at
first.‖ or ―from the inception.‖ [Camid v. Of-fice
of the Pres., GR 161414. Jan. 17,
2005]. For example, a marriage that is void
ab initio means that it is void from the be-ginning.
Ab intestato. Lat. By intestacy. The term re-fers
to laws governing the succession of
property after its previous owner dies with-out
a valid will.
Ab posse ad actu non vale illatio. Lat. A
proof that an act could have been done is no
proof that it was actually done. [Roman
Cath. Bishop of Malolos v. IAC, GR 72110.
Nov. 16, 1990].
Abandon. To forsake entirely; to forsake or
renounce utterly. [Dela Cruz v. Dela Cruz,
GR L-19565, Jan. 30, 1968].
Abandoned. 1. Having been deserted or cast
off. 2. Remaining empty or unused; having
been left for good.
Abandoned child. 1. A child who has no
proper parental care or guardianship, or
whose parent(s) have deserted him/her for a
period of at least 3 continuous months,
which includes a founding. [Sec. 2, RA
9523]. 2. A child who has no proper parental
care or guardianship or whose parent(s) has
deserted him/her for a period of at least 6
continuous months and has been judicially
declared as such. [Sec. 3, RA 8552; Art.
141, PD 603]. Compare with Dependent
child and Neglected child.
Abandoned children. Health Ins. Children
who have no known family willing and capa-ble
to take care of them and are under the
care of the DSWD, orphanages, churches
and other institutions. [Sec. 3, RA 10606].
Abandoned or Idle land. 1. Any agricultural
land not cultivated, tilled or developed to
produce any crop nor devoted to any specif-ic
economic purpose continuously for a pe-riod
of 3 years immediately prior to the re-ceipt
of notice of acquisition by the govt. as
provided under the CARL of 1988 [RA
6657], but does not include land that has
become permanently or regularly devoted to
non-agricultural purposes. [Sec. 3, RA
6657]. 2. Lands devoted to any crop at least
one year prior to the notice of expropriation,
but which were not utilized by the owner for
his benefit for the past 5 years prior to such
notice of expropriation. [Sec. 166, RA 3844].
Alvin T. Claridades’ Legal & Jurisprudential Lexicon

2
Abandonee. A party to whom a right or prop-erty
is abandoned or relinquished by anoth-er.
Abandoning a minor. Crim. Law. The felony
committed by anyone who shall abandon a
child under 7 years of age, the custody of
which is incumbent upon him. [Art. 276,
RPC].
Abandonment. Labor. An employer defense
against the change of illegal or constructive
dismissal. To exist, however, it is essential
that (a) the employee must have failed to
report for work or must have been absent
without justifiable reason; (b) there must
have been a clear intention to sever the em-ployer-
employee relationship manifested by
some over acts. [Philamgen v. Gramaje, GR
156963. Nov. 11, 2004].
Abandonment. Labor. Elements: (a) The fail-ure
to report for work or absence without
valid or justifiable reason, and (b) a clear in-tention
to sever the employer-employee re-lationship,
with the 2nd element as the more
determinative factor and being manifested
by some overt acts. [De Ysasi III v. NLRC,
GR 104599. Mar. 11, 1994].
Abandonment. Mar. Ins. The act of the in-sured
by which, after a constructive total
loss, he declares the relinquishment to the
insurer of his interest in the thing insured.
[Sec. 138, IC].
Abandonment. Mar. Ins. Requisites for validi-ty:
(a) There must be an actual relinquish-ment
by the person insured of his interest in
the thing insured. [Sec. 138, IC]; (b) There
must be a constructive total loss. [Sec. 139,
IC]; (c) The abandonment must neither be
partial nor conditional. [Sec. 140, IC]; (d) It
must be made within a reasonable time after
receipt of reliable information of the loss.
[Sec. 141, IC]; (e) It must be factual. [Sec.
142, IC]; (f) It must be made by giving notice
thereof to the insurer which may be done
orally or in writing. [Sec. 143, IC]; and (g)
The notice of abandonment must be explicit
and must specify the particular cause of
abandonment. [Sec. 144, IC].
Abandonment of domicile and acquisition
of a new one called domicile of choice.
Requisites: (a) Residence or bodily pres-ence
in the new locality, (b) intention to re-main
there or animus manendi, and (c) an
intention to abandon the old domicile or an-imus
non revertendi. [Romualdez v. RTC
Tacloban City, GR 104960. Sep. 14, 1993].
Abandonment of land dedicated to public
use. Elements: (a) Intention to relinquish the
right or property, but without intending to
transfer title to any particular person; and (b)
the external act which such intention is car-ried
into effect. [Defensor-Santiago v. Ra-mos,
PET 001. Feb. 13, 1996].
Abandonment of minor by person entrust-ed
with his custody; indifference of par-ents.
Crim. Law. The felony committed by
anyone who, having charge of the rearing or
education of a minor, shall deliver said mi-nor
to a public institution or other persons,
without the consent of the one who entrust-ed
such child to his care or in the absence
of the latter, without the consent of the
proper authorities, or by the parents who
shall neglect their children by not giving
them the education which their station in life
require and financial conditions permit. [Art.
277, RPC].
Abandonment of office or position. 1. Crim.
Law. The felony committed by any public of-ficer
who, before the acceptance of his res-ignation,
shall abandon his office to the det-riment
of the public service. [Art. 238, RPC].
2. Admin. Law. The voluntary relinquishment
of an office by the holder, with the intention
of terminating his possession and control
thereof. [Sang. Bayan of San Andres,
Catanduanes v. CA, GR 118883. Jan. 16,
1998]. 3. A species of resignation; while res-ignation
in general is a formal relinquish-ment,
abandonment is a voluntary relin-quishment
through nonuser. [Ibid.].
Abandonment of person in danger and
abandonment of one's own victim. Crim.
Law. The felony committed by any one who
shall fail to render assistance to any person
whom he shall find in an uninhabited place

3
wounded or in danger of dying, when he can
render such assistance without detriment to
himself, unless such omission shall consti-tute
a more serious offense; or by anyone
who shall fail to help or render assistance to
another whom he has accidentally wounded
or injured; or by anyone who, having found
an abandoned child under 7 years of age,
shall fail to deliver said child to the authori-ties
or to his family, or shall fail to take him
to a safe place. [Art. 275, RPC].
Abandonment of the thing. It consists of the
voluntary renunciation of all the rights which
a person may have in a thing, with the intent
to lose such thing. By virtue of the aban-donment,
the thing is left without owner or
possessor. To be effective, it is necessary
that it be made by a possessor in the con-cept
of owner. [Tolentino, Civ. Code of the
Phils., Vol. II, Repr. 2001, p. 304].
Abandonment of the wife. To constitute
abandonment of the wife by the husband, as
the term is used in Art. 178 of the Civ. Code,
there must be absolute cessation of marital
relations and duties and rights, with the in-tention
of perpetual separation. The aban-donment
must not only be physical es-trangement
but also amount to financial and
moral desertion. [Dela Cruz v. Dela Cruz,
GR L-19565. Jan. 30, 1968].
Abandonment of work. Labor. Essential re-quirements:
(a) Failure to report for work or
absence without valid or justifiable reason;
and (b) clear intention to sever the employ-er-
employee relationship x x x manifested
by some overt acts. [Henlin Panay Co. v.
NLRC, GR 180718, Oct. 23, 2009].
Abandonment of work. Labor. The deliber-ate,
unjustified refusal of the employee to
resume his employment. The burden of
proof is on the employer to show a clear and
deliberate intent on the part of the employee
to discontinue employment without any in-tention
of returning. Mere absence is not
sufficient. [FRF Enterprise v. NLRC, GR
105998. Apr. 21, 1995].
Abate. To do away with a problem, such as a
public or private nuisance or some structure
built contrary to public policy.
Abatement. 1. A reduction in some amount
that is owed, usu. granted by the person to
whom the debt is owed. 2. Any act that
would remove or neutralize a fire hazard.
[Sec. 3, RA 9514].
Abatement of a fire hazard. Any act that
would remove or neutralize a fire hazard.
[Sec. 3, PD 1185].
Abatement of a nuisance. The removal or
termination or destruction of something that
has been found to be a nuisance.
Abatement of action. A suit which has been
quashed and ended.
Abattoir or Slaughterhouse. Premises that
are approved and registered by the control-ling
authority in which food animals are
slaughtered and dressed for human con-sumption.
[Sec. 4, RA 9296].
ABC. See Approved budget for the con-tract.
Abduct. To carry off by force; kidnap.
Abduction. Crim. Law. 1. The taking away of
a woman from her house or the place where
she may be for the purpose of carrying her
to another place with intent to marry or to
corrupt her. [People v. Crisostomo, GR L-
19034 Feb. 17, 1923]. 2. Taking someone
away from a place without that person's
consent or by fraud. See also Kidnapping.
Abduction. Kinds: 1. Forcible abduction; [Art.
342, RPC]; and 2. Consented abduction.
[Art 343, RPC].
Aberratio ictus. Lat. Accidental harm to a
person. Crim. Law. 1. Mistake in the identity
of the victim. [People v. Pinto, GR 39519.
Nov. 21, 1991]. 2. Miscarriage of the blow.
[People v. Atillano, GR 109131-33. Oct. 3,
1994]. 3. Mistake in the blow, characterized
by aiming at one but hitting the other due to
imprecision in the blow. [People v. Sabalo-nes,
GR 123485, Aug. 31, 1998]. Compare

