Text of the provision
Art. 557. The possession of immovables and of real rights is not deemed lost, or transferred for purposes of prescription to the prejudice of third persons, except in accordance with the provisions of the Mortgage Law and the Land Registration laws.
(462a)
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
Possession of immovables and of real rights is not deemed lost, nor transferred for purposes of prescription to the prejudice of third persons, except in the way laid down by the Mortgage Law and the Land Registration laws.
"Prescription" here refers to the process by which possession, if maintained long enough under the right conditions, can ripen into ownership or defeat another's claim. For movable property, a change in possession can more readily affect rights against third persons, but this article insulates immovables and real rights from that same ease of loss or transfer, protecting recorded interests from being undermined by informal shifts in physical possession, and channeling any such change instead through the formal procedures the Mortgage Law and Land Registration laws prescribe.
Questions about this provision
Related provisions
- Article 556 — Possession Of Misplaced Movables.
- Article 558 — Acts Of A Mere Holder.
Cases interpreting this article
- Authorities on this article will be added here as each is verified against primary sources.