Legal Codification of Family-Related Filipino Proverbs (Salawikain) in the Civil Code of the Philippines, 1947-1949

The Civil Code of the Philippines became the foundation of civil law in the postwar Philippines. In legal history, it is a common understanding that the Civil Code was heavily derived from the Spanish legal system. This article aims to highlight the Filipino element and Filipino contribution to the development of its legal system. This article shows that two proverbs (salawikain), “ang lahat ng tao mag-away man huwag ang mag-asawa sa loob ng bahay” (the whole world may quarrel but not the husband and wife at home) and “ang sakit ng kalingkingan, damdam ng buong katawan” (the pain of the little finger is felt by the whole body), were transformed as provisions in the Civil Code (1949) such as “the family is a basic social institution which public policy cherishes and protects” (art. 216) and “the law governs family relations. No custom, practice, or agreement which is destructive of the family shall be recognized or given any effect” (art. 218). The legal luminary Jorge C. Bocobo, who served as Chair of the Code Commission tasked to design a new civil code from 1947 to 1949, has been instrumental in the codification of proverbs in civil law due to his prior interest and engagement in collecting Filipino proverbs. These provisions exist up to this day in the Family Code of the Philippines (1987) and the 1987 Constitution and remain relevant in the governance of Filipino families. Familiarity with Philippine folklore could serve as an unconventional but important way to understand their own laws.