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QUERY: On Jan. 2, 2007, a co-worker (Candro) borrowed
P100,000.00, promising to pay me on or before Dec. 31, 2007. When
the obligation fell due, Candro failed to comply with his promise.
Worse, he disappeared from our office—and all demand letters sent
to him were returned unserved. My fear is that something may have
happened to him—that would mean loss of my hard-earned money. To
aggravate matters, my charity has been the cause of almost daily
quarrels with my wife who blamed me for not requiring any
collateral. Do I have a chance of recovering my money? Please tell
me what to do.
Roman
Reply:
Your query has an affirmative answer. This is
anchored on Article 1177 of the Civil Code which states:
“The creditors, after having pursued the
property in possession of the debtor to satisfy their claims, may
exercise all the rights and bring all the actions of the latter for
the same purpose, save those which are inherent in his person; they
may also impugn the acts which the debtor may have done to defraud
them.”
As a rule, a debtor is liable with all his
property, present and future, for the fulfillment of his
obligations, subject only to the exemptions provided in Art. 2236 of
the Civil Code. Some properties exempt by law from attachments and
executions are the debtor’s clothing, household furniture and
utensils, professional libraries of lawyers, physicians, etc.,
Pursuant to Article 1177 you can avail of the
following remedies if Candro cannot pay:
(1) You can bring an action in court against
Candro for the collection of the amount of P100,000.00. If judgment
is rendered in your favor against and he fails to pay, you can ask
the court to attach all the property in his (Candro’s) possession
so that they can be sold and payment may be made to you from the
proceeds,
(2) You can also compel Candro to assign to you
whatever rights he may have against third persons to enable you to
collect such amount as may be due from such persons.
(3) If Candro does not have property which can
be the subject of attachment, you can impugn the sales and transfers
made by him—if you can prove that such sales and transfers had
been effected to defraud creditors.
You expressed fear that Candro is already dead.
Death will not extinguish his obligation to you. Under Art. 1178 of
the Civil Code, rights acquired by virtue of an obligation are
generally transmissible to the persons lawfully entitled
thereto—except when the law prohibits transmission of rights and
when the parties expressly agree that there will be no transmission.
The spirit of the law in allowing parties to
transmit rights acquired by virtue of an obligation is to enable
them to exercise their full freedom to contract—unless the law
itself by reason of public policy or the parties themselves imposed
restrictions upon legally contracted obligations.
___
This corner wishes to congratulate Sunny Rose
Sanchez Mabutas who is graduating tomorrow, March 16, from the St.
Scholastica’s College in Manila with a degree in Hotel and
Restaurant Management. I wish her success in her future endeavors.
With Gabby, future legislator, and Maurice at
her side, we can foresee a united and happy family that can inspire
others.
Birthday greetings go to Carlos, a future
responsible leader of the Philippines.
With the proper guidance of his parents—Marie
Claire and Albert—Carlos will certainly achieve success in his
studies and future endeavors.
___
Above all things, let us reflect on what our
Lord and Master Jesus Christ said: “If any one loves Me, he will
keep My word, and My Father will love him, and We will come to him
and me Our abode with him.” (John 14:23).
esmabutas@yahoo.com
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