Short answer. No. Under Article 1062 of the Civil Code, collation does not take place if you repudiate your inheritance. Once you formally renounce the inheritance, the obligation to bring a previous donation back into the estate does not apply to you — but you also give up any right to inherit from the estate.
What the law says
Collation shall not take place among compulsory heirs if the donor should have so expressly provided, or if the donee should repudiate the inheritance, unless the donation should be reduced as inofficious.
Civil Code, Article 1062 — When Collation Is Excused. Read the full provision →
Repudiation relieves the collation obligation
Article 1062 provides that collation does not take place when "the donee should repudiate the inheritance." The logic is straightforward: collation exists to equalize the shares of compulsory heirs who all participate in the estate. If you step out entirely — refusing to inherit — there is no longer a share to equalize. You are not a participant in the partition, so the collation mechanism has nothing to act upon in relation to you. The donation you previously received stays with you, and the estate is divided among the heirs who did accept.
Repudiation is all-or-nothing
You cannot repudiate just enough to avoid collation while still keeping an inheritance. The Civil Code does not allow a partial acceptance where you take the inheritance and reject the collation obligation. Repudiation is complete — you renounce all claim to the estate, not just the duty to account for a prior gift. This means that if you received a modest donation but stand to inherit a much larger share of the estate, refusing to collate by repudiating may cost you far more than the collation would have required. The trade-off must be considered carefully.
The inofficious donation exception still applies
Repudiation removes the collation obligation but does not fully insulate a large donation. Article 1062 carries a qualifier: the exemption applies "unless the donation should be reduced as inofficious." A donation is inofficious when it exceeds the donor's disposable portion — the part of the estate the donor was entitled to give away freely without impinging on the compulsory heirs' legitimes. If your donation was so large that it violated the other heirs' minimum entitlements, they can seek a reduction of the excess even if you have repudiated. Repudiation eliminates your collation duty; it does not protect the donation from being trimmed down to the legally allowable amount.
How repudiation is made
Repudiation of inheritance in the Philippines is a formal act — it must be made in a public or authentic instrument or by a petition presented to the court having jurisdiction over the testamentary or intestate proceedings. An informal statement that you do not want your inheritance, or simply ignoring the estate, is not a valid repudiation for purposes of Article 1062. Timing also matters: repudiation must generally be made before the inheritance is accepted, and accepted acts of ownership over inherited property may be interpreted as acceptance, foreclosing repudiation. If you are considering this route, the formality and timing requirements are essential to get right.