Short answer. Yes. Article 1450 of the Civil Code says that when the purchase price is loaned and the title is placed in the lender's name to secure the debt, a trust arises by law in your favor. You may redeem the property and compel the lender to convey it to you.
What the law says
The latter may redeem the property and compel a conveyance thereof to him.
Civil Code, Article 1450 — Trust From a Loaned Purchase Price. Read the full provision →
A trust the law creates
Article 1450 addresses precisely this arrangement. Where the price of a sale of property is loaned or paid by one person for the benefit of another and the conveyance is made to the lender or payor to secure the payment of the debt, a trust arises by operation of law in favor of the person for whom the money was paid. The title may sit in the lender's name, but the law treats the lender as holding it as security — as a trustee — not as the true owner in his own right.
Your right to redeem and to a conveyance
The article gives the borrower a clear remedy: The latter may redeem the property and compel a conveyance thereof to him. This means you can pay off the debt the title was securing and then require the lender to transfer the property into your name. The lender's holding is tied to the loan; once the loan is satisfied, the security purpose is served and the trust must be carried out by conveying the property to you, the beneficiary.
What the arrangement really is
The point of Article 1450 is that placing title in the lender's name to secure a loan does not make the lender the owner; it makes him a holder of security. It does not, however, wipe out the debt — your right to redeem assumes you pay what you owe. Nor does it help where the true nature of the deal was different, for instance an outright sale rather than a loan secured by the title. Keep the documents showing the money was loaned and the title taken as security, because those facts are what establish the trust and your right to compel a transfer.
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.
- Maria B. Ching vs. Joseph C. Goyanko, Jr., et al, G.R. No. 165879, November 10, 2006 — read the decision on LawPhil →
- Sps. Felipe and Josefa Paringit vs. Marciana Paringit Bajit, et al, G.R. No. 181844, September 29, 2010 — read the decision on LawPhil →
- Marcelito D. Quevada vs. Court of Appeals, et al, G.R. No. 140798, September 19, 2006 — read the decision on LawPhil →