Short answer. Both, in a sense. With the pawnshop's consent, Article 2097 lets you sell the pawned item subject to the pledge. Ownership passes to the buyer as soon as the pledgee consents, but the pawnshop continues in possession. So the buyer becomes the owner, yet the pawnshop keeps holding the item until the pledge is discharged.
What the law says
With the consent of the pledgee, the thing pledged may be alienated by the pledgor or owner, subject to the pledge.
Civil Code, Article 2097 — Alienation of the Thing Pledged. Read the full provision →
What the law says
The ownership of the thing pledged is transmitted to the vendee or transferee as soon as the pledgee consents to the alienation, but the latter shall continue in possession.
Civil Code, Article 2097 — Alienation of the Thing Pledged. Read the full provision →
You may sell, but only with the pledgee's consent
When you pawn an item, you keep ownership but hand possession to the pawnshop as security. Article 2097 lets you sell it while it is still pawned, on one condition: With the consent of the pledgee, the thing pledged may be alienated by the pledgor or owner, subject to the pledge. Two points stand out. First, the pledgee — the pawnshop — must consent to the sale. Second, whatever the buyer takes, he takes subject to the pledge. The item does not come to the buyer free and clear; it carries the same security burden it had in your hands. Without the pledgee's consent, this route to a valid alienation is not open.
Ownership passes, possession stays with the pawnshop
The article then splits ownership from possession. It provides that the ownership of the thing pledged is transmitted to the vendee or transferee as soon as the pledgee consents to the alienation, but the latter shall continue in possession. So the moment the pawnshop consents, the buyer becomes the owner — yet the pawnshop keeps physically holding the item. This is exactly how a pledge works: the creditor's security is its grip on the thing, and that grip is not loosened just because ownership has changed hands. The buyer owns it on paper; the pawnshop holds it in fact until the secured debt is dealt with.
What the buyer actually gets
A buyer here should understand he is stepping into your shoes as owner of a still-pledged thing. He cannot simply demand the item from the pawnshop while the loan it secures is unpaid; the pledge continues against the item regardless of who owns it. To take physical possession, the secured obligation generally has to be satisfied — by you or by the buyer — so the pledge is extinguished. Until then, the pawnshop rightfully keeps the item. The buyer's ownership is real, but its practical enjoyment waits on the discharge of the pledge he bought subject to.
What this rule does not allow
This provision does not let you sell the pawned item behind the pledgee's back and give the buyer a clean title. Without the pledgee's consent, you cannot force the security off the thing merely by selling it, and a buyer cannot demand the item free of the pledge. Nor does the sale wipe out the debt — the obligation you owe the pawnshop remains until paid. And the pledgee's continued possession is a right, not a courtesy: the article deliberately keeps the item with the creditor so that its security is not defeated by a change of ownership.