Short answer. You can pay the agreed part now. Article 1248 says that when a debt is in part liquidated and in part unliquidated, the creditor may demand and the debtor may effect payment of the liquidated part without waiting for the liquidation of the rest. You need not hold everything hostage to the dispute.
What the law says
when the debt is in part liquidated and in part unliquidated, the creditor may demand and the debtor may effect the payment of the former without waiting for the liquidation of the latter
Civil Code, Article 1248 — No Partial Payment. Read the full provision →
The general rule against partial payment
Article 1248 starts from a default that favors whole performance. It provides that Unless there is an express stipulation to that effect, the creditor cannot be compelled partially to receive the prestations in which the obligation consists. Neither may the debtor be required to make partial payments. In other words, ordinarily neither side can be forced to split up performance — the creditor need not accept payment in pieces, and the debtor need not pay in installments. This protects both parties from having a single obligation fragmented against their will, keeping payment as one complete act unless they agreed otherwise.
The exception for a part-liquidated debt
The article then carves out your exact situation. It says that when the debt is in part liquidated and in part unliquidated, the creditor may demand and the debtor may effect the payment of the former without waiting for the liquidation of the latter. A liquidated amount is one already determined and certain; an unliquidated one still needs to be fixed, often because it is disputed. Where a debt splits into a settled portion and an unsettled one, the settled portion can be paid and collected on its own. You do not have to wait for the disputed part to be resolved before dealing with the amount everyone already agrees upon.
Why this makes sense
The rule is practical and fair. There is no good reason to freeze a clear, agreed obligation just because a separate portion is contested. Forcing you to wait would let a dispute over one part hold up payment of another that raises no dispute at all — delaying the creditor's collection and leaving you exposed to interest or default on an amount you were ready and willing to pay. By letting the liquidated part be paid immediately, the law lets the parties clear what is certain now and confine their argument to what genuinely remains in question.
What it does not decide
Paying the liquidated portion does not resolve the disputed part or fix its amount; that still has to be liquidated, whether by agreement or otherwise. Nor does the exception let either side force partial performance in the ordinary case where the whole debt is certain — there, the general rule against compelled partial payment still governs unless you stipulated otherwise. And how you handle the payment can matter, so it is sensible to make clear that settling the agreed portion is not an admission about the disputed one. Within those bounds, the Code plainly allows you to pay the agreed part now.
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.
- Camp John Hay Development Corporation, represented by Manuel T. Ubarra, Jr. vs. Office of, G.R. No. 225565, January 13, 2021 — read the decision on LawPhil →
- Consolidated Industrial Gases, Inc. vs. Alabang Medical Center, G.R. No. 181983, November 13, 2013 — read the decision on LawPhil →
- Selegna Management and Development Corporation, et al. vs. United Coconut Planters Bank, G.R. No. 165662, May 3, 2006 — read the decision on LawPhil →
- Food Terminal, Inc. vs. Hon. Reynaldo B. Daway, et al, G.R. No. 157353, December 9, 2004 — read the decision on LawPhil →