Special Power of Attorney: The 15 Acts in Art 1878
Legal and notarial · documents
Quick answer
Article 1878 of the Civil Code lists 15 acts a general power of attorney cannot cover, including selling or mortgaging property, borrowing money, leasing land for over a year, and accepting an inheritance. For a sale of land the agent's authority must be written, or the sale is void.
Every figure on this page is from official published documents: Official Gazette and DFA.
Last verified 2 sources, listed below
Official Gazette | Republic Act No. 386, Civil Code of the Philippines1 · DFA | Apostille Schedule of Fees2. PHGuides is independent and not affiliated with any agency.
A general power of attorney is not a weaker version of a special one. They are different instruments, and the Civil Code draws the line by listing acts.
What agency is
Article 1868 defines it: by the contract of agency a person binds himself to render some service or to do something in representation or on behalf of another, with the consent or authority of the latter.
Article 1869 then allows agency to be express or implied, and to be oral, unless the law requires a specific form. Most day-to-day authority needs no paperwork at all.
The exceptions are where the money is.
The 15 acts in Article 1878
Article 1878 says special powers of attorney are necessary in these cases:
| # | Act |
|---|---|
| 1 | Payments not usually considered acts of administration |
| 2 | Novations ending obligations existing when the agency was constituted |
| 3 | To compromise, submit to arbitration, renounce an appeal, waive venue objections, or abandon a prescription already acquired |
| 4 | To waive any obligation gratuitously |
| 5 | Any contract transmitting or acquiring ownership of an immovable |
| 6 | To make gifts, except customary charity or gifts to employees in the business managed |
| 7 | To loan or borrow money, unless urgent and indispensable to preserve things under administration |
| 8 | To lease real property to another for more than one year |
| 9 | To bind the principal to render service without compensation |
| 10 | To bind the principal in a contract of partnership |
| 11 | To obligate the principal as guarantor or surety |
| 12 | To create or convey real rights over immovable property |
| 13 | To accept or repudiate an inheritance |
| 14 | To ratify obligations contracted before the agency |
| 15 | Any other act of strict dominion |
Item 15 is a catch-all, and it is the one that decides arguments the other 14 do not obviously cover. An act of strict dominion is one that disposes of a thing rather than administering it.
The article is explicit that a general authority does not reach these acts even where the agency authorises general and unlimited management. That is the whole point of the provision.
For land, writing is validity and not formality
Article 1874 is one sentence with a hard consequence: when a sale of a piece of land or any interest in it is through an agent, the authority of the agent shall be in writing, otherwise the sale shall be void.
Not voidable. Void. Article 1869’s tolerance of oral agency stops here.
Selling and mortgaging are separate powers
Article 1879: a special power to sell excludes the power to mortgage, and a special power to mortgage does not include the power to sell.
Article 1880 adds that a special power to compromise does not authorise submission to arbitration, even though item 3 groups the two together.
Both provisions run the same way: naming one act does not imply a related one. An SPA has to name each act it is meant to authorise.
Executing one from abroad
This is where the document matters most, because the principal is an OFW and the agent is a relative at home handling property, a loan or an inheritance. Three of the 15 acts, items 5, 12 and 13, are exactly that situation.
Two routes produce a usable document:
| Route | Where it is signed | What makes it usable here |
|---|---|---|
| Consular | Before a consular officer at the Philippine post with jurisdiction | The officer’s notarial act |
| Apostille | Before a local notary in the host country | An apostille issued by that country |
What a post charges to notarise it
Hong Kong is the post that names this document in its own fee schedule. It prices notarial services at HK$280.00 each, covering acknowledgement of a special power of attorney, a power of attorney, a deed, a letter or a real estate mortgage.
