Short answer. No. Article 1392 provides that ratification extinguishes the action to annul a voidable contract. Once you ratify, you lose the right to later ask a court to set the contract aside on the very ground that made it voidable, and the contract is treated as valid going forward.
What the law says
Ratification extinguishes the action to annul a voidable contract.
Civil Code, Article 1392 — Ratification Bars Annulment. Read the full provision →
Ratification closes the door to annulment
Article 1392 states the rule in a single, direct sentence: Ratification extinguishes the action to annul a voidable contract. A voidable contract is valid until a court annuls it, but the party entitled to seek annulment can instead choose to ratify it, confirming the contract despite the defect that would otherwise let them undo it. Once that ratification happens, the specific legal remedy of annulment tied to that defect is gone; you cannot later change your mind and pursue the very annulment action your own ratification erased.
Why ratification is treated as a final choice
The right to annul a voidable contract exists to protect the party affected by whatever defect made it voidable, whether that is a vice of consent, incapacity, or another recognized ground. That protection belongs to that party to use or waive as they see fit. Ratification is the law's way of recognizing that the protected party looked at the situation, understood the defect, and chose to accept the contract anyway. Because the whole point of the remedy was to give that choice to the affected party, honoring the choice once made is what keeps the remedy meaningful rather than something that can be revisited indefinitely.
What generally counts as ratification
Ratification can happen either expressly, through a clear statement confirming the contract, or through conduct that is only consistent with treating the contract as valid, such as continuing to perform under it or accepting its benefits with knowledge of the defect. What matters is that the party entitled to seek annulment acted, with awareness of the ground for annulment, in a way that affirms rather than rejects the contract. Once that has happened, the annulment action tied to that ground is gone.
What this means before you confirm a defective contract
If you believe a contract you entered into is voidable, think carefully before doing anything that could be read as ratification, such as continuing to accept its benefits or affirming it in writing, if you still want to preserve the option of asking a court to annul it. Once ratification occurs, Article 1392 forecloses that path, and the contract stands as though the original defect never gave rise to a right to annul it at all.
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.
- Estate of Valeriano C. Bueno and Genoveva I. Bueno, represented by Valeriano I. Bueno, G.R. No. 205810, September 9, 2020 — read the decision on LawPhil →
- ECE Realty and Development, Inc. vs. Rachel G. Mandap, G.R. No. 196182, September 1, 2014 — read the decision on LawPhil →
- Sps. Fernando and Lourdes Viloria vs. Continental Airlines, Inc, G.R. No. 188288, January 16, 2012 — read the decision on LawPhil →