Text of the provision

Art. 504. The use of public waters is acquired:

(1) By administrative concession;

(2) By prescription for ten years. The extent of the rights and obligations of the use shall be that established, in the first case, by the terms of the concession, and, in the second case, by the manner and form in which the waters have been used.

(409a)

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 right to use public waters is obtained in only two ways: by an administrative concession, or by prescription for ten years. Where the right comes from a concession, its scope is whatever the concession says; where it comes from prescription, its scope is the manner and form in which the water was actually used.

Related provisions

Cases interpreting this article

Note. The text of the provision above is reproduced in full from the official enactment (Republic Act No. 386), verified against the LawPhil and ChanRobles renderings. The annotation and commentary around it are the work of Vivas & Nobles Law Office and are general legal information, not legal advice. How a provision applies to a particular situation depends on facts that only a lawyer reviewing your case can assess.