Accession and Its Effects on Property Ownership under the Philippine Civil Code

“Accession is a mode of acquiring ownership by virtue of which the owner of a thing becomes, by operation of law, the owner of everything that it produces or of everything that is united or incorporated thereto.” — Art. 440, Civil Code of the Philippines

1. Concept and Legal Basis

KEY POINT	EXPLANATION
Source of law	Book II, Title II, Civil Code of the Philippines (Republic Act No. 386), Arts. 440-479.
Nature	Ius accrescendi—an automatic or “original” mode of acquiring or consolidating ownership, effective by operation of law and without the need of a separate contract or deed.
Rationale	(a) To preserve unity of ownership; (b) to reward industry and good faith; (c) to avoid economic waste by obliging reimbursement, not destruction, of useful improvements.
Scope	Applies to both immovable and movable property, and to natural as well as artificial accessions.

2. General Rules (Arts. 440-441)

Automatic Acquisition – The owner of the principal thing acquires ownership of:
- Fruits (natural, industrial, civil) once separated or due; and
- All that is incorporated or attached to it, whether by nature or by human act.
Good-faith Requirement – While ownership passes automatically, reimbursement duties differ depending on whether the actor is in good faith (GF) or bad faith (BF) (Arts. 447-456, 449-453, 466-474).

3. Accession with Respect to Immovable Property

3.1 Natural Accession

Mode	Civil Code Articles	Requisites	Ownership/Effects
Alluvion (Alluvium / Accretion)	457	① Gradual, imperceptible deposit of soil on banks of a river or stream; ② Water is natural agent.	Riparian owner acquires soil ipso jure. Accretion is automatically included in the Torrens title on the next approved survey (Heirs of Malate v. Gozar, G.R. L-1563, 1950).
Avulsion	459-460	① Sudden, violent detachment of a known piece of land by river flood or current; ② Portion attaches to another’s land.	Original owner may reclaim within 2 years, paying expenses. After 2 yrs or express waiver, accession favors riparian owner where land attached.
Change of River Bed	461-462	River abandons old bed and opens a new one through natural causes.	Old bed becomes property of riparian owners on either side in equal shares; new bed remains public dominion.
Formation of Islands	464-465	(a) By accretion in non-navigable river— belongs to riparian owner nearest; (b) By bifurcation of river—owners on each margin own island in the proportion of frontage; (c) New islands in seas—State ownership unless private title proved.

Public‐domain caveat: Accretion along navigable or public rivers remains State property (Republic v. CA & Abelardo, G.R. 89273, Jan 20 1993; Municipality of Marikina v. CA, G.R. 90483, June 23 1992). Riparian rights yield to the Regalian doctrine until the land is officially “reclassified” and titled.

3.2 Industrial Accession—Building, Planting, Sowing

Civil Code Arts. 445-456 establish a matrix of rights based on the good or bad faith of the parties.

Scenario	Governing Rule	Options / Remedies
Landowner (LO) GF – Builder/Planter/Sower (BPS) GF	Art. 448	LO chooses: (a) appropriate works by paying value of materials + labor + plus 5% profit OR (b) compel BPS to buy the land at fair market price.
LO GF – BPS BF	Arts. 449-450	LO may (1) demand demolition at BPS’ cost or (2) appropriate without reimbursement.
LO BF – BPS GF	Art. 456	Roles reversed: BPS may remove works if this can be done without injury; else LO must pay.
Both BF	Art. 452	Court orders removal or payment “as justice requires,” plus damages to both.
Planting or Sowing specifically	Arts. 450-455	Similar principles, but fruits gathered before reimbursement may be seized to cover costs.

Jurisprudence highlights

Spouses Aquino v. Spouses Ramos, G.R. 138117 (Aug 15 2001): Art. 448 is mandatory, not discretionary; courts must give LO the two alternative choices.

Heirs of Malate v. Gozar (1950): “Whatever is built on the land belongs to the land.”

Chua v. CA, G.R. 117437 (Oct 21 1998): Good faith means “honest belief of ownership” based on title or mode; simple negligence in examining title ≠ bad faith.

