Text of the provision
Art. 384. Two years having elapsed without any news about the absentee or since the receipt of the last news, and five years in case the absentee has left a person in charge of the administration of his property, his absence may be declared.
(184)
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
Absence may be declared after two years without any news of the absentee, counted from the receipt of the last news — or after five years where the absentee left someone in charge of administering his property.
The two periods set different starting points depending on how exposed the absentee’s property already is. Where no one has been left in charge, only two years of silence need pass before absence may be declared, reflecting a more urgent need to appoint someone to protect the estate. Where the absentee already left a person managing the property, the estate is not left unprotected, so the law allows five years to elapse instead. Either period is counted from the same event — the last news received about the absentee — not from the date the absentee physically departed.
Questions about this provision
Related provisions
- Article 383 — Spouse Preferred as Representative.
- Article 385 — Who May Ask for Declaration.
Cases citing this article
- In the Matter of Urgent Petition for the Release of Prisoners on Humanitarian Grounds, G.R. No. 252117, July 28, 2020 — 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.