Short answer. Yes. Article 614 of the Civil Code expressly allows easements — called servitudes — to be established for the benefit of a community or of one or more persons who are not the owners of the encumbered estate. The benefit does not have to attach to a dominant estate owned by the person claiming it.
What the law says
Servitudes may also be established for the benefit of a community, or of one or more persons to whom the encumbered estate does not belong.
Civil Code, Article 614 — Easements for Persons or a Community. Read the full provision →
Easements that benefit people, not just land
Most easements in Philippine law are predial — they link two pieces of land, with one estate serving the other. But Article 614 carves out a separate category: personal servitudes, where the benefit belongs to a person or community rather than to a dominant estate. A path through a landowner's property granted to the residents of a nearby barangay for access to a water source is one example. The right is real and enforceable, but it attaches to the beneficiary — not to another parcel of land.
Who can be a beneficiary
The beneficiary may be a community — such as a barangay, a homeowners' association, or a group of fisherfolk — or one or more identified individuals who simply do not own the burdened property. There is no requirement that the beneficiary own any land at all. This flexibility is useful for public-interest arrangements: a church granting right-of-passage to the public, a landowner granting fishing rights to a community of farmers, or an owner reserving a path for elderly neighbours.
How such an easement is created
Like other easements, a personal servitude under Article 614 may arise by agreement (contract or donation) between the owner of the burdened estate and the beneficiary, or through a will. It may also be established by law in specific circumstances. The parties should document the scope, duration, and any compensation clearly, since personal servitudes — unlike predial ones — do not automatically transfer to future owners of the beneficiary's property if the beneficiary is an individual rather than a community with a continuing membership.
Limits and practical concerns
Even though the law permits these easements broadly, the burden on the encumbered estate must be necessary and not unduly oppressive — the owner's property rights are not extinguished, just limited. If the easement is contested, the owner may argue it was never validly constituted or has been extinguished by non-use or the beneficiary's changed circumstances. If you are trying to establish or enforce such an arrangement, get legal advice on how it was constituted and whether it was properly recorded.
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.
- Edilberto Alcantara, et al. vs. Cornelio B. Reta, et al, G.R. No. 136996, December 14, 2001 — read the decision on LawPhil →