Text of the provision
Art. 13. When the laws speak of years, months, days or nights, it shall be understood that years are of three hundred sixty-five days each; months, of thirty days; days, of twenty-four hours; and nights from sunset to sunrise.
If months are designated by their name, they shall be computed by the number of days which they respectively have. In computing a period, the first day shall be excluded, and the last day included.
(7a)
Civil Code of the Philippines, Republic Act No. 386, approved June 18, 1949, effective August 30, 1950. Reproduced in full; verified verbatim against the LawPhil and ChanRobles official-text renderings. Note: for reckoning periods, the Administrative Code of 1987 (Sec. 31, Chap. 8, Book I) now provides that a year means twelve calendar months, which the Supreme Court has applied over this article's 365-day rule (CIR v. Primetown, 2007).
What this article means
This supplies the default arithmetic for legal periods: a year = 365 days, a month = 30 days, a day = 24 hours, and a night runs from sunset to sunrise. Named months are counted by their actual length. In counting a period, you exclude the first day and include the last. Note a modern wrinkle: for computing a year, the Supreme Court in CIR v. Primetown applied the Administrative Code's rule of twelve calendar months instead of 365 days.
Questions about this provision
Related provisions
- Article 14 — territorial reach of penal laws.
- Article 2 — the 15-day period for laws to take effect.
Cases citing this article
- Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corporation vs. Chrysler Philippines Labor Union, et al, G.R. No. 148738, June 29, 2004 — read the decision on LawPhil →
- Ma. Zarah Rose De Guzman Lara vs. Commission on Elections and Manuel N. Mamba, G.R. No. 265847, August 6, 2024 — read the decision on LawPhil →
- Commissioner Internal Revenue vs. Aichi Forging Company of Asia, Inc, G.R. No. 184823, October 6, 2010 — read the decision on LawPhil →
- Commissioner of Internal Revenue, et al. vs. Primetown Property Group Inc, G.R. No. 162155, August 28, 2007 — read the decision on LawPhil →
- E. P. Crisostomo vs. A. R. de Guzman, G.R. No. 171503, June 8, 2007 — read the decision on LawPhil →
Compiled automatically from Supreme Court decisions published on LawPhil that expressly cite this article, most frequently cited first. A listing means the decision cites the provision — it is not a statement that the case is the leading authority, and it does not show whether a ruling has since been modified or abandoned. Always read the decision itself.