Text of the provision
Art. 766. Although the donation is revoked on account of ingratitude, nevertheless, the alienations and mortgages effected before the notation of the complaint for revocation in the Registry of Property shall subsist. Later ones shall be void.
(649)
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
Even when a donation is revoked for ingratitude, alienations and mortgages made before the complaint for revocation is annotated in the Registry of Property remain valid. Those made after the annotation are void.
The dividing line this article draws is not the date of the ingratitude itself but the date the complaint for revocation is annotated in the Registry of Property. A buyer or mortgagee who deals with the donated property before that annotation is made has no way of knowing a revocation case is pending and is protected accordingly; anyone who acquires an interest after the annotation is charged with notice of the pending case, which is why later alienations and mortgages are void.
Questions about this provision
- The donee transferred the donated land to a third person while my ingratitude revocation case was already annotated in the Registry of Property — can I still recover the land itself?
- The donee mortgaged the donated property before my complaint for revocation for ingratitude was annotated — does the mortgage survive revocation?
- The donee sold the donated land before my revocation complaint for ingratitude was recorded in the Registry of Property — is the buyer protected?
Related provisions
- Article 765 — Revocation For Ingratitude.
- Article 767 — Donor's Claim For Value.
Cases interpreting this article
- Authorities on this article will be added here as each is verified against primary sources.