Short answer. Yes, but only if the contract is genuinely divisible. Article 1420 provides that when a contract is divisible, and the illegal terms can be separated from the legal ones, the legal part may still be enforced. Whether your contract can actually be split this way is the key question.
What the law says
In case of a divisible contract, if the illegal terms can be separated from the legal ones, the latter may be enforced.
Civil Code, Article 1420 — Divisible Illegal Contracts. Read the full provision →
The rule and its two conditions
Article 1420 sets out a narrow but useful rule: in case of a divisible contract, if the illegal terms can be separated from the legal ones, the latter may be enforced. Notice that two conditions have to be met together, not just one. First, the contract itself has to be divisible in character. Second, the specific illegal terms within it have to be genuinely capable of being separated from the legal ones. Only when both are true does the legal portion survive and remain enforceable on its own.
What makes a contract divisible in the first place
A divisible contract is one made up of parts that can stand independently of each other, rather than a single, indivisible bargain where every term is bound up with the rest. If your contract combines several distinct obligations or covenants that were not meant to depend entirely on one another, that structure supports treating it as divisible for purposes of this article. A contract where the legal and illegal elements are so intertwined that removing one would fundamentally change or defeat the whole arrangement is a different case, and it does not fit comfortably within what Article 1420 contemplates.
Separating illegal terms from legal ones
Even with a divisible contract, the illegal terms still have to be separable in practice, not merely in theory. If the illegal part can be excised while leaving the legal part complete and capable of standing on its own, without needing the illegal part to make sense or to function as intended, the legal part can be enforced. If the illegal term is so central that the legal portion cannot operate meaningfully without it, separation is not genuinely possible, and the exception this article provides would not apply.
What this means for your contract
To know whether your valid portion can still be enforced, look closely at how your contract is structured: are the legal and illegal terms distinct provisions that could function independently, or are they woven together so that removing the illegal part leaves the rest incomplete or meaningless? If the former, Article 1420 supports enforcing what remains legal. If the latter, the illegality is more likely to affect the contract as a whole, and the legal portion may not be salvageable on its own under this article.
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.
- Spouses David B. Carpo, et al. vs. Eleanor Chua, et al, G.R. No. 150773, September 30, 2005 — read the decision on LawPhil →
- La Bugal-B'laan Tribal Association, Inc., et al. vs. Victor O. Ramos, Secretary Department of Environment and National Resources, et al, G.R. No. 127882, December 1, 2004 — read the decision on LawPhil →
- Spouses Reynaldo K. Litonjua and Erlinda P. Litonjua & Phil. White House Auto Supply, Inc. vs. L & R Corp, Vicente M. Coloyan, etc, G.R. No. 130722, March 27, 2000 — read the decision on LawPhil →