4
with Error in personae or Error en la per-sona.
Abet. The act of encouraging or inciting an-other
to do a certain thing, such as a crime.
Ability to read intelligently. The capacity to
know or apprehend; to discover or under-stand
by characters, marks, features, etc.; to
gather the meaning.
ABM. See Agency Budget Matrix.
Abnegate. To renounce or reject something
desired or valuable.
Abnegation. Denial, a renunciation, self-denial.
[People v. Bacalso, 3159-R, 30 Sep.
1950].
Abogado. Sp. Lawyer or attorney- at-law. That
class of persons who are by license officers
of the courts, empowered to appear, prose-cute
and defend, and upon whom peculiar
duties, responsibilities and liabilities are de-veloped
by law as a consequence. [Cui v.
Cui, GR L-18727. Aug. 31, 1964].
Abolition of a position. It does not involve or
mean removal for the reason that removal
implies that the post subsists and that one is
merely separated therefrom. [Arao v. Luspo,
GR L-23982. July 21, 1967].
Abortifacient. Any drug or device that induces
abortion or the destruction of a fetus inside
the mother‘s womb or the prevention of the
fertilized ovum to reach and be implanted in
the mother‘s womb upon determination of
the FDA. [Sec. 4, RA 10354].
Abortion. The knowing destruction of the life
of an unborn child or the intentional expul-sion
or removal of an unborn child from the
womb other than for the principal purpose of
producing a live birth or removing a dead fe-tus.
Abortion. Elements: (a) That there is a preg-nant
woman who has suffered an abortion;
(b) that the abortion is intended; and (c) that
the abortion is caused by (c.1) the pregnant
woman herself; (c.2) any other person, with
her consent; or (c.3) any of her parents, with
her consent for the purpose of concealing
her dishonor. [Under Art. 258, RPC].
Abortion practiced by a physician or mid-wife
and dispensing of abortives. Crim.
Law. The felony committed by any physician
or midwife who, taking advantage of their
scientific knowledge or skill, shall cause an
abortion or assist in causing the same, or by
any pharmacist who, without the proper pre-scription
from a physician, shall dispense
any abortive. [Art. 259, RPC].
Abortion practiced by the woman herself or
by her parents. Crim. Law. The felony
committed by a woman who shall practice
abortion upon herself or shall consent that
any other person should do so, or by the
parents of the pregnant woman or either of
them, and they act with the consent of said
woman for the purpose of concealing her
dishonor. [Art. 258, RPC].
Abortionist. A person who criminally produces
abortions, or one who follows the business
or practices the crime of producing abortion.
Abot-Kaya. Tag. Affordable. Within reach.
Abot-Kaya Pabahay Fund (AKPF). A Fund
created by virtue of RA 6846 under the trus-teeship
of the Natl. Home Mortgage Finance
Corp. (NHMFC) which was later amended
by RA 7835 to implement a continuing pro-gram
of social housing and enhance govt.'s
efforts to make low-cost housing affordable
to low income families. It has 2 components:
(a) amortization support whereby funds are
made available for low income families to
assist them in paying their housing loans;
and (b) development financing where fund
are utilized to support private developers,
NGOs and landowners in providing afforda-ble
housing packages to low-income fami-lies.
About. Near in time, quantity, number, quality
or degree. Substantially, approximately, al-most,
or nearly.
Abrasion. A scraping or rubbing off.

5
Abreaction. Relieving of suppressed emotion
as by talking about it. [People v. Valdemoro,
16159-CR, 30 July 1979].
Absence. The legal status of a person who
has absented himself from his domicile and
whose whereabouts and fate are unknown,
it not being known with certainty whether he
is still living or not. [Jurado, Civ. Law Re-viewer,
19th Ed. (1999), p. 260]. See Provi-sional
absence and Declared absence.
Absence of inconsistency test. Evid. A test
[in determining whether or not there is iden-tity
of causes of action as to warrant the ap-plication
of the principle of res judicata]
where it is determined whether the judgment
sought will be inconsistent with the prior
judgment. [Torres v. Medina, GR 166730,
Mar. 10, 2010]. If no inconsistency is shown,
the prior judgment shall not constitute a bar
to subsequent actions. [Agustin v. Delos
Santos, GR 168139, Jan. 20, 2009]. Com-pare
with Same evidence test.
Absence of jurisdiction. See Without juris-diction.
Absent. Missing; lacking; wanting.
Absent spouse. 1. A spouse who has been
missing for at least 4 years, it being un-known
whether or not he or she is still alive,
and the present spouse having a well-founded
belief that the missing spouse is al-ready
dead. This is a defense against pros-ecution
for a bigamous marriage. [Art. 41,
FC]. 2. The prior spouse who had been ab-sent
for 4 consecutive years and whom the
spouse present reasonably believed to be
already dead. In case of disappearance
where there is danger of death under the
circumstances set forth in the provisions of
Arts. 391 of the Civ. Code, an absence of
only 2 years shall be sufficient. [Navarro v.
Domagtoy, AM MTJ-96-1088. July 19,
1996].
Absent Without Leave. Absent from one's
post but without intent to desert. See
AWOL.
Absentee. A person whose whereabouts and
existence are not known in the sense of the
law allowing a subsuent marriage and for
purposes of administration of the estate of
the absentee and of succession. [Bench
Book for Trial Court Judges, p. 3-4].
Absentee voters, National registry of. The
consolidated list prepared, approved and
maintained by the Comelec, of overseas ab-sentee
voters whose applications for regis-tration
as absentee voters, incl. those regis-tered
voters who have applied to be certified
as absentee voters, have been approved by
the Election Registration Board. [Sec. 3, RA
9189].
Absentee voting. The process by which quali-fied
citizens of the Phils.s abroad exercise
their right to vote. [Sec. 3, RA 9189].
Absenteeism. The practice of regularly stay-ing
away from work or school without good
reason.
Absoluta sententia expositore non indiget.
Lat. 1. When the language of the law is
clear, no explanation of it is required. 2. To
the plain words of a legal provision we
should make no further explanation. [Gan v.
Reyes, GR 145527 May 28, 2002].
Absolute. Complete and unconditional; final.
Absolute community of property. A system
of property relation that treats properties ac-quired
by the spouses during their marriage
as jointly-owned. It consists of all the proper-ties
owned by the spouses at the time of the
celebration of the marriage or acquired
thereafter unless the property involved is
expressly excluded by an existing marriage
settlement or by the provisions of the law. It
is the default property regime of the spouses
In the absence of a marriage settlement or if
one is considered void.
Absolute community regime. [A regime en-tered
into by a couple where] the husband
and the wife becomes joint owners of all the
properties of the marriage. Whatever prop-erty
each spouse brings into the marriage,
and those acquired during the marriage [ex-

6
cept those excluded under Art. 92 of the
Fam. Code] form the common mass of the
couple's properties. And when the couple's
marriage or community is dissolved, that
common mass is divided bet. the spouses,
or their respective heirs, equally or in the
proportion the parties have established, irre-spective
of the value each one may have
originally owned. [Quiao v. Quiao, GR
176556, July 4, 2012]. Compare with Con-jugal
Partnership of Gains Regime.
Absolute community, System of. The abso-lute
community of property bet. spouses
shall commence at the precise moment that
the marriage is celebrated and shall consist
of all the property owned by the spouses at
the time of the celebration of the marriage or
acquired thereafter. [Arts. 88 and 91, FC].
Absolute defense. A factual circumstance or
argument that, if proven, will end the litiga-tion
in favor of the defendant. See Com-plete
defense.
Absolute indorsement. Nego. Inst. One by
which the indorser binds himself to pay upon
no other condition than the failure of prior
parties to do so and upon due notice to him
of such failure.
Absolute pardon. A pardon that reaches both
the punishment prescribed for the offense
and the guilt of the offender. When the par-don
is full, it releases the punishment and
blots out of existence the guilt, so that in the
eye of the law the offender is an innocent as
if he had never committed the offense. If
granted after conviction, it removes the pen-alties
and disabilities, and restores him to all
his civil rights; it makes him, as it were, a
new man, and gives him a new credit and
capacity. [In re: Lontok, Apr. 7, 1922]. Com-pare
with Conditional pardon.
Absolute poverty. The condition of the
household below the food threshold level.
[Sec. 3, RA 8425].
Absolute privilege. An absolute defense to an
otherwise defamatory statement bec. of the
venue or context in which the statement was
made.
Absolute privilege doctrine. Doctrine that
protects communications made by individu-als
participating in a public function, such as
executive, legislative, judicial or quasi-judicial
proceedings.
Absolute simulation of a contract. 1. It takes
place when the parties do not intend to be
bound at all. [Art. 1345, CC]. 2. An absolute-ly
simulated or fictitious contract is void. [Art.
1346, CC].
Absolute sovereign immunity. The rule that
a foreign state is immune from all types of
suits.
Absolute title. A non-contestable title to a
thing. Also known as Title in fee simple.
Absolutely privileged communication. One
in respect of which, by reason of the occa-sion
on which, or the matter in reference to
which, it is made, no remedy can be had in
a civil action, however hard it may bear up-on
a person who claims to be injured there-by,
and even though, it may have been
made maliciously. [Sison v. David, GR L-
11268. Jan. 28, 1961]. Compare with Con-ditionally
or Qualifiedly privileged com-munication.
Absolutely privileged statements. State-ments
made in the course of judicial pro-ceedings
[that are] privileged regardless of
[their] defamatory tenor and of the presence
of malice — if the same are relevant, perti-nent,
or material to the cause in hand or
subject of inquiry. [Tolentino v. Baylosis, GR
L-15742 Jan. 31, 1961].
Absorb. It is synonymous with the words "as-similate"
or "incorporate" and which, in busi-ness
parlance, means "to take over." [Razon
v. Sec. of Labor, GR 85867. May 13, 1993].
Absorbed company. The constituent compa-ny
whose corporate existence is dissolved
as a result of the merger or consolidation.
[Tiopianco, Commentaries & Jurisp. on the
Ins. Code of the Phil., 1999 Ed., p. 207].
Absorbing or Acquiring company. The sur-viving
company, in case of merger, or the
newly formed company, in case of consoli-

