Short answer. Yes. Article 1260 of the Civil Code provides that once the consignation has been duly made, the debtor may ask the judge to order the cancellation of the obligation. Since your deposit was successfully made, you may ask the court to formally declare your debt cancelled.
What the law says
Once the consignation has been duly made, the debtor may ask the judge to order the cancellation of the obligation.
Civil Code, Article 1260 — Cancellation and Withdrawal After Consignation. Read the full provision →
What the law says
Before the creditor has accepted the consignation, or before a judicial declaration that the consignation has been properly made, the debtor may withdraw the thing or the sum deposited, allowing the obligation to remain in force.
Civil Code, Article 1260 — Cancellation and Withdrawal After Consignation. Read the full provision →
Yes, once the consignation is duly made, you may ask for cancellation
Article 1260 answers your question in its opening sentence: once the consignation has been duly made, the debtor may ask the judge to order the cancellation of the obligation. Because your deposit was successfully made after your creditor refused payment, you are in the position the article addresses, and asking the judge for an order cancelling the obligation is exactly the step the article gives you.
What 'duly made' is doing in this sentence
The article conditions the right to ask for cancellation on the consignation having been duly made, meaning it is not simply the act of depositing the money that triggers this right by itself; the deposit has to have been properly done. This article does not itself spell out every requirement for a consignation to count as duly made, so it is worth confirming that yours meets whatever those requirements are before relying on this step.
Before that point, withdrawal was still an option
The article also describes the stage before cancellation is asked for: before the creditor has accepted the consignation, or before a judicial declaration that the consignation has been properly made, the debtor may withdraw the thing or the sum deposited, allowing the obligation to remain in force. That withdrawal option existed for you earlier in the process, but it works against cancellation, since taking the deposit back keeps the obligation alive rather than ending it.
What this means for your situation now
Since you say your deposit was successfully made, and you are not describing an intent to withdraw it, Article 1260 puts you at the point where you may ask the judge to order the cancellation of the obligation. That request, addressed to the court, is what formally declares the debt cancelled under this article, rather than the cancellation happening automatically the moment the deposit was made.
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.
- Banco Filipino Savings and Mortgage Bank vs. Antonio G. Diaz, et al, G.R. No. 153134, June 27, 2006 — read the decision on LawPhil →
- Ramon P. Aron vs. Francisco Realon, et al, G.R. No. 159156, January 31, 2005 — read the decision on LawPhil →
- Teddy G. Pabugais vs. Dave P. Sahijwani, G.R. No. 156846, February 23, 2004 — read the decision on LawPhil →