Possession in Usufruct
Article 562. Usufruct gives a right to enjoy the property of another with the obligation of preserving its form and substance, unless the title constituting it or the law otherwise provides. (Civil Code)
[1] While the share was bought by Sime Darby and placed under the name of Mendoza, his title is only limited to the usufruct, or the use and enjoyment of the club’s facilities and privileges while employed with the company. In Thomson v. Court of Appeals, we held that a trust arises in favor of one who pays the purchase price of a property in the name of another, because of the presumption that he who pays for a thing intends a beneficial interest for himself. (Sime Darby Pilipinas, Inc. vs. Mendoza, 2013)
[1] While the share was bought by Sime Darby and placed under the name of Mendoza, his title is only limited to the usufruct, or the use and enjoyment of the club’s facilities and privileges while employed with the company. In Thomson v. Court of Appeals, we held that a trust arises in favor of one who pays the purchase price of a property in the name of another, because of the presumption that he who pays for a thing intends a beneficial interest for himself. (Sime Darby Pilipinas, Inc. vs. Mendoza, 2013)
[2] The complicating factor in the case is the nature and basis of Wilfredo’s possession; he was holding the property as usufructuary, although this right to de jure possession was also disputed before his death, hand in hand with the de facto possession that is subject of the present case. Without need, however, of any further dispute or litigation, the right to the usufruct is now rendered moot by the death of Wilfredo since death extinguishes a usufruct under Article 603(1) of the Civil Code. This development deprives the heirs of the usufructuary the right to retain or to reacquire possession of the property even if the ejectment judgment directs its restitution. (Rivera-Calingasan vs. Rivera, 2013)