H. Legal Periods (EO 292, Book I, Ch. VIII, Sec. 31)

K. Legal Periods (Civil Code, art. 13, as amended by Book I, chapter 8, sec. 31 of the Administrative Code of 1987 (E.O. No. 292))

K. Legal Periods (Civil Code, art. 13, read with Book I, chapter 8, sec. 31 of the Administrative Code of 1987 (E.O. No. 292))

> Article 13. When the laws speak of years, months, days or nights, it shall be understood that years are of three hundred sixty-five days each; months, of thirty days; days, of twenty-four hours; and nights from sunset to sunrise. If months are designated by their name, they shall be computed by the number of days which they respectively have. In computing a period, the first day shall be excluded, and the last day included. (7a)

Article 13 states that a year is 365 days. For computing legal periods, however, the later rule in Book I, Chapter VIII, Section 31 of the Administrative Code of 1987 governs: a year is 12 calendar months.

8. Computation of Periods

a. Section 31, Chapter VIII, Book I of the Revised Administrative Code of 1987

Computation of period

• Year – 12 calendar months. (Sec. 31, Chapter VIII, Administrative Code of 1987; CIR v. Primetown Property Group, Inc., G.R. No. 162155, 28 Aug. 2007) NOTE: In the said case, the Supreme Court declared that Sec. 31, Chapter VIII, Book I of the Administrative Code of 1987, being a more recent law, governs the computation of legal periods with respect to counting “a year.”

Calendar Month

It is “a month designated in the calendar without regard to the number of days it may contain.” It is the “period of time running from the beginning of a certain numbered day of the next month, and if there is not sufficient number of days in the next month, then up to and including the last day of that month.”

Illustration: One calendar month from 31 Dec. 2007 will be from 01 Jan. 2008 to 31 Jan. 2008; one calendar month from 31 Jan. 2008 will be from 01 Feb. 2008 until 29 Feb. 2008. Hence, 12 calendar months from 31 Dec. 2007 is 31 Dec. 2008; while 12 calendar months from 31 Jan. 2008 to 31 Jan. 2009. (Rabuya, 2009)

• Month – 30 days, unless designated by their name, in which case, they shall be computed according to the number of days which they respectively have;
• Day – 24 hours;
• Nighttime – from sunset to sunrise;
• Week
• With reference to the calendar – Sunday through Saturday; or
• Without reference to the calendar – 7 successive days regardless of which day it would start.

NOTE: In the computation of period, the first day shall be excluded, and the last day included.

If the last day falls on a Sunday or a Legal Holiday

If the act to be performed within the period is:

• Prescribed or allowed by:
• The Rules of Court (ROC) – under Rule 22, Section 1, if the last day falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, the period runs until the end of the next day that is not a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday;
• An order of the court; or
• Any other applicable statute – check the applicable statute and rules before treating the deadline as extended.
• From a contractual relationship – The act will still become due despite the fact that the last day falls on a Sunday or a legal holiday. This is because obligations arising from contracts have the force of the law between the contracting parties. (Pineda, 2010)