Everywhere else it is the network’s standard notarial act, published in local currency off a US $25.00 base:
| Post | Notarial fee, per document |
|---|---|
| Budapest | US$25.00 |
| Honolulu, authentication and notarials each | USD 25.00 |
| Houston | USD 25.00 |
| Tel Aviv | USD 25.00, or NIS 100.00 |
| Muscat, notarial, certification and authentication | OMR 10.00 |
| Toronto, notarisation of an affidavit or authentication | CAD 38.75 |
| Vancouver, covering jurat, acknowledgment, authentication and certification | CAD 38.75 |
| Kuala Lumpur, civil registry and notarial services each | RM 115.00 |
| Warsaw | PLN 125.00 |
| Riyadh, notarials, certifications and other documents | SAR 100.00 |
| Stockholm, regular, released after 5 working days | SEK 350.00 |
| Hong Kong | HK$280.00 |
Four posts publish the dollar figure outright, which is what identifies the base. The rest are that same charge converted, which is why OMR 10.00 and SEK 350.00 are the same service.
Two posts publish an expedite fee on top: PLN 50.00 at Warsaw, and Stockholm at SEK 490.00 in place of the SEK 350.00 rather than in addition to it.
The affidavit of loss guide sets out the same base schedule as it applies to affidavits.
For documents apostillised in the Philippines, the DFA publishes:
| Service | Fee | Release |
|---|---|---|
| Regular | ₱100.00 | 5 working days |
| Expedited | ₱200.00 | 2 working days |
| e-Apostille | ₱200.00 | 1 working day |
The Philippines joined the Apostille Convention on 14 May 2019, which replaced the old red ribbon. The apostille and red ribbon guide covers the process, and the passport renewal abroad guide covers dealing with a post generally.
Where this goes wrong
Using a general power of attorney for a sale. Article 1878 lists ownership transfer at item 5. A general authority does not reach it.
Assuming a power to sell lets the agent mortgage. Article 1879 says the opposite, in both directions.
Relying on an oral or texted authority to sell land. Article 1874 makes that sale void, not merely challengeable.
Naming the property but not the act. The 15 items are acts. An SPA that identifies a title but never says what may be done with it authorises nothing.
Leaving a long lease out. More than one year needs a special power, at item 8, and one-year leases renewed repeatedly are a common way to miss it.
Related
The small claims guide covers the one civil procedure designed to be run without a lawyer, and the vehicle transfer of ownership guide covers a sale where an SPA is often what authorises the signatory.
The affidavit of support guide covers the other sworn document most often executed at a Philippine post.
Frequently asked questions
- What is a special power of attorney?
- A written authority naming specific acts an agent may do on your behalf. Article 1868 of the Civil Code defines agency generally, and Article 1878 lists 15 acts that a general authority cannot reach, so those need a special one naming the act.
- Which acts need a special power of attorney?
- Article 1878 lists 15. The ones people meet in practice are transferring ownership of an immovable, creating real rights over immovable property, loaning or borrowing money, leasing real property for more than one year, accepting or repudiating an inheritance, binding the principal as guarantor or surety, and any other act of strict dominion.
- Can an SPA be spoken rather than written?
- Article 1869 allows agency to be oral unless the law requires a specific form, but Article 1874 requires that where a sale of land or any interest in it is through an agent, the agent's authority be in writing, otherwise the sale is void. For land, writing is not a formality, it is validity.
- Does a power to sell include a power to mortgage?
- No. Article 1879 states that a special power to sell excludes the power to mortgage, and a special power to mortgage does not include the power to sell. Each act has to be named.
- I am an OFW. How do I execute an SPA from abroad?
- Two routes. Sign it before a consular officer at the Philippine Embassy or Consulate with jurisdiction over you, or sign it before a local notary in your host country and have that notarization apostillised there. Both produce a document usable in the Philippines.
- What does an apostille cost?
- For documents apostillised in the Philippines by the DFA, regular processing is ₱100.00 released after 5 working days, expedited is ₱200.00 after 2 working days, and e-Apostille is ₱200.00 after 1 working day. A foreign apostille is priced by the issuing country, not by the DFA.
- Is a template from the internet enough?
- A template can set out the form, but the operative part is naming the act. Article 1878 is a list of acts, so an SPA that grants broad authority without naming the specific act it is meant to authorise does not satisfy it, however well drafted the rest is.
- Can one SPA cover several transactions?
- Yes, if each act is named. What Article 1878 forbids is treating a general and unlimited management authority as though it reached these 15 acts. The article says so expressly: a general power does not cover them even where the agency authorises general and unlimited management.