7
dation. [Tiopianco, Commentaries & Jurisp.
on the Ins. Code of the Phil., 1999 Ed., p.
207].
Absorption of common crimes doctrine.
Also called Hernandez doctrine. The rule
enunciated in People v. Hernandez [99 Phil.
Rep 515 (1956)] that the ingredients of a
crime form part and parcel thereof, and
hence, are absorbed by the same and can-not
be punished either separately therefrom
or by the application of Art. 48 of the Rev.
Penal Code. [Enrile v. Amin, GR 93335,
Sep. 13, 1990]. It held that the crime of re-bellion
under the Rev. Penal Code of the
Phils. is charged as a single offense, and
that it cannot be made into a complex crime.
Absorption system. [The system of penalty
where] the lesser penalties are absorbed by
the graver penalties. [This is] observed in
the imposition of complex crimes (Art. 48,
RPC), continuing crimes, and specific
crimes like robbery with homicide, etc.
Compare with Material accumulation sys-tem
and Judicial accumulation system.
Abstract. Intel Prop. A concise summary of
the disclosure of the invention as contained
in the description, claims and merely serves
as technical information.
Abstract of title A chronological summary of
all official records and recorded documents
affecting the title to a parcel of real property.
Abuelos maternos. Sp. Maternal grandpar-ents.
[Velasquez v. Velasquez, 54709-R, 13
Oct. 1977). See also Abuelos paternos.
Abuelos paternos. Sp. Paternal grandpar-ents.
[Velasquez v. Velasquez, 54709-R, 13
Oct. 1977]. See Abuelos maternos.
Abus de droit. Fr. Abuse of right. A civil law
principle of abuse of right due to a flagrant
act of a creditor or the possessor of a thing.
Abuse. To make excessive or improper use of
a thing, or to employ it in a manner contrary
to the natural or legal rules for its use. To
make an extravagant or excessive use, as
to abuse one's authority. [Salalima v.
Guingona, GR 117589-92. May 22, 1996].
Abuse of confidence or Obvious ungrate-fulness.
Crim. Law. An aggravating circum-stance
under Art. 14 (4) of Rev. Penal Code
which can be appreciated only if the follow-ing
requisites are present: (a) The offended
party had trusted the offender; (b) the of-fender
abused such trust; and (c) such
abuse facilitated the commission of the
crime. [People v. Luchico, GR L-26170 Dec.
6, 1926]. See also Unfaithfulness.
Abuse of judicial discretion. A discretion by
a judge to an end or purpose not justified by
and clearly against reason and evidence.
Abuse of right. A person may be liable for
harm caused by doing something which
one, nevertheless, has a right to do, if the
right was: (a) principally intended to cause
harm; (b) or was used without a legitimate,
interest justifying judicial protection; (c) or
was used in bad faith; (d) or was contrary to
basic rules of morality or fairness.
Abuse of right principle. Requisites: (a) The
defendant should have acted in a manner
that is contrary to morals, good customs or
public policy; (b) the acts should be willful;
and (c) there was damage or injury to the
plaintiff. [Custodio v. CA, GR 116100. Feb.
9, 1996].
Abuse of superior strength. Crim. Law. 1. It
contemplates a situation of strength notori-ously
selected or taken advantage of by an
aggressor in the commission of the crime.
[People v. Escoto, GR 91756, May 11,
1995]. 2. [This] is present whenever there is
a notorious inequality of forces bet. the vic-tim
and the aggressor/s that is plainly and
obviously advantageous to the aggressor/s
and purposely selected or taken advantage
of to facilitate the commission of the crime.
[People v. Daquipil, GR 86305-06, Jan. 20,
1995].
Abuse of superiority. Crim. Law. 1. The ex-cess
of the aggressor‘s natural strength over
that of the victim, considering the position of
both and the employment of means to
weaken the defense, although not annulling
it. The aggressor must have taken ad-

8
vantage of his natural strength to insure the
commission of the crime. [People v.
Salcedo, GR 178272. Mar. 14, 2011]. 2. The
taking advantage by the culprits of their col-lective
strength to overpower their relatively
weaker victim or victims. [People v. Apdu-han,
Jr., GR L-19491, Aug. 30, 1968].
Abuses against chastity. Crim. Law. The
felony committed by: (a) any public officer
who shall solicit or make immoral or inde-cent
advances to a woman interested in
matters pending before such officer for deci-sion,
or with respect to which he is required
to submit a report to or consult with a supe-rior
officer; or (b) any warden or other public
officer directly charged with the care and
custody of prisoners or persons under arrest
who shall solicit or make immoral or inde-cent
advances to a woman under his custo-dy.
[Art. 245, RPC].
Abuso de confianza. Sp. Abuse of confi-dence.
[US v. Chu Chang, GR L-2307 Apr.
9, 1906]. See also Abuso deshonestos.
Abuso deshonesto. Sp. 1. Act of lascivious-ness.
[People v. Aguinaldo, 34 OG 1898]. 2.
Indecent assault; criminal sexual contact.
Abusos deshonestos. Sp. Abuse of chastity.
[US v. Mendez, GR L-6483. Mar. 11, 1911].
Academic failure. An academic subject in
which the student has failed.
Academic freedom. The right of the school or
college to decide for itself, its aims and ob-jectives,
and how best to attain them - the
grant being given to institutions of higher
learning - free from outside coercion or inter-ference
save possibly when the overriding
public welfare calls for some restraint. [Tan-gonan
v. Paño, GR L-45157 June 27, 1985].
Academic non-teaching personnel. Those
persons holding some academic qualifica-tions
and performing academic functions di-rectly
supportive of teaching, such as regis-trars,
librarians, research assistants, re-search
aides, and similar staff. [Sec. 6, BP
232].
Accelerated judgment. A procedural tech-nique
to promptly dispose of cases where
the facts appear undisputed and certain
from the pleadings, depositions, admissions
and affidavits on record, or for weeding out
sham claims or defenses at an early stage
of the litigation to avoid the expense and
loss of time involved in a trial. Its object is to
separate what is formal or pretended in de-nial
or averment from what is genuine and
substantial so that only the latter may sub-ject
a party in interest to the burden of trial.
[Agbada v. Inter-Urban Developers, Inc., GR
144029, 19 Sep. 2002]. See Summary
judgment.
Accelerated training. Basic skills training of a
short-term nature for jobs with a defined
level of qualifications. This usu. refers to a
rapid paced, condensed vocational training
to fill immediate manpower needs. [Sec. 1,
Rule 1, Book 2, IRR of LC].
Acceleration clause. 1. A clause which ren-ders
the whole debt due and demandable
upon the failure of the obligor to comply with
certain conditions. 2. A clause in a contract
that states that if a payment is missed, or
some other default occurs [such as the
debtor becoming insolvent], then the con-tract
is fully due immediately. This is a typi-cal
clause in a loan contract; miss one pay-ment
and the agreement to pay at regular
intervals is voided and the entire amount
becomes due and payable immediately.
Acceptance. Civ. Law. 1. The manifestation
by the offeree of his assent to the terms of
the offer which must in other words meet or
be identical at all points of the offer. [Diaz,
Bus. Law Rev., 1991 Ed., p. 65]. 2. The tak-ing
and receiving of anything in good faith
with the intention of retaining it.
Acceptance. 1. Nego. Inst. An acceptance
completed by delivery or notification. [Sec.
191, NIL]. 2. Succ. The act by virtue of
which an heir, legatee or devisee manifests
his desire in accordance with the formalities
prescribed by law to succeed to the inher-itance,
legacy or devise. 3. It may be an ex-press
acceptance made in a public or pri-

