Text of the provision
Art. 1608. The vendor may bring his action against every possessor whose right is derived from the vendee, even if in the second contract no mention should have been made of the right to repurchase, without prejudice to the provisions of the Mortgage Law and the Land Registration Law with respect to third persons.
(1510)
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.
What this article means
The vendor may enforce the repurchase against every possessor whose right derives from the buyer, even if the later contract omitted the repurchase right — subject to the registration laws protecting third persons.
A pacto de retro sale does not merely bind the original buyer personally; the vendor's right to repurchase attaches to the property itself, much like an encumbrance that runs with the land. Because of that, the vendor can pursue the redemption action against anyone who later acquires possession through the buyer — an heir, a subsequent purchaser, or any other transferee — even if the right to repurchase was never mentioned when that later transfer took place. The article's closing qualification matters, though: the registration laws can still protect a third person who relied in good faith on a clean title.
Questions about this provision
- My pacto de retro buyer sold the land twice over. Does my right to repurchase follow the property through each successive transfer?
- The buyer under my pacto de retro sold the land to someone else, can I still redeem it from the new owner?
Related provisions
- Article 1607 — Consolidation of Ownership Needs a Court Order.
- Article 1609 — Subrogation of the Vendee.
Cases interpreting this article
- Authorities on this article will be added here as each is verified against primary sources.