Text of the provision
Art. 725. Donation is an act of liberality whereby a person disposes gratuitously of a thing or right in favor of another, who accepts it.
(618a)
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
A donation is an act of liberality by which a person gratuitously disposes of a thing or right in favour of another, who accepts it. Both the free intent to give and the acceptance are part of the definition.
Two elements make an act a donation under this definition: liberality, meaning the disposition is made without expecting anything of equivalent value in return, and acceptance by the donee, without which the transfer does not take effect as a donation. This sets a donation apart from an onerous contract such as a sale, where each party gives something in exchange for a corresponding value. Because acceptance is written into the definition itself, a gratuitous transfer the intended recipient never accepts does not yet qualify as a completed donation under this article.
Questions about this provision
Related provisions
- Article 723 — Ownership Of Private Letters.
- Article 726 — Remuneratory And Modal Donations.
Cases citing this article
- Daalco Development Coration vs. Palmas Del Mar Homeowners Association (PDM-HOA), Represented By Gil Fernandez, President, G.R. No. 264652, November 4, 2024 — read the decision on LawPhil →
- Ida C. Labagala vs. Nicolasa T. Santiago, et al, G.R. No. 132305, December 4, 2001 — read the decision on LawPhil →
- Dioscoro Poliño Bacala, substitute Judicial Guardian of Incompetent Aquilino O. Poliño vs. Heirs of, G.R. No. 200608, February 10, 2021 — read the decision on LawPhil →
- National Power Corporation vs. Delta P, Inc, G.R. No. 221709, October 16, 2019 — read the decision on LawPhil →
- Republic of the Philippines, represented by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) vs. Sps. Francisco R. Llamas and Carmelita C. Llamas, G.R. No. 194190, January 25, 2017 — 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.