G.R. No. 146322. December 6, 2006. * ERNESTO RAMAS UYPITCHING and RAMAS UYPITCHING SONS, INC., petitioners, vs. ERNESTO QUIAMCO, respondent.

 Civil Law; Mortgages; Possession; There is a well-defined procedure for the recovery of possession of mortgaged property: if a mortgagee is unable to obtain possession of a mortgaged property for its sale of foreclosure, he must bring a civil action either to recover such possession as a preliminary step to the sale, or to obtain judicial foreclosure.—True, a mortgagee may take steps to recover the mortgaged property to enable it to enforce or protect its foreclosure right thereon. There is, however, a well-defined procedure for the recovery of possession of mortgaged property: if a mortgagee is unable to obtain possession of a mortgaged property for its sale on foreclosure, he must bring a civil action either to recover such possession as a preliminary step to the sale, or to obtain judicial foreclosure.

Abuse of Right; Human Relations; Article 19, also known as the “principle of abuse of right” prescribes that a person should not use his right unjustly or contrary to honesty and good faith, otherwise he opens himself to liability.—The basic principle of human relations, embodied in Article 19 of the Civil Code, provides: Art. 19. Every person must in the exercise of his rights and in the performance of his duties, act with justice, give every one his due, and observe honesty and good faith. Article 19, also known as the “principle of abuse of right,” prescribes that a person should not use his right unjustly or contrary to honesty and good faith, otherwise he opens himself to liability. It seeks to preclude the use of, or the tendency to use, a legal right (or duty) as a means to unjust ends. Same; There is an abuse of right when it is exercised solely to prejudice or injure another.—There is an abuse of right when it is exercised solely to prejudice or injure another. The exercise of a right must be in accordance with the purpose for which it was established and must not be excessive or unduly harsh; there must be no inten-

tion to harm another. Otherwise, liability for damages to the injured party will attach.

 Honeste vivere, non alterum laedere et jus suum cuique tribuere. To live virtuously, not to injure others and to give everyone his due. These supreme norms of justice are the underlying principles of law and order in society. We reaffirm them in this petition for review on certiorari assailing the July 26, 2000 decision 1 and October 18, 2000 resolution of the Court of Appeals (CA) in CA-G.R. CV No. 47571. In 1982, respondent Ernesto C. Quiamco was approached by Juan Davalan, 2 Josefino Gabutero and Raul Generoso to amicably settle the civil aspect of a criminal case for robbery 3 filed by Quiamco against them. They surrendered to him a red Honda XL-100 motorcycle and a photocopy of its certificate of registration. Respondent asked for the original certifi-