Text of the provision
Art. 508. The private ownership of the beds of rain waters does not give a right to make works or constructions which may change their course to the damage of third persons, or whose destruction, by the force of floods, may cause such damage.
(413)
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
Owning the bed of a rain-water channel does not allow the owner to build works that change the water’s course to the damage of third persons, or works whose collapse in a flood would cause such damage.
Related provisions
- Article 507 — Spring Or Brook On Private Land.
- Article 509 — No Entry To Search For Waters.
Cases interpreting this article
- Authorities on this article will be added here as each is verified against primary sources.
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.