Short answer. No. Every agent is bound to render an account of his transactions and to deliver whatever he received by virtue of the agency, even amounts not owed to you. Any clause in your agreement trying to excuse him from accounting is void, so a refusal to account is not something a contract can shield him from.
What the law says
Every agent is bound to render an account of his transactions and to deliver to the principal whatever he may have received by virtue of the agency, even though it may not be owing to the principal.
Civil Code, Article 1891 — Duty to Account. Read the full provision →
The duty to account is basic, not optional
Article 1891 states the obligation without qualification: every agent is bound to render an account of his transactions. This is not something the agent can choose to skip if he thinks you already trust him, or if he considers the amounts too small to bother with. It also covers delivering whatever he received through the agency, and notably that duty extends even to sums that turn out not to be owing to you — the agent cannot decide on his own that something is his to keep because it should not have come to you in the first place.
A contract cannot waive this away
The article goes further than simply imposing the duty — it makes any stipulation exempting the agent from rendering an account void. So even if your agency agreement contains language releasing the agent from having to account to you, or limiting his obligation to report, that clause has no legal effect on this point. The law treats the accounting duty as something the principal cannot be made to give up, precisely because an agent handling your money or your transactions without ever having to answer for it invites exactly the kind of abuse this article is meant to prevent.
What 'render an account' actually requires
Rendering an account means the agent has to show you what happened with your transactions — what was collected, from whom, when, and what became of it — not simply assure you that everything is fine. A refusal to produce records, a vague verbal summary in place of documentation, or silence when you ask are all inconsistent with the obligation this article describes. The agent's duty is to the transaction as it actually occurred, whatever that turns out to show.
What you can do about a refusal
Put your request for an accounting in writing and be specific about the period and transactions covered, so there is a clear record that you asked and that the agent did not comply. Because Article 1891 makes the duty non-waivable, a refusal is itself a breach of the agency regardless of what your written agreement says. Gather whatever documentation you already have of the underlying transactions, and take the agency agreement along with your written demand to a lawyer to discuss what remedies are available given how the agent has responded.
Cases citing this provision
These Supreme Court decisions cite the provision above. We list them so you can read them yourself; the summaries of what each decided are not ours to give.
- Carlos S. Palanca IV and Cognatio Holdings, Inc. vs. RCBC Securities, Inc, G.R. No. 241905, March 11, 2020 — read the decision on LawPhil →
- Spouses Alejandro Mirasol, etc., vs. The Court of Appeals, et. al, G.R. No. 128448, February 1, 2001 — read the decision on LawPhil →
- Caridad Segarra Sazon vs. Letecia Vasquez-Menancio, G.R. No. 192085, February 22, 2012 — read the decision on LawPhil →
- Gregorio V. Tongko vs. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Co. (Phils.) Inc. and Renato A. Vergel De Dios, G.R. No. 167622, June 29, 2010 — read the decision on LawPhil →