Text of the provision
Art. 160. When a creditor whose claims is not among those mentioned in Article 155 obtains a judgment in his favor, and he has reasonable grounds to believe that the family home is actually worth more than the maximum amount fixed in Article 157, he may apply to the court which rendered the judgment for an order directing the sale of the property under execution. The court shall so order if it finds that the actual value of the family home exceeds the maximum amount allowed by law as of the time of its constitution.
If the increased actual value exceeds the maximum allowed in Article 157 and results from subsequent voluntary improvements introduced by the person or persons constituting the family home, by the owner or owners of the property, or by any of the beneficiaries, the same rule and procedure shall apply.
At the execution sale, no bid below the value allowed for a family home shall be considered. The proceeds shall be applied first to the amount mentioned in Article 157, and then to the liabilities under the judgment and the costs. The excess, if any, shall be delivered to the judgment debtor.
(247a, 248a)
Family Code of the Philippines, Executive Order No. 209, approved July 6, 1987. The Code took effect on August 3, 1988 (Republic v. Orbecido III, G.R. No. 154380, October 5, 2005). Reproduced in full.
What this article means
This is the escape valve for an ordinary creditor whose debt is not one of the four in Article 155. If such a creditor wins a judgment and reasonably believes the home is worth more than the ceiling in Article 157, they may ask the court to order the home sold on execution. The court orders the sale only if it finds the actual value does exceed the limit — and the same procedure applies where the excess value came from later voluntary improvements.
The sale is carefully controlled so the family is not stripped of the protected portion: no bid below the exempt value is allowed, and the proceeds are paid out in a fixed order — first the exempt amount under Article 157, then the judgment debt and costs, and any excess back to the debtor. The creditor reaches only the surplus above what the law shields.
Related provisions
- Article 157 — the value ceiling this procedure enforces.
- Article 155 — the debts that bypass the exemption entirely.
Cases interpreting this article
- Authorities on Article 160 will be added here as each is verified against primary sources.