9
vate document, or a tacit acceptance result-ing
from acts by which the intention to ac-cept
is necessarily implied, or which one
would have no right to do except in the ca-pacity
of an heir. [Art. 1049, CC]. Compare
with Repudiation.
Acceptance for honor. Nego. Inst. An under-taking
by a stranger to a bill after protest for
the benefit of any party liable thereon or for
the honor of the person whose account the
bill is drawn which acceptance inures also to
the benefit of all parties subsequent to the
person for whose honor it is accepted, and
conditioned to pay the bill when it becomes
due if the orig. drawee does not pay it.
Acceptance of a bill. Nego. Inst. The signifi-cation
by the drawee of his assent to the or-der
of the drawer; this may be done in writ-ing
by the drawee in the bill itself, or in a
separate instrument. [Sec. 132, NIL; Pru-dential
Bank v. IAC, GR 74886. Dec. 8,
1992].
Acceptance of a bill. Nego. Inst. Effect: Upon
acceptance, the bill, in effect becomes a
note. The drawee who thereby becomes an
acceptor assumes the liability of the maker
(which is primary liability) and the drawer,
that of the 1st indorser.
Acceptance of a bill. Nego. Inst. Kinds: (a)
General acceptance or one that assents
without qualification to the order of the
drawer [Sec. 139, NIL; A holder may refuse
to accept a qualified acceptance and if he
does not obtain an unqualified acceptance,
he may treat the bill as dishonored by non-acceptance]:
(a.1) Qualified acceptance
which in express terms varies the effect of
the bill as drawn [Sec. 139, NIL]; (a.2) Con-ditional
acceptance which makes payment
by the acceptor dependent on the fulfillment
of a condition therein stated; (a.3) Partial
acceptance to pay part only of the amount
for which the bill is drawn; (a.4) Local ac-ceptance
to pay only at a particular place;
(a.5) Qualified acceptance as to time; or (f)
The acceptance of some one or more of the
drawees but not of all. [Sec. 141, NIL]; (b)
Constructive or implied acceptance where:
(b.1) the drawee to whom the bill is deliv-ered
for acceptance destroys it; or (b.2) the
drawee refuses, within 24 hours after such
delivery, or within such time as is given him,
to return the bill accepted or non-accepted;
(c) Extrinsic acceptance written on a paper
other than the bill itself. To be binding upon
the acceptor: (c.1) acceptance must be
shown to the person to whom the instrument
is negotiated; and (c.2) such person must
take the bill for value on the faith of such ac-ceptance
[Sec. 134, NIL); (d) Virtual ac-ceptance
or one subject to conditions such
as: (d.1) unconditional promise in writing to
accept a bill; (d.2) promise made before it is
drawn; or (d.3) any person who, upon faith
thereof, received the bill for value. [Sec.
135, NIL].
Acceptance of a bill. Nego. Inst. Conditions:
The acceptance of a bill must (a) be in writ-ing,
except constructive acceptance and to a
foreign bill payable in another state (unless
the other state requires for written ac-ceptance);
(b) be signed by the drawee
[without it, he is not liable]; (c) express a
promise to pay money (not goods); 4. be de-livered
to the holder (before delivery or noti-fication,
acceptor may revoke or cancel his
acceptance
Accepted unilateral promise. An offer which
specifies the thing to be sold and the price
to be paid and, when coupled with a valua-ble
consideration distinct and separate from
the price, is what may properly be termed a
perfected contract of option. This contract is
legally binding, and in sales, it conforms with
the 2nd par. of Art. 1479 of the Civ. Code.
[Equatorial Realty v. Mayfair Theater, GR
106063. Nov. 21, 1996].
Access. 1. The instruction, communication
with, storing data in, retrieving data from, or
otherwise making use of any resources of a
computer system or communication net-work.
[Sec. 3, RA 10175]. 2. A means of ap-proaching
or entering a place. 3. Carnal ac-cess;
carnal knowledge; sexual intercourse.
Access device. Any card, plate, code, ac-count
number, electronic serial number,

10
personal identification number, or other tele-communications
service, equipment, or in-strumental
identifier, or other means of ac-count
access that can be used to obtain
money, good, services, or any other thing of
value or to initiate a transfer of funds [other
than a transfer originated solely by paper in-strument].
[Sec. 3, RA 8484].
Access device fraudulently applied for. Any
access device that was applied for or issued
on account of the use of falsified document,
false information, fictitious identities and ad-dresses,
or any form of false pretense or
misrepresentation. [Sec. 3, RA 8484].
Access Devices Regulation Act of 1998. RA
8484 entitled ―An Act regulating the issu-ance
and use of access devices, prohibiting
fraudulent acts committed relative thereto,
providing penalties and for other purposes‖
enacted on Feb. 11, 1998.
Accessible. 1. Able to be reached or entered.
2. Able to be easily obtained or used.
Accessible polling place. The venue where
the Board of Election Inspectors [BEIs] con-ducts
election-related proceedings and
where the voters cast their votes. The ac-cessible
polling place shall he located at the
ground floor, preferably near the entrance of
the building, and is free of any physical bar-riers
and provided with necessary services,
incl. assistive devices. [Sec. 2, RA 10366].
Accessing entity. Any submitting entity or any
other entity authorized by the Credit Infor-mation
Corp. to access basic credit data
from the Corp. [Sec. 3, RA 9510].
Accessio cedit principali. Lat. The accessory
follows the principal.
Accession. 1. Intl. Law. The process whereby
a non-signatory State later becomes a party
to a treaty. [Suarez, Pol. Law Reviewer, 1st
Ed., 2002, pp. 1061-1062]. 2. Prop. The
right to all which one‘s own property pro-duces,
and the right to that which is united
to it by accession, either naturally or artifi-cially.
Accession continua. The acquisition of own-ership
over a thing incorporated to that
which belongs to the owner. [Tolentino, Civ.
Code of the Phils., Vol. II, Repr. 2001, p.
98].
Accession discreta. The extension of the
right of ownership to the products of a thing.
[Tolentino, Civ. Code of the Phils., Vol. II,
Repr. 2001, p. 98].
Accessions. Fruits of a thing or additions or
improvements upon a thing, or the right per-taining
to the owner of a thing over its prod-ucts
and whatever is incorporated thereto,
either naturally or artificially. [Diaz, Bus. Law
Rev., 1991 Ed., p. 5].
Accessories. 1. Prop. Things joined to the
principal thing for the latter‘s embellishment
or to make the latter more perfect. 2. Parts
of a firearm which may enhance or increase
the operational efficiency or accuracy of a
firearm but will not constitute any of the ma-jor
or minor internal parts thereof such as,
hut not limited to, laser scope, telescopic
sight and sound suppressor or silencer.
[Sec. 3, RA 10591].
Accessorium sequitur principale. Lat. Ac-cessory
follows the principal. [Morando v.
Rovia, 2 A.C.R. 815].
Accessory. Crim. Law. 1. A person who, hav-ing
knowledge of the commission of the
crime, and without having participated there-in,
either as a principal or an accomplice,
takes part subsequent to its commission by
concealing or destroying the body of the
crime, or the effects or instruments thereof
in order to prevent its discovery. [Art. 19,
RPC]. 2. A person who assists in the com-mission
of a crime, either before or after the
fact.
Accessory obligation. That attached to a
principal obligation in order to complete the
same or take its place in the case of breach.
[SSS v. Moonwalk Dev‘t. & Housing Corp.,
GR 73345, Apr. 7, 1993].

11
Accessory penalties. Crim. Law. Those
deemed included in the imposition of the
principal penalty.
Accident. 1. [A] fortuitous circumstance,
event, or happening, an event happening
without any human agency, or if happening
wholly or partly through human agency, an
event which under the circumstances is un-usual
and unexpected by the person to
whom it happens x x x. The word may be
employed as denoting a calamity, casualty,
catastrophe, disaster, an undesirable or un-fortunate
happening; any unexpected per-sonal
injury resulting from any unlooked for
mishap or occurrence; any unpleasant or
unfortunate occurrence, that causes injury,
loss, suffering or death; some untoward oc-currence
aside from the usual course of
events. [NFD Intl. Manning Agents, Inc. v.
Illescas, GR 183054, Sep. 29, 2010]. 2. An
event that takes place without one's fore-sight
or expectation, an event that proceeds
from an unknown cause, or is an unusual ef-fect
of a known case, and therefore not ex-pected.
An accident is an event which hap-pens
without any human agency or, if hap-pening
through human agency, an event
which, under the circumstances, is unusual
to and not expected by the person to whom
it happens. It has also been defined as an
injury which happens by reason of some vio-lence
or casualty to the insured without his
design, consent, or voluntary cooperation.
[Sun Ins. v. CA, GR 92383. July 17, 1992].
Accident. Elements: (a) Performance of a
lawful act; (b) with due care; (c) producing
an injury by mere accident; and (d) without
any fault or intention of causing it. [People v.
Utrela, GR L-38172. July 15, 1981].
Accident or Casualty insurance. Insurance
covering loss or liability arising from acci-dent
or mishap, excl. certain types of loss
which by law or custom are considered as
falling exclusively within the scope of other
types of insurance such as fire or marine.
[Sec. 174, IC].
Accidental. That which happens by chance or
fortuitously, without intention and design and
which is unexpected, unusual and unfore-seen.
[De La Cruz v. Capital Ins., GR L-
21574. June 30, 1966].
Accidental spills. Spills of oil or other hazard-ous
substances in water that result from ac-cidents
involving the carriers of such sub-stance
such as collisions and grounding.
[Sec. 62, PD 1152].
Accidents in maritime commerce. 1. Aver-ages;
2. Arrival under stress; 3. Collision;
and 4. Shipwreck.
Acción de reivindicacion. An action whereby
plaintiff alleges ownership over a parcel of
land and seeks recovery of its full posses-sion.
It is different from accion interdictal or
accion publiciana where plaintiff merely al-leges
proof of a better right to possess with-out
claim of title. See Acción reivindicato-ria.
Acción directa. Direct action [not a subrogato-ry
one] by the creditor against the debtor‘s
debtor. [Arts. 1652, 1729, 1893, 1608, CC;
Syyap v. Asian Surety & Ins. Co., 19 C.A.R.
(2s) 998].
Acción hipotecaria. Real action to foreclose a
lien or mortgage. [Sunico v. Ramirez, GR L-
5009 Nov. 26, 1909].
Acción in rem verso. Action for recovery of
what has been paid without just cause.
[Frenzel v. Catito, GR 143958. July 11,
2003].
Acción in rem verso. Essential elements to
prosper: (a) that the defendant has been en-riched,
(b) that the plaintiff has suffered a
loss, (c) that the enrichment of the defend-ant
is without just or legal ground, and (d)
that the plaintiff has no other action based
on contract, quasi-contract, crime or quasi-delict.
[Shinryo (Phils.) Co., Inc. v. RRN Inc.,
GR 172525, Oct. 20, 2010].
Acción in rem verso. Requisites: (a) One
party must be enriched and the other made
poorer; (b) there must be a casual relation
bet. the 2; (c) the enrichment must not be
justifiable; (d) there must be no other way to
recover; and (e) the indemnity cannot ex-

