Dear PAO,
We live in a property, which I bought a couple of years ago. Last year, a person claimed our property alleging he bought it from the previous owner. He sent us a demand letter to vacate our house, which we ignored.

But he continued to harass and threaten us. One day, he tried to enter our property and forced his way in. To prevent him from entering our gate, my father had to push him back. Unfortunately, he tripped over and injured his head. Because of this, he filed a case for slight physical injury against my father. Can my father be sued because of what happened to him?
Rey

Dear Rey,
Your father may invoke the doctrine of self-help to deny criminal and civil responsibility for what happened. The said doctrine authorizes an owner or lawful possessor to use force to prevent other persons from disturbing his possession over his property. It finds basis in Article 429 of the Civil Code, which states that “The owner or lawful possessor of a thing the right to exclude any person from the enjoyment and disposal thereof. For this purpose, he may use such force as may be reasonably necessary to repel or prevent an actual or threatened unlawful physical invasion or usurpation of his property.”

But this does not mean that a person can simply take the law into his hands. There are limitations to this doctrine. One, the force used must be reasonable. It must be commensurate with the force used by the aggressor. If his resistance is disproportionate to the attack/aggression, then he becomes criminally liable (People of the Philippines vs. Narvaez, G.R. Nos. L-33466-67 April 20, 1983). Moreover, if he uses more force than necessary, he also becomes liable for damages. Second, the attack/aggression must be unlawful. Hence, the doctrine of self-help cannot be invoked if the other person is merely exercising a legally recognized right.

You mentioned in your query that the person claiming your father’s property tried to force his way in but you did not mention the specific acts he did. This information is necessary because it will be weighed against the act of your father of pushing him to determine whether the force used by your father is reasonable. If your father used force commensurate with the force used by the person claiming your property, then he will not be liable for what happened. However, if your father used more force than is necessary to repel the aggression of the person claiming your property, then he will be criminally and civilly liable.

I hope the foregoing discussion answered your query. Thank you for trusting our office with your problem.

Editor’s note: Dear PAO is a daily column of the Public Attorney’s Office. Questions for Chief Acosta may be sent to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.