Short answer. Yes. Unless the pawned item is expropriated, the debtor continues to be the owner of the thing pledged. The pawnshop, as creditor, only holds it as security and may act to recover or defend it from third parties on the owner's behalf.
What the law says
Unless the thing pledged is expropriated, the debtor continues to be the owner thereof.
Civil Code, Article 2103 — Debtor Remains Owner. Read the full provision →
Pledging is not the same as selling
Pawning something is legally a pledge, and the statute is direct about what that does and does not change: unless the thing pledged is expropriated, the debtor continues to be the owner thereof. Handing the item over to the pawnshop transfers possession, not ownership. You remain the legal owner of the item the entire time it sits in the pawnshop's vault, so long as it has not been expropriated.
What the creditor's role actually is
The pawnshop's position is that of a creditor holding your item as security for the loan, not as an owner. The law even lets the creditor bring the actions which pertain to the owner of the thing pledged, to recover it from or defend it against a third person, but this is functional, protecting the pledged item while it is in the creditor's custody, not a transfer of the ownership itself.
Why this matters practically
Because you remain the owner, the item does not become the pawnshop's property simply by being pledged. What can happen, separately, is that the item may be sold or otherwise disposed of if you fail to redeem it according to the terms of the pledge agreement, but that outcome flows from the terms of the pledge and what happens on default, not from pawning the item having transferred ownership at the outset.
What to keep in mind while an item is pawned
Since ownership stays with you throughout, you retain the legal interest that comes with being the owner for as long as the item remains pledged and unredeemed under the terms you agreed to. Knowing this distinction, between transferring possession as security and transferring ownership outright, is useful if a dispute ever arises over who has rights to a pawned item while the loan is still outstanding.
What "expropriated" means in this article
The word is not about the government taking the item; it refers to the pledge's own process for disposing of the thing when the secured debt goes unpaid. Ownership stays with the debtor right up until that disposal actually happens — the pledge relationship by itself, and the mere fact that redemption has not yet occurred, does not strip ownership. Only the completed act that moves the item out of the debtor's estate does that, which is why simply being behind on redeeming a pawned item does not, on its own, make you a former owner.
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.
- Ramona Ramos, et al. vs. Philippine National Bank, et al, G.R. No. 178218, December 14, 2011 — read the decision on LawPhil →