12
ceed the loss or enrichment, whichever is
less. [Under Art. 22, CC].
Acción indirecta. Indirect action. Also refer to
Action subrogatoria and Accion directa.
Acción interdictal. Action to recover physical
possession of property, which could be
brought within one year, in a summary pro-ceeding,
for forcible entry or detainer.
[Reyes v. Sta. Maria, GR L-33213, June 29,
1979]. See Accion publiciana.
Acción negatoria. Right of a landowner to
defend the free dominion of his tenement.
[North Sugar Co. v. Hidalgo, GR L-42334
Oct. 31, 1936, Laurel J. Sep. Op.]. This is an
action in Roman law and the ancient Sp.
procedural law.
Acción pauliana. Action to rescind contract
under Art. 1387 of the Civ. Code where one
alienates property by gratuitous title but fails
to reserve property to pay all debts con-tracted
before the donation. [Cabanig v.
Pangga, 50251-R, 15 Nov. 1977). Also Re-scissory
action. [Arts. 1177 and 1381, CC].
Acción plenaria de posesion. Also Acción
publiciana. 1. A plenary action for recovery
of possession in an ordinary civil proceeding
in order to determine the better and legal
right to possess, independently of title. [Be-jar
v. Caluag, GR 171277, Feb. 15, 2007]. 2.
An ejectment suit filed after the expiration of
one year from the accrual of the cause of
action or from the unlawful withholding of
possession of the realty. [Lopez v. David,
Jr., GR 152145, Mar. 30, 2004].
Acción publiciana. Also Acción interdictal.
1. The plenary action to recover the right of
possession when dispossession was effect-ed
by means other than those mentioned in
Rule 70 of the Rules of Court. Under these
circumstances, a plenary action may be
brought before the RTC. [Jalbuena De Leon
v. CA, GR 96107. June 19, 1995]. 2. Action
where plaintiff merely alleges proof of a bet-ter
right to possess without claim of title.
[Javier v. Veridiano, GR L-48050. Oct. 10,
1994].
Acción quanti minoris or estimatoria. An
action to demand a proportionate reduction
of the price, with damages. [Art. 1567, CC].
Acción reinvindicatoria. Also Acción de
reinvindicacion. 1. An action to recover
ownership, incl. the recovery of possession,
which should be filed in the RTC. [Jalbuena
De Leon v. CA, GR 96107. June 19, 1995].
2. Action whereby plaintiff alleges ownership
over a parcel of land and seeks recovery of
its full possession. [GR L-48050. Oct. 10,
1994 ].
Acción reivindicacion. Action to recover real
property incl. the jus utendi [use] and jus
fruendi [fruits]. [Reyes v. Sta. Maria, GR L-
33213, 29 June 1979].
Acción reivindicatoria. A suit that has for its
object one‘s recovery of possession over the
real property as owner. [Hilario v. Salvador,
GR 160384, 29 Apr. 2005].
Acción subrogatoria. Indirect action or sub-rogatory
action. Also Subrogatory action.
[Art. 1177, CC; See also Arts. 1729 and
1893, CC].
Accommodate. To do a favor or service for;
oblige.
Accommodation. Nego. Inst. A legal ar-rangement
under which a person called the
accommodation party lends his name and
credit to another without any consideration.
Accommodation guarantor. Nego. Inst. A
person who signs on the back of a note as
such and who is therefore only secondarily
liable.
Accommodation maker. Nego. Inst. A person
primarily liable on the instrument, even
though he adds the word ―surety‖ to his sig-nature
or the fact that he signed for accom-modation
is known to the holder.
Accommodation note. Nego. Inst. A note to
which the accommodating party has put his
name without consideration for the purpose
of accommodating some other party who is
to use it and is expected to pay it. [Maulini v.
Serrano, GR 8844. Dec. 16, 1914].

13
Accommodation party. Nego. Inst. 1. A per-son
one who has signed an instrument as
maker, drawer, acceptor of indorser without
receiving value therefor, but is held liable on
the instrument to a holder for value although
the latter knew him to be only an accommo-dation
party. [Sec. 29, NIL]. 2. A person lia-ble
on the instrument to a holder for value,
notwithstanding such holder, at the time of
the taking of the instrument knew him to be
only an accommodation party. In lending his
name to the accommodated party, the ac-commodation
party is in effect a surety for
the latter. He lends his name to enable the
accommodated party to obtain credit or to
raise money. He receives no part of the
consideration for the instrument but as-sumes
liability to the other parties thereto
bec. he wants to accommodate another.
[Phil. Bank of Commerce v. Aruego, GR L-
25836-37 Jan. 31, 1981].
Accommodation party. Nego. Intst. Requi-sites:
To be an accommodation party, a per-son
must: (a) be a party to the instrument,
signing as maker, drawer, acceptor, or in-dorser,
(b) not receive value therefor, and
(c) sign for the purpose of lending his name
for the credit of some other person.
[Crisologo-Jose v. CA, GR 80599. Sep. 15,
1989].
Accomplice. Crim. Law. 1. A person who, not
being principal as defined in Art. 17 of the
Rev. Penal Code, cooperates in the execu-tion
of the offense by previous or simultane-ous
acts [Art. 18, RPC]. 2. A partner in a
crime; A person who knowingly and volun-tarily
participates with another in a criminal
activity.
Accomplice. Crim. Law. Requisites to be
considered as such: (a) Community of de-sign,
i.e., knowing that criminal design of the
principal by direct participation, he concurs
with the latter in his purpose; (b) he cooper-ates
in the execution of the offense by pre-vious
or simultaneous acts; and, (c) there
must be a relation bet. the acts done by the
principal and those attributed to the person
charged as accomplice. [People v. Jorge,
GR 99379. Apr. 22, 1994].
Accord. An official agreement or treaty. See
Agreement.
Accordingly. 1. In a way that is appropriate to
the particular circumstances.2. Consequent-ly;
therefore.
Account. A record of financial transactions for
an asset or individual, such as at a bank,
brokerage, credit card company, or retail
store.
Account stated. An account rendered to a
debtor who receives it without objection and
who promises to pay it. As such, its correct-ness
can no longer be impeached except for
fraud and mistake.
Accountability. 1. A significant phase of the
budget cycle bec. it ensures that the govt.
funds have been effectively and efficiently
utilized to achieve the State‘s socio-economic
goals. It also allows the DBM to
assess the performance of agencies during
the fiscal year for the purpose of implement-ing
reforms and establishing new policies. 2.
The measure of remedies that should be
addressed to those who exhibited involve-ment
in the enforced disappearance without
bringing the level of their complicity to the
level of responsibility defined above; or who
are imputed with knowledge relating to the
enforced disappearance and who carry the
burden of disclosure; or those who carry, but
have failed to discharge, the burden of ex-traordinary
diligence in the investigation of
the enforced disappearance. [Razon v. Tagi-tis,
GR 182498, Dec. 3, 2009]. Compare
with Responsibility.
Accountable. Required or expected to justify
actions or decisions; responsible.
Accountable officer. Individual required to
maintain accounting, incl. records thereof, of
property and funds, whether public or quasi-public.
The accountable officer may or may
not have physical possession of the property
or funds.

