1 THE CIVIL CODE OF THE PHILIPPINES (REPUBLIC ACT NO. 386, AS AMENDED) PRELIMINARY TITLE CHAPTER 1 Effect and Application of Laws Art. 1. This Act shall be known as the “Civil Code of the Philip- pines.” (n) COMMENTS: § 1. The Civil Code of the Philippines [1.1] Code defined [1.2] History of Philippine Civil Code [1.3] Sources of Civil Code [1.4] Physical or mechanical composition [1.5] Effectivity of Civil Code [1.1] Code Defined A “code” is a collection of laws of the same kind; a body of legal provisions referring to a particular branch of law. A “civil code,” there- fore, is a collection of laws which regulate the private relations of the members of civil society, determining their respective rights and obli- gations, with reference to persons, things and civil acts. 1 [1.2] History of Philippine Civil Code The first civil code in force in the Philippines was the “Civil Code of Spain of 1889” extended to this country by Royal Decree of July 31, 1 1 Tolentino, Civil Code, 1990 ed., p. 11. 1