Short answer. Yes. Article 694 of the Civil Code expressly includes obstruction of any public highway, street, or body of water in its definition of a nuisance. Blocking a road or river is not merely inconvenient — it is a legally recognized nuisance that may be abated and may give rise to liability.
What the law says
Obstructs or interferes with the free passage of any public highway or street, or any body of water
Civil Code, Article 694 — Nuisance Defined. Read the full provision →
How Article 694 defines a nuisance
Article 694 of the Civil Code defines a nuisance as any act, omission, establishment, business, condition of property, or anything else that falls into one of five categories. The fourth category specifically covers obstruction: obstructs or interferes with the free passage of any public highway or street, or any body of water. The definition is deliberately broad — it encompasses not just an act of physically blocking a road but any condition that interferes with free passage. A structure built across a right-of-way, a pile of debris left on a river, or a gate that bars access to a public road can each fall within this provision.
The full scope of the nuisance definition
Road or waterway obstruction is only one of the five ways to constitute a nuisance under Article 694. The others are: injuring or endangering the health or safety of others; annoying or offending the senses; shocking, defying, or disregarding decency or morality; and hindering or impairing the use of property. A single obstruction may satisfy more than one category — a blocked river that floods neighboring land both obstructs the waterway and hinders the use of nearby property. The categories are not mutually exclusive, and nuisance analysis often considers all that apply.
Who can be affected
An obstruction of a public road or waterway is generally a public nuisance — one that affects the community or a portion of the public rather than only one person. Public nuisances may be abated by the government or by private persons who suffer special damage beyond what the general public suffers. Private nuisances, which affect only an individual or a small, definable group, may be the subject of civil action by those directly harmed. Whether a roadblock or river obstruction is public or private in character depends on who is affected and to what extent.
Practical consequences of nuisance classification
Classifying an obstruction as a nuisance has concrete legal consequences. A nuisance may be abated — removed or remedied — either through court action or, in cases of urgent necessity and within limits the law sets, by private action. The person responsible for the nuisance may be liable for damages caused to those who suffered harm. Continued maintenance of a nuisance after notice to remove it may increase the responsible party's exposure. If the obstruction is on land you own, the fact that you have ownership rights over the land does not prevent the road or waterway from being treated as a public resource that others have a right to use freely.
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.
- Ang Ladlad LGBT Party vs. Commission on Elections, G.R. No. 190582, April 8, 2010 — read the decision on LawPhil →
- Spouses Pablo Calimlim and Patnubay Isla Calimlim vs. Efren G. Goño and Rafaelita R. Goño, G.R. No. 272053, January 14, 2025 — read the decision on LawPhil →
- The City Government of Caloocan vs. Carmel Development Inc, G.R. No. 240255, January 25, 2023 — read the decision on LawPhil →
- Armed Forces of the Philippines vs. Enelinda Amogod, et al, G.R. No. 213753, November 10, 2020 — read the decision on LawPhil →