14
Accountancy. The profession or duties of an
accountant.
Accountancy practice. It shall constitute in a
person, be it in his individual capacity, or as
a partner or staff member in an accounting
or auditing firm, holding out himself as one
skilled in the knowledge, science, and prac-tice
of accounting, and as qualified to render
professional services as a certified public
accountant; or offering or rendering, or both,
to more than one client on a fee basis or
otherwise, services such as the audit or veri-fication
of financial transactions and ac-counting
records; the preparation, signing,
or certification for clients of reports of audit,
balance sheets, and other financial account-ing
and related schedules, exhibits, state-ments,
or reports which are to be used for
publication or for credit purposes, or to be
filed with a court or govt. agency, or to be
used for any other purpose; the installation
and revision of accounting system, the
preparation of income tax returns when re-lated
to accounting procedures; or when he
represents clients before govt. agencies on
tax matters related to accounting or renders
professional assistance in matters relating to
accounting procedures and the recording
and presentation of financial facts or data.
[Sec. 3, PD 692].
Accountant. A person whose job is to keep or
inspect financial accounts.
Accounting. The action or process of keeping
financial accounts.
Accounting period. The fiscal or calendar
year adopted by a homeowners‘ assoc. in
the recording and reporting of its fiscal
transactions. [Sec. 3, RA 9904].
Accounts payable. 1. Obligations or commit-ments
of natl. govt. agencies, whether cur-rent
year and prior years, for which, services
have been rendered/goods have been de-livered
or projects have been completed and
accepted. 2. Money owed by a company to
its creditors.
Accounts receivable. Money owed to a com-pany
by its debtors.
Accredit. 1. To acknowledge. [GSIS v. CSC,
GR 98395. Oct. 28, 1994]. 2. The power of
the NMIS to give authority to (a) any meat
establishment engaged in the slaughtering
operation, preparation, processing, manu-facturing,
storing, or canning of meat and
meat products for commerce, (b) any im-porter,
exporter, broker, trader or meat han-dler
(c) any meat vehicle or conveyance (d)
any person firm, corp. as provider of govt.
services such as independent or 3rd party
service providers, or independent or audit
agencies; [Sec. 4, RA 9296].
Accreditation. The procedure by which a
govt. agency having jurisdiction formally
recognizes the competence of an inspection
and/or certification body to provide inspec-tion
and certification services. [Sec. 3, RA
10068].
Accredited dual training system agricultur-al,
industrial and business establish-ments.
Also Agricultural, industrial and
business establishments. A sole proprie-torship,
partnership, corp. or coop. which is
duly recognized and authorized by the ap-propriate
authority to participate in the dual
training system educational institution. [Sec.
4, RA 7686].
Accredited dual training system education-al
institution or training center. A public or
private institution duly recognized and au-thorized
by the appropriate authority, in co-ordination
with the business and industry, to
participate in the dual training system. [Sec.
4, RA 7686].
Accredited employees' organization. A reg-istered
org. of the rank-and-file employees
recognized to negotiate for the employees in
an organizational unit headed by an officer
with sufficient authority to bind the agency.
[EO 180].
Accredited Professional Organization
(APO). The professional org. duly accredit-ed
by the concerned Professional Regulato-ry
Board and the PRC.
Accredited rural financial institution. Any
financial institution accredited by the BSP

15
whose portfolios are substantially agri-agra
related as defined by the IRR. [Sec. 3, RA
10000].
Accretion. 1. Intl. Law. The increase in the
land area of the state, either through natural
means or artificially through human labor.
[Sandoval, Pol. Law Reviewer 2003]. 2.
Prop. (a) A mode of acquiring property un-der
Art. 457 of the Civ. Code. (b) The in-crease
or accumulation of land by natural
causes, as out of a lake or river. (c) The im-perceptible
and gradual addition to land by
the slow action of water. See Alluvion.
Accretion. Prop. Requisites: (a) That the dep-osition
of soil or sediment be gradual and
imperceptible; (b) that it be the result of the
action of the waters of the river [or sea]; and
(c) that the land where accretion takes place
is adjacent to the banks or rivers [or the sea
coast]. [Meneses v. CA, GR 82220 July 14,
1995].
Accretion. Succ. A right by virtue of which,
when 2 or more persons are called to the
same inheritance, devise or legacy, the part
assigned to the one who renounces or can-not
receive his share, or who died before the
testator, is added or incorporated to that of
his co-heirs, co-devisees, or co-legatees.
[Art. 1015, CC].
Accrual. Accumulation; the act of accumulat-ing.
Accrual accounting. An accounting method
that measures the performance and position
of a company by recognizing economic
events regardless of when cash transactions
occur.
Accrual rate. The rate of interest that is added
to the principal of a financial instrument bet.
cash payments of that interest. For example,
a 6-month bond with interest payable semi-annually
will accrue daily interest during the
6-month term until it is paid in full on the
date it becomes due.
Accruals. Accounts on a balance sheet that
represent liabilities and non-cash-based as-sets
used in accrual-based accounting.
These accounts include, among many oth-ers,
accounts payable, accounts receivable,
goodwill, future tax liability and future inter-est
expense.
Accrue. The ability for something to accumu-late
over time. In finance, "accrue" is most
commonly used when referring to interest,
income and expenses of an individual or
business.
Accrued. Periodically accumulated over time.
Accrued depreciation. The total depreciation
claimed, to date, on a property. It is an entry
on the balance sheet and is supposed to
properly reflect that the property is becom-ing
less valuable with the passage of time.
See Accumulated depreciation.
Accrued expense. An accounting expense
recognized in the books before it is paid for.
It is a liability, and is usu. current. These ex-penses
are typically periodic and document-ed
on a company's balance sheet due to the
high probability that they will be collected.
Accrued income. Income that is earned in a
fund or by company by providing a service
or selling a product, but has yet to be re-ceived.
Accrued interest. Interest which has fallen
due but remains unpaid.
Accumulate. To gather or pile up; amass.
Accumulated depreciation. Total deprecia-tion
on a tangible asset accumulated up to a
specified date. This amount is subtracted
from the orig. cost or valuation of the asset
to arrive at its book value. Accumulated de-preciation
amount represents only the ex-pired
value of an asset; it is neither cash nor
any other type of asset that can be used to
buy another asset. Also called Accrued de-preciation.
Accumulated depreciation on appraisal.
Also termed as Observed depreciation.
The accumulated depreciation based on the
appraised or appraisal value per appraiser's
report. [RCPI v. Natl. Wages Council, GR
93044. Mar. 26, 1992].

16
Accusation. 1. A charge or claim that some-one
has done something illegal or wrong. 2.
The action or process of making such a
charge or claim.
Accuse. 1. Charge [someone] with an offense
or crime. 2. Claim that [someone] has done
something wrong.
Accused. The name for the defendant in a
criminal case.
Acknowledge. Accept or admit the existence
or truth of.
Acknowledged. Recognized or made known
or admitted.
Acknowledged natural children. Natural
children duly acknowledged or recognized
by the father and mother jointly, or by only
one of them.
Acknowledgment. An act in which an individ-ual
on a single occasion: (a) appears in per-son
before the notary public and presents
an integrally complete instrument or docu-ment;
(b) is attested to be personally known
to the notary public or identified by the nota-ry
public through competent evidence of
identity as defined by the Rules; and (c) rep-resents
to the notary public that the signa-ture
on the instrument or document was vol-untarily
affixed by him for the purposes stat-ed
in the instrument or document, declares
that he has executed the instrument or doc-ument
as his free and voluntary act and
deed, and, if he acts in a particular repre-sentative
capacity, that he has the authority
to sign in that capacity. [Sec. 1, Rule II, AM
02-8-13-SC].
Acknowledgment of receipt. A documented
verification that goods have been received
or services have been rendered. Typically,
the acknowledgement is indicated by the re-cipient's
signature on a bill of lading, an in-voice
or another form.
Acquiesce. To consent or comply passively or
without protest.
Acquiescence. 1. Allowing too much time to
pass since a person had knowledge of an
event which may have allowed him to have
legal recourse against another, implying that
he waived his rights to that legal recourse.
2. Action or inaction which binds a person
legally even though it was not intended as
such.
Acquire. To gain by any means, usu. by one‘s
own exertions. To take on as a part of one‘s
nature or qualifications. To attain, procure,
win, earn, secure or obtain.
Acquired. 1. Bought or obtained for oneself
[as an asset or object]. 2. Learned or devel-oped
[as a skill, habit, or quality].
Acquired asset corporation. A corp.: (a)
which is under private ownership, the voting
or outstanding shares of which were: (i)
conveyed to the Govt. or to a govt. agency,
instrumentality or corp. in satisfaction of
debts whether by foreclosure of otherwise,
or (ii) duly acquired by the Govt. through fi-nal
judgment in a sequestration proceeding;
or (b) which is a subsidiary of a govt. corp.
organized exclusively to own and manage,
or lease, or operate specific physical assets
acquired by a GFI in satisfaction of debts in-curred
therewith, and which in any case by
law or by enunciated policy is required to be
disposed of to private ownership within a
specified period of time. [Sec. 2, RA 7656].
Acquired citizenship. Citizenship conferred at
birth on children born abroad to a Filipino
citizen parent or parents.
Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome
(AIDS). A condition characterized by a com-bination
of signs and symptoms, caused by
HIV contracted from another person and
which attacks and weakens the body's im-mune
system, making the afflicted individual
susceptible to other life-threatening infec-tions.
[Sec. 3, RA 8504].
Acquisition. 1. An asset or object bought or
obtained, typically by a library or museum.
2. An act of purchase of one company by
another.

