Short answer. Yes. Article 2258 of the Civil Code provides that when a case was commenced under the old law but is still pending when the new Civil Code takes effect — and the procedure differs between the old and new law — the parties may choose which procedural method to follow.
What the law says
If the exercise of the right or of the action was commenced under the old laws, but is pending on the date this Code takes effect, and the procedure was different from that established in this new body of laws, the parties concerned may choose which method or course to pursue.
Civil Code, Article 2258 — Pending Actions And Procedure. Read the full provision →
The choice available to parties in pending cases
Article 2258 of the Civil Code addresses the transition between the old Civil Code and the new one. It provides that actions and rights not yet exercised before the new Code took effect remain in force under the old law, but their exercise, duration, and enforcement procedure are governed by the new Code and the Rules of Court. Then, for the specific situation you describe — a case filed under the old law that is still pending — the parties concerned may choose which method or course to pursue. You are not locked into the old procedure simply because you filed under it.
Rights created before the new Code still survive
The article begins by assuring parties that rights and actions that existed before the new Code took effect do not disappear. They remain in full force in conformity with the old legislation. Your underlying right or cause of action, which was valid when you filed, is preserved. What changes is the procedural framework available for pursuing it. The substantive right is governed by what the law said when the right was created; how you enforce it may now be subject to a choice.
When the choice matters
The choice arises only when the procedure was different from that established in this new body of laws. If the old and new procedures are substantially the same for the type of action you filed, the option to choose between them has little practical significance. But where the new Code introduced different methods — different timelines, different forms of relief, different procedural steps — the ability to elect the new procedure gives parties the flexibility to benefit from any improvements without abandoning a case already underway.
Historical context
Article 2258 was a transitional provision enacted when the Civil Code of the Philippines took effect in 1950, succeeding the old Civil Code that had governed since the Spanish period. The article applied to cases filed under the old regime that had not yet been resolved by 1950. For practical purposes today, this provision is mainly of historical and interpretive value — it shaped how courts handled the transition and remains part of the Civil Code as a record of how the legislature balanced continuity with the benefits of the new law.