3.3 Fruits of Immovables (Arts. 442-444)

Natural fruits: spontaneous produce of soil, e.g., timber, grass.
Industrial fruits: those produced by cultivation or labor (rice, sugarcane).
Civil fruits: rentals, lease payments.
- Accrual: Belong to possessor in good faith until receipt of summons (Art. 544).

4. Accession with Respect to Movable Property (Arts. 466-479)

Kind	Description	Principal Rules
Adjunction (Union)	Accessory movable is joined to principal movable (e.g., gilding a table with gold).	Owner of principal keeps the whole, indemnifying owner of accessory if GF; if union cannot be separated without injury and parties in BF, court decides (Arts. 467-468).
Commixture / Confusion	Solids (commixture) or liquids (confusion) of different owners are mixed (Art. 469).	If separable, each recovers his own; if inseparable, co-ownership pro-rata by weight or value arises; bad-faith mixer may be liable for damages (Art. 470).
Specification (Nova Species)	A new object is made out of another’s materials (Art. 472).	If work can be reduced to former form, material owner may demand restitution; otherwise, ownership passes to material owner if value of matter predominates, else to maker, upon indemnity (Arts. 472-473).
Mixture with consent	Parties become co-owners in proportion; expenses borne in common.
Intellectual creations	Not covered; governed by Intellectual Property Code (RA 8293).

5. Good Faith vs. Bad Faith: Core Determinant

Good faith (Art. 526) – Possessor “reasonably believes” he has title to the property; belief must be based on title or error of fact.
Bad faith – Knowledge of defect or illegality; or failure to verify obvious doubt.
Effects: Determines (a) who bears cost of separation/demolition, (b) who indemnifies whom, and (c) availability of fruits or rentals.

6. Interaction with Torrens System & Public Land Laws

Registration not constitutive of accession, but necessary to bind third persons and for issuance of new technical descriptions (Sec. 50, Property Registration Decree, PD 1529).
Accreted area outside original technical description requires an amended survey and registration proceedings (Grande v. CA, L-17652, June 30 1962).
Government ownership over foreshore land, navigable rivers, and tidal areas prevails; private riparian claims must prove original title + actual accretion.

7. Prescription and Actions

Action	Prescriptive Period	Notes
Reivindicatory (to recover property)	30 years (extraordinary); 10 years (ordinary) if adverse possession in BF.	Accretions can be lost by prescription if another occupies openly.
Reclamation of avulsion (Art. 459)	2 years from detachment.	Strict; after lapse, riparian owner acquires.
Action under Art. 448	Real action; follows periods for recovery of immovables.

8. Tax and Practical Considerations

Real Property Tax (RPT): Accreted lands are taxable once declared for assessment; owner should file declaration with LGU assessor.
Estate and Capital Gains Taxes: Accession enlarges estate value; must be considered in succession or sale.
Due Diligence Tips:
1. Survey first—verify new metes and bounds.
2. Check DENR/NAMRIA maps—ensure land is no longer public domain.
3. Secure DPWH / DENR permits before building on riverbanks.
4. Document good faith—retain building permits, tax declarations, and contracts to rebut claims of bad faith.

9. Comparative Glance & Historical Roots

Philippine provisions trace back to Arts. 353-384 of the Spanish Civil Code of 1889, but were Filipinized to fit the Torrens system and Regalian doctrine.
Unlike many civil-law jurisdictions, Philippine law:
- Gives the landowner (not the builder) the initial choice under Art. 448;
- Subjects riparian rights to State reclamation along navigable waters;
- Recognizes separate cadastral registration as a condition for full Torrens protection.

10. Concluding Synthesis

Accession in Philippine law enhances, consolidates, and sometimes transfers ownership without formal acts, yet always within a matrix that rewards good faith and balances equities.

For immovables, the land generally “dominates” all that is attached—accessio cedit principali—whether by gentle alluvion or by deliberate construction.
For movables, rules pivot on principal vs. accessory and the possibility of separation.
Good faith is the controlling moral compass; it tilts indemnities, fruits, and even ownership itself.
Finally, accession never operates in a vacuum: the Torrens system, public-domain doctrine, prescription, and tax regulations form concentric layers that owners and practitioners must navigate.

Disclaimer: This article offers a general scholarly exposition. It is not legal advice. For concrete controversies, consult a Philippine lawyer or land-use professional.