17
Acquisition through adverse possession of
public lands. Requisites: (a) The land ap-plied
for must be an alienable and disposa-ble
public land; and (b) the claimants, by
themselves or through their predecessors-in-
interest, have been in open, continuous,
exclusive, and notorious possession and
occupation of the land since June 12, 1945
or earlier. [Rep. v. CA and Divinaflor, GR
116372. Jan. 18, 2001].
Acquisitive prescription. Civ. Law. The ac-quisition
of ownership and other real rights
through the lapse of time.
Acquisitive prescription. Civ. Law. Requi-sites:
For prescription to set in, the posses-sion
must be: (a) adverse, (b) continuous,
(c) public and (d) to the exclusion of all.
[Corpuz v. Padilla, GR L-18099 & L-18136.
July 31, 1962].
Acquit. 1. Free [someone] from a criminal
charge by a verdict of not guilty. 2. Conduct
oneself or perform in a specified way.
Acquittal. Crim. Law. 1. It is always based on
the merits, that is, the defendant is acquitted
bec. the evidence does not show that de-fendant's
guilt is beyond reasonable doubt;
but dismissal does not decide the case on
the merits or that the defendant is not guilty.
[Malanyaon v. Lising, GR L-56028. July 30,
1981]. 2. The legal certification of the inno-cence
of a person who has been charged
with a crime, setting the person free from a
charge of guilty by a finding of not guilty. 3.
A release, absolution, or discharge of an ob-ligation
or liability. In criminal law the finding
of not guilty. Compare with Dismissal.
Acreedor meramente escriturarion. Sp.
Creditor evidenced by a written instrument.
[Diez v. Delgado, GR L-11732 Jan. 12,
1918].
Act. Crim. Law. As used in Art. 3 of the Rev.
Penal Code, the term must be understood
as "any bodily movement tending to produce
some effect in the external world." [People
v. Gonzales, GR 80762. Mar. 19, 1990].
Act. Intl. Law. Sometimes termed a Final act
or Protocol de cloture, it is an instrument
which records the summary of a diplomatic
conference. It reproduces the treaties, con-ventions
or resolutions agreed upon by the
participants of the conference. This is also
termed as a General act. [Coquia and San-tiago,
Intl. Law, 3rd Ed. (1998), p. 492].
Act. Pol. Law. 1. An expression of will or pur-pose.
It may denote something done as a
legislature, incl. not merely physical acts,
but also decrees, edicts, laws, judgments,
resolves, awards, and determinations. [Gar-cia
v. Comelec, GR 111230. Sep. 30, 1994].
2. A bill which has passed through the vari-ous
legislative steps required for it and
which has become law, as in an act of Con-gress.
Synonymous to Statute, Legislation
or Law.
Act of God. 1. An event which is caused sole-ly
by the effect of nature or natural causes
and without any interference by humans
whatsoever. Insurance contracts often ex-clude
―Acts of God‖ from the list of insurable
occurrences as a means to waive their obli-gations
for damage caused by typhoons,
floods or earthquakes. 2. A natural disaster
the occurrence of which cannot be foreseen
or prevented, such as earthquakes, ty-phoons,
tsunamis, floods, etc. Also Fortui-tious
event or Force majeure.
Act of God doctrine. The doctrine embodying
the principle that strictly requires that the act
must be one occasioned exclusively by the
violence of nature and all human agencies
are to be excluded from creating or entering
into the cause of the mischief. When the ef-fect,
the cause of which is to be considered,
is found to be in part the result of the partici-pation
of man, whether it be from active in-tervention
or neglect, or failure to act, the
whole occurrence is thereby humanized, as
it were, and removed from the rules applica-ble
to the acts of God. [Napocor v. CA, GR
103442-45. May 21, 1993].
Act of State. A sovereign act of govt. which
cannot be the subject of a suit or be action-able
in law.

18
Act of State doctrine. Intl. Law. The doctrine
holding that the act of a govt. within the
boundaries of its own territory is not subject
to judicial scrutiny in a foreign municipal
court. A municipal court will decline to hear
a dispute based on such acts if to do so
would interfere with the conduct of the forum
state's foreign policy.
Act tending to prevent the meeting of the
Assembly and similar bodies. Crim. Law.
The felony committed by any person who,
by force or fraud, prevents the meeting of
the Natl. Assembly [now Congress of the
Phils.] or of any of its committees or sub-committees,
constitutional commissions or
committees or divisions thereof, or of any
provincial board or city or municipal council
or board. [Art. 143, RPC, as reinstated by
EO 187].
Acta jure gestionis. Lat. Acts by right of man-agement.
Activities of a commercial nature
carried out by a foreign State or one of its
subdivisions or agencies. However, the acts
are not immune from the jurisdiction and
process of local courts under the modern
doctrine of restrictive foreign sovereign im-munity.
Acta jure imperii. Lat. Acts by right of domin-ion.
Activities of a governmental or public
nature carried out by a foreign State or one
of its subdivisions. Acta jure imperii also
qualifies for state immunity under the mod-ern
doctrine of restrictive foreign sovereign
immunity.
Acting. Holding a temporary rank or position,
or performing services temporarily.
Actio in personam. See Action in perso-nam.
Actio in rem. See Action in rem.
Actio non datur non damnificato. Lat. No
right of action is given when no injury is sus-tained.
[Metropolitan Bank v. Tan, GR L-
46539, June 25, 1986].
Actio personalis moritur cum persona. Lat.
Personal action terminates or dies with the
person. [Santos v. Sec. of Labor, GR L-
21624, 27 Feb. 1968].
Actio personalis moritur cum persona;
actio personalis in haeredem non datur,
nisi forte ex damno locupletior haeres
factus sit. Lat. A personal right of action
dies with the person. A penal action is not
given against an heir, unless, indeed, such
heir is benefited by the wrong. [Petralba v.
Sandiganbayan, GR 81337. Aug. 16, 1991].
Action. Rem. Law. 1. An ordinary suit in a
court of justice, by which one party prose-cutes
another for the enforcement or protec-tion
of a right, or the prevention or redress of
a wrong. [Sec. 1, Rule 2, RoC]. 2. It includes
counterclaim, set-off, and suits in equity as
provided by law. [Sec. 58, Act 2137]. 3. The
legal demand of one's right, or rights; the
lawful demand of one's rights in the form
given by law; a demand of a right in a court
of justice; the lawful demand of one's right in
a court of justice; the legal and formal de-mand
of one's rights from another person or
party, made and insisted on in a court of jus-tice;
a claim made before a tribunal; an as-sertion
in a court of justice of a right given
by law; a demand or legal proceeding in a
court of justice to secure one's rights; the
prosecution of some demand in a court of
justice; the means by which men litigate with
each other; the means that the law has pro-vided
to put the cause of action into effect.
[Hermanos v. De la Riva, GR L-4604 Jan.
12, 1909]. 4. Anti-Red Tape Law. The writ-ten
approval or disapproval made by a govt.
office or agency on the application or re-quest
submitted by a client for processing.
[Sec. 4, RA 9485].
Action de in rem verso. See Acción in rem
verso.
Action for injunction. A suit which has for its
purpose the enjoinment of the defendant,
perpetually or for a particular time, from the
commission or continuance of a specific act,
or his compulsion to continue performance
of a particular act. [Manila Banking Corp. v.
CA, GR 45961, July 3, 1990].

19
Action for reconveyance. An action in perso-nam
available to a person whose property
has been wrongfully registered under the
Torrens system in another‘s name. X x x. As
a remedy, [it] is filed as an ordinary action in
the ordinary courts of justice and not with
the land registration court. Reconveyance is
always available as long as the property has
not passed to an innocent 3rd person for
value. [Lopez, Sr. v. Enriquez, GR 146262,
Jan. 21, 2005].
Action in ejectment. Rem. Law. The term
includes a suit of forcible entry [detentacion]
or unlawful detainer [desahucio]. [Sering v.
Plazo, GR L-49731. Sep. 29, 1988].
Action in personam. Lat. Rem. Law. 1. A
personal action seeking redress against a
particular individual. An action against a
person on the basis of his personal liability.
[Hernandez v. Rural Bank of Lucena, GR. L-
29791 Jan. 10, 1978]. 2. An action against
the person, founded on a personal liability.
In contrast to action in rem, an action for the
recovery of a specific object, usu. an item of
personal property.
Action in rem. Lat. Rem. Law. 1. An action for
the recovery of the very thing. An action
against the thing itself, instead of against the
person. [Hernandez v. Rural Bank of Lu-cena,
GR. L-29791 Jan. 10, 1978]. 2. Pro-ceeding
against the thing as compared to
personal actions [in personam]. Usu. a pro-ceeding
where property is involved.
Action inter partes. Lat. Action bet. the par-ties.
Action that concerns principally 2 par-ties.
[Venzon v. Phil. Pacific Trade, Inc., SP-
11066-R, 03 Dec. 1980].
Action quasi in rem. Lat. Rem. Law. An ac-tion
which while not strictly speaking an ac-tion
in rem partakes of that nature and is
substantially such. The action quasi in rem
differs from the true action in rem in the cir-cumstance
that in the former an individual is
named as defendant and the purpose of the
proceeding is to subject his interest therein
to the obligation or lien burdening the prop-erty.
All proceedings having for their sole
object the sale or other disposition of the
property of the defendant, whether by at-tachment,
foreclosure, or other form of rem-edy,
are in a general way thus designated.
The judgment entered in these proceedings
is conclusive only bet. the parties. [Banco
Español-Filipino v. Palanca, GR L-11390
Mar. 26, 1918].
Actionable. A matter or action that creates a
ground, i.e., a cause of action, or a suit at
law.
Actionable claims. Claims which can be en-forced
only by an action or suit, e.g., debt.
Actionable document. Rem. Law. A written
instrument upon which the action or defense
is based. [Sec. 7, Rule 8, RoC].
Actionable negligence. A violation of the duty
to use care.
Actionable per se. Legally sufficient to sup-port
a lawsuit in itself. Words are actionable
per se if they are obviously insulting and in-jurious
to one's reputation.
Actionable wrong. A violation of law. [Vales v.
Villa, GR 10028 Dec. 16, 1916].
Active. Moving, doing, or functioning.
Active fishing gear. A fishing device charac-terized
by gear movements, and/or the pur-suit
of the target species by towing, lifting,
and pushing the gears, surrounding, cover-ing,
dredging, pumping and scaring the tar-get
species to impoundments; such as, but
not limited to, trawl, purse seines, Danish
seines, bag nets, paaling, drift gill net and
tuna longline. [Sec. 4, RA 8550].
Active ingredient. The chemical component
responsible for the claimed therapeutic ef-fect
of the pharmaceutical product. [Sec. 3,
RA 6675].
Active mining area. Areas under actual explo-ration,
development, exploitation or com-mercial
production as determined by the
DENR Sec. after the necessary field investi-gation
or verification incl. contiguous and
geologically related areas belonging to the

