G.R. No. L-6524, August 4, 1911
VICENTA ANDRADA, ANGELA ANDRADA, and JOSEFA ANDRADA, plaintiffs-appellees, vs. FELIX SEVILLA and CORAZON CH. VELOSO, defendants-appellants.

FACTS

Maria Andrada, during her lifetime, executed a public document on November 9, 1904, making an absolute and irrevocable donation of certain parcels of land to Felix Sevilla. She later ratified this donation in three subsequent public documents. The donation included a reservation that Maria Andrada would receive a monthly sum of fifty pesos (which she actually received, at times up to eighty-five pesos) from the rental or sale proceeds of the donated property for her living expenses. After Maria Andrada died intestate, her heirs (the plaintiffs) filed an action to recover the donated lands from Felix Sevilla and Corazon Ch. Veloso (to whom Sevilla had sold a portion). The plaintiffs alleged that they, as the sole heirs, were entitled to possession and that the defendants were wrongfully withholding the property. The defendants countered that the donation was valid and that Maria Andrada had never sought its annulment. The trial court declared the donation null and void for violating Article 634 of the Civil Code, which requires a donor to reserve sufficient property for their support.

ISSUE

Whether the donation executed by Maria Andrada in favor of Felix Sevilla is null and void for violating Article 634 of the Civil Code.

RULING

No. The Supreme Court reversed the trial court’s decision and absolved the defendants from liability. The Court held that:
1. A donation of all or part of the donor’s property without the required reservation for support under Article 634 of the Civil Code is not void ab initio, but merely voidable at the instance of the donor. The donor retains the right to seek annulment, but the donation is not automatically null.
2. In this case, Maria Andrada never attempted to revoke or annul the donation during her lifetime, and there was no proof that the donee failed to comply with its terms.
3. Moreover, the donation document itself contained an explicit reservation: Maria Andrada reserved a monthly stipend for her living expenses, to be derived from the rental or sale proceeds of the donated property. This reservation satisfied the requirement of Article 634, as it ensured support for the donor. Thus, the donation was valid and effective.