RA 544

Civil Engineering Law

Group 5 | BSCE 3303
Republic Act No. 544
As amended by Republic Act 1582

An act to regulate the practice of Civil

Engineering in the Philippines
What is Civil Engineering?
A professional discipline that deals with the
design, construction and maintenance of the
physical and naturally built environment.
 What is a Law?
A system of rules that a particular country or
community recognizes as regulating the
actions of its members and may enforce by
the imposition of penalties.
Panfilo M. Lacson
Senator

Senate Bill No. 2770

“Civil engineers are currently confronted with

broader issues and they have to integrate
the socio-economic and environmental
issues with the technical aspects of the
construction projects.”
 To attune the law to the
01 needs for national
development

To strengthen the profession and

enable the civil engineers to cope

02 with the formidable challenges

brought about by globalization

Objectives and cross-border practice.

RA No. 544
Civil Engineering Law To continually upgrade the
03 level of competence of the
civil engineers
 To define more clearly the

04
practice of civil engineering in
the Philippines by foreign
nationals

To promote the growth of the consulting

05
sector by making it cognizant of the
international philosophy of multi-
disiciplinary consultancy services.

To remove a provision that

06
makes contracting of multi-
disciplinary consultancy services
unneccesarily difficult
Objectives
RA No. 544
Civil Engineering Law
To make the law better serve
07 and safeguard public
interest
Article I
Title of the Act and Definition of Terms
 Section 1
Title of Act

This Act shall be known as the “Civil

Engineering Law.”
Section 2
Definition of Terms

(a) The practice of civil engineering within

the meaning and intent of this Act shall
embrace services

(b) The term “civil engineer” as used in this

act shall mean a person duly registered
with the Board for Civil Engineers in the
manner as hereinafter provided
Article II
Board of Examiners for Civil Engineers
 Borcelle
Company

Section 3
Composition of Board

Chairman and two

Created 30 days after members who shall be
this Act’s approval appointed by the
President of the
Philippines, upon
recommendation of the
Commissioner of PRC
 Borcelle
Company

Section 3
Composition of Board

The members of the Any member of the

Board shall hold office Board may be removed
for a term of 3 years by the President of the
after appointment or until Philippines, upon
their successors shall recommendation by the
have been appointed and PRC
shall have qualified.
 Members of the Board

Praxedes P. Bernardo
Chairman

Romeo A. Estanero Pericles P. Dakay

Member Member
 To administer oaths, issue, suspend and
revoke certificates of registration for the
practice of civil engineering

Section 4
To issue certificates of recognition to civil
Powers and Duties of the Board
engineers already registered under this
Act

To investigate such violations of this Act

and the regulations
 To inspect at least once a year educational
institutions offering courses in civil
engineering, civil engineering works,
projects or corporations

Section 4
To discharge such other powers and
Powers and Duties of the Board duties as may affect ethical and
technological standards of the civil
engineering profession

The Director of Public Works and/or his

authorized representative in the provinces
and chartered cities shall be ex-officio
agents of the Board
 The Board may, with the approval of the
Professional Regulation Commission
issue such rules and regulations as may

Section 4 be deemed necessary to carry out the

provisions of this Act
Powers and Duties of the Board

Adopt a code of ethics in the practice of

civil engineering and have an official seal
to authenticate its official documents
 Section 5
Qualifications for Board Members

a. Be a citizen and b. Be at least thirty c. Be a graduate of civil d. Be a registered civil

resident of the years of age and of engineering from a engineer duly qualified
Philippines good moral character recognized and legally to practice civil
constituted school, engineering in the
institute, college or Philippines
university
 Section 5
Qualifications for Board Members

f. Not be a member of the g. No former members of the

e. Have practiced civil faculty of any school, faculty of any school,
engineering, with a institute, college, or institute or university where
certificate as such, for a university where civil civil engineering is taught
period of not less than engineering course is can become a member of
taught, nor have a the Board unless he had
ten years prior to his stopped teaching for at least
pecuniary interest in such
appointment. three consecutive years
institutions
 Section 6
Fees and Compensation of Board

Php 100 per examiner Another Php 50 for Each members of the
certificate of registration board shall recieve a
compensation of fifteen
pesos for each
applicant examined
Section 7
Annual Report

The Board shall, at the end of

each fiscal year, submit to the
PRC a detailed report of its
activities and proceedings
during the period covered by
the fiscal year ended.
Article III
Examination and Registration
 Section 8
Examination Requirement

All applicants for registration for the practice of

civil engineering shall berequired to pass a
technical examination as hereinafter provided.
Section 9
Holding of Examination

Given in the City of Manila of each year

(April & November)
 Section 10
Subjects of Examination

Design &
Mathematics Hydraulics Surveying Construction
algebra, plane and spherical highway and railroad highways and railroads, masonry
trigonometry, analytics, surveying; plane, topographic structures, wooden and reinforced
descriptive and solid and hydrographic surveying, concrete buildings, bridges,
geometry, differential and and advance surveying towers, walls, foundations, piers,
integral calculus, and rational ports, wharves, aqueducts,
and applied mechanics sanitary engineering works, water
supply systems, dikes, dams and
irrigation and drainage canals
 Section 11
Executive Officer of the Board

The Commissioner of Professional

Regulation Commission shall be the
executive officer of the Board and
shall conduct the examinations given
by the said Board.
 01 Be at least twenty-one years of age

02
Section 12 Be a citizen of the Philippines

Qualifications for Examination

Be of good reputation and
03 moral character

Be a graduate of a four-year course in civil

04 engineering from a school, institute, college or

university recognized by the Government or the
State wherein it is established
Section 13
Oath of Civil Engineers