20
same claim owner and/or under contract
with an operator, but in no case to exceed
the maximum area allowed by law. [Sec. 3,
RA 7076].
Active search. A prying into hidden places for
that which is concealed. [Padilla v. CA, GR
121917. Mar. 12, 1997].
Active solidarity. It consists in the authority of
each creditor to claim and enforce the rights
of all, with the resulting obligation of paying
every one what belongs to him; there is no
merger, much less a renunciation of rights,
but only mutual representation. [Quiombing
v. CA, GR 93010. Aug. 30, 1990]. It is a kind
of solidarity where there are several credi-tors
and only one debtor. [Diaz, Bus. Law
Rev., 1991 Ed., p. 24]. Compare with Pas-sive
solidarity.
Active subject. The person who can demand
the performance of the obligation, otherwise
known as the creditor or obligee. [Torres,
Oblig. & Cont., 2000 Ed., p. 24]. Compare
with Passive subject.
Activism. The policy or action of using vigor-ous
campaigning to bring about political or
social change.
Activist. One advocating or engaged in activ-ism.
Activist school. Group of 3rd World theorists
who argue that intl. law reflects the interests
of developed states to the detriment of de-veloping
states and who advocate action by
the latter to change it.
Activity. A work process which contributes to
the implementation of a program, sub-program
or project.
Acto nulo. Sp. Void act; an act declared void.
[Mun. of Camiling v. Lopez, GR L-8945. May
23, 1956].
Acto segundo. Sp. In a successive or contin-ued
action. [Villanueva v. Ramirez, 56577-
R, Mar. 27, 1978].
Actor qui contra regulam quid adduxit, non
est audiendus. Lat. Plaintiff is not to be
heard who has advanced anything against
authority. [Formalego v. Penano, 10563-
C.A.R., 30 July 1980].
Actor rei forum sequitur. Lat. The plaintiff
must follow the forum of the thing in dispute.
A fundamental principle of Roman origin
which holds that in suits in personam and
those relating to movables, courts of the
domicile of the defendant have general ju-risdiction.
[Montalban v. Maximo, GR L-
22997, Mar. 15, 1968]. The more precise
term is Actor sequitur forum rei.
Actor sequitur forum rei. Lat. Plaintiff must
sue in the court of the domicile of the de-fendant.
[Montalban v. Maximo, GR L-
22997, 05 Mar. 1968].
Actor sequitur forum rei. Lat. The actor [or
performer] must follow the forum of the thing
in dispute.
Actore non probante reus absolvitur. Lat.
When the plaintiff does not prove his case,
the defendant is absolved.
Actori incumbit onus probandi. Lat. The
burden of proof rests with the plaintiff or
prosecution. [The Presidential Ad Hoc Fact-
Finding Committee on Behest Loans v.
Desierto, GR 136192. Aug. 14, 2001].
Acts. Those certain acts which Art. 407 of the
Civ. Code authorizes [to be entered] in the
civil registry [such as legitimations, ac-knowledgments
of illegitimate children and
naturalization], events [such as births, mar-riages,
naturalization and deaths]. [Silverio
v. Rep., GR 174689, Oct. 22, 2007].
Acts by right of dominion. Acta jure imperii.
Activities of a governmental or public nature
carried out by a foreign State or one of its
subdivisions, which qualify for State immuni-ty
under the modern doctrine of restrictive
foreign sovereign immunity.
Acts by right of management. Acta jure ges-tionis.
Activities of a commercial nature car-ried
out by a foreign State or one of its sub-divisions
or agencies, which acts are not
immune from the jurisdiction and process of

21
local courts under the modern doctrine of
restrictive foreign sovereign immunity.
Acts contra bonus mores. Lat. Act against
good morals. Loss or injury willfully caused
by any person to another in a manner that is
contrary to morals, good customs or public
policy for which the former shall compensate
the latter for the damage. [per Art. 21, CC].
Acts contra bonus mores. Elements: (a)
There is an act which is legal; (b) but which
is contrary to morals, good custom, public
order, or public policy; (c) and it is done with
intent to injure. [Albenson Enterprises Corp.
v. CA, GR 88694. Jan. 11, 1993].
Acts mala in se. Crim. Law. Acts wrong in
themselves. In acts mala in se, the intent
governs. [Dunlao v. CA, GR 111343. Aug.
22, 1996]. Compare with Acts mala prohib-ita.
Acts mala prohibita. Crim. Law. Acts which
would not be wrong but for the fact that posi-tive
law forbids them. In acts mala prohibita,
the only inquiry is, ―has the law been violat-ed?‖
[US v. Go Chico, GR 4963 Sep. 15,
1909]. Compare with Acts mala in se.
Acts merely tolerated. Those which by rea-son
of neighborliness or familiarity, the own-er
of property allows his neighbor or another
person to do on the property; they are gen-erally
those particular services or benefits
which one's property can give to another
without material injury or prejudice to the
owner who permits them out of friendship or
courtesy. [Sarona v. Villegas, GR L-22984.
Mar. 27, 1968].
Acts of lasciviousness. Crim. Law. The felo-ny
committed by any person who shall
commit any act of lasciviousness upon other
persons of either sex, under any of the cir-cumstances
mentioned in Art. 335 of the
Rev. Penal Code. [Art. 336, RPC].
Acts of lasciviousness. Crim. Law. Elements:
(a) That the offender commits any act of
lasciviousness or lewdness; (b) that it is
done: (b.1) by using force and intimidation
or (b.2) when the offended party is deprived
of reason or otherwise unconscious, or (b.3)
when the offended party is under 12 years
of age; and (c) that the offended party is an-other
person of either sex. [People v. Bon,
GR 149199. Jan. 28, 2003].
Acts of lasciviousness committed against a
child. Crim. Law. Essential elements: (a)
The accused commits the act of sexual in-tercourse
or lascivious conduct; (b) the said
act is performed with a child exploited in
prostitution or subjected to other sexual
abuse; (c) the child whether male or female,
is below 18 years of age. [People v. Larin,
GR 128777, Oct. 7, 1998].
Acts of torture. See Torture, Acts of.
Actual. Something real, or actually existing, as
opposed to something merely possible, or to
something which is presumptive or construc-tive.
[Salaysay v. Ruiz Castro, GR L-9669
Jan. 31, 1956].
Actual case. Also Actual controversy. An
existing case or controversy that is appro-priate
or ripe for determination, not conjec-tural
or anticipatory. [Garcia v. Exec. Sec.,
204 GR 100883 Dec. 2, 1991].
Actual case or controversy. One which in-volves
a conflict of legal rights, an assertion
of opposite legal claims, susceptible of judi-cial
resolution as distinguished from a hypo-thetical
or abstract difference or dispute. In
other words, ―[t]here must be a contrariety of
legal rights that can be interpreted and en-forced
on the basis of existing law and juris-prudence.‖
[Belgica v. Ochoa, GR 208566,
Nov. 19, 2013].
Actual controversy. An actual dispute that
can be legally resolved, as opposed to a hy-pothetical
or theoretical conflict created for
the sake of attaining an advisory opinion.
Actual damages. Also Compensatory dam-ages.
Adequate compensation to which a
person is entitled only for such pecuniary
loss suffered by him as he has duly proved,
except as provided by law or by stipulation
[Art. 2199, CC].

Alvin Claridades' Legal Dictionary 4th Edition

Alvin Claridades' Legal Dictionary 4th Edition

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Alvin Claridades' Legal Dictionary 4th Edition