All successful candidates in the

examination shall be required to take a
professional oath before the Board of
Civil Engineers or other Government
Officials authorized to administer oaths,
prior to entering upon the practice of the
civil engineering profession
 Section 14
Seal and Use of Seal

All registered civil The serial number It shall be unlawful

engineers shall of the certificate for any one to stamp
obtain a seal of issued by the or seal any
such design as the Board shall be documents with said
Board shall included in the seal after the
authorize and design of the seal certificate of
registrant named
direct
thereon has expired
or has been revoked
 Section 15
Exemption from Registration

1. Registration shall not be required of the following persons:

a. Officers or enlisted men of the US and

Philippine Armed Forces

for consultation, or specific

and civilian employees of design and construction of
the Government of the fixed structures as defined
United States stationed in under this Act, provided
the Philippines while that their practice shall be
rendering civil engineering limited to such work.
services for the United
States and/or Philippines.
b. Civil engineers or experts called in by the
Philippine Government
Section 15
Exemption from Registration

2. Any person residing in the Philippines may make

plans on specifications for any of the following:

a. b. c.

Any building in Any wooden building

chartered cities or in Provided, however
enlargement or
towns with building that there shall be
alteration which is to
ordinances, not nothing in this Act
be used for farm
exceeding the space that will prevent any
purposes only and
requirement specified person from
costingnot more than
therein, requiring the constructing his own
ten thousand pesos.
services of a civil (wooden or light
engineer. material) residential
house
 Section 15
Exemption from Registration

3. Nor shall anything in this Act prevent

draftsmen, student clerk-or-work,
superintendents, and other employees of
those lawfully engaged in the practice of
civil engineering under the provisions of
this Act, from acting under the instruction,
control or supervision of their employer.
 Section 15
Exemption from Registration

4. Nor shall anything in this Act prevent any person who prior to
the approval of this Act have been lawfully engaged in the
practice of “maestro de obras” to continue as such, provided
they shall not undertake the making of plans supervision for the
following classes of work:

a. Building of concrete b. Building of more than two

whether reinforced or not stories.

c. Building with frames of d. Building of structures

structural steel. intended for public gathering
or assemblies
Section 15
Exemption from Registration

5. Nor shall anything in this Act prevent

professional architects and engineers to
practice their professions.
 Section 16
Refusal to Issue Certificate

The Board for Civil Engineers shall not

issue a certificate to any person convicted
by a court of competent jurisdiction of any
criminal offense
 Section 17
Suspension and Revocation of Certificates

The Board shall have the power, after due notice and
hearings to suspend or revoke the certificate of
registration for any cause mentioned in the preceding
section.
Section 18
Re-issue and Replacement of Certificates

The Board may, after the expiration of one

year from the date of certificate of registration
is revoked and for reasons it may deem
sufficient, entertain an application for a new
certificate of registration from the registrant
concerned.
 As soon as this Act takes effect, any person desiring to practice
Section 19 the profession of civil engineering shall be required to obtain a
certificate of registration
Transitory
Provisions

All graduates in civil engineering from a school, institute, college,

or university recognized by the Government who have passed
the civil service examination for senior civil engineer and have
been practicing or employed in the Government as such during
five years are exempted from taking examination.
Article IV
Enforcement of Act and Penal
Provisions
 Section 20
Enforcement of the Act
by Officers of the Law

It shall be the duty of all duly constituted law officers of

the national, provincial, city and municipal governments,
or any political subdivisions thereof, to enforce the
provisions of this Act and to prosecute any person
violating the same.
Section 21
Registration required

Unless exempt from registration, no

person shall practice or offer to practice
civil engineering in the Philippines
without having obtained the proper
certificate of registration from the Board
for Civil Engineers.
 Section 22
Penal Provisions

Any person who shall Any person presenting or Any person who shall
practice or offer to attempting to use as his give any false or forged
practice civil engineering own the certificate of evidence of any kind to
in the Philippines without registration of a the Board
being registered in registered civil engineer
accordance with the
provisions of this Act
 Section 22
Penal Provisions

Any person who shall Any person who shall Any person who shall
impersonate any use in connection with violate any of the
registrant civil engineer his name or otherwise provision of this Act
of different name or any assume, use or advertise
person who shall attempt any title or description
to use a revoked or tending to convey the
suspended certificate of impression that he is a
registration civil engineer
 Section 22
Penal Provisions

Sentenced to a fine of not less than five

hundred pesos nor more than two thousand
pesos, or to suffer imprisonment for a period of
not less than six months not more than one
year, or both, in the discretion of the court.
Article V
Miscellaneous Provisions
 Section 23
Preparation of Plans and Supervisions of Construction by
Registered Civil Engineer

Construction, Reconstruction, or Alteration

 Section 24
The practice of civil engineering is a professional
service, admission to which must be determined
upon individual, personal qualifications.
 Section 25
Reciprocity requirements
 Section 26
Roster of civil engineers
Section 27
Repeal

All laws, parts of laws, orders, ordinances, or

regulations in conflict with the provisions hereof;
including parts of Act Numbered Twenty-nine
hundred and eighty-five, as amended, as pertains
to the practice of civil engineering, are hereby
repealed, except the provisions of Act Numbered
Thirtyone hundred and fifty nine amending Act
Numbered Twenty-nine hundred and eighty-five,
pertaining to the practice of maestro de obras.
 Section 28
Construction of Act

If any part or section of this Act shall

be declared unconstitutional, such
declarations shall not invalidate the
other provisions hereof.
 Section 29
Effectivity

This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

Approved, June 17, 1950 (As amended by

R.A. No. 1582, approved on
June 16, 1956)
Thank You
Group 5 | BSCE 3303

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