Republic Act No.

544*
(As Amended by R.A. 1582)

An Act to Regulate the Practice of Civil Engineering

in the Philippines

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of

the Philippines in Congress assembled:

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 in the form of consultation, design,
preparation of plans, specifications, estimates, erection, installation
and supervision of the construction of streets, bridges, highways,
railroads, airports and hangars, port works, canals, river and
shore improvements, lighthouses, and dry docks; buildings, fixed
structures for irrigation, flood protection, drainage, water supply and
sewerage works; demolition of permanent structures; and tunnels. The
enumeration of any work in this section shall not be construed as
excluding any other work requiring civil engineering knowledge and
application.

(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

Section 3. Composition of Board.” Within thirty days after the

approval of this Act there shall be created a Board of Examiners for
Civil Engineers, hereinafter referred to as the Board, to be composed
of a chairman and two members who shall be appointed by the
President of the Philippines, upon recommendation of the
Commissioner of PRC. The members of the Board shall hold office for a
term of three years after appointment or until their successors shall
have been appointed and shall have qualified. The first members of the
Board appointed under this Act shall hold office for the following
terms: One member for one year; one member for two years; and one
member for three years. Each member of the Board shall qualify by
taking the proper oath of office before entering upon the performance
of his duties. Any member of the Board may be removed by the
President of the Philippines, upon recommendation by the Professional
Regulation Commission for neglect of duty, incompetency,
malpractice, unprofessional, unethical, immoral, or dishonorable
conduct, after having been given opportunity to defend himself in a
proper administrative investigation: Provided, That during the

process of investigation, the President of the Philippines, upon the

recommendation of the PRC, shall have the power to suspend such
member under investigation and shall appoint a temporary member in
his place. Vacancies in the Board shall be filled for the un expired term
only.

Section 4. Powers and Duties of the Board.” The Board for

Civil Engineers is vested with authority, conformable with the
provisions of this Act, to administer oaths, issue, suspend and revoke
certificates of registration for the practice of civil engineering, issue
certificates of recognition to civil engineers already registered under
this Act for advanced studies, research, and/or highly specialized
training in any branch of civil engineering subject to the approval of
the PRC, to investigate such violations of this Act and the regulations,
there under as may come to the knowledge of the Board and, for this
purpose, issue subpoena and subpoena duces tecum to secure
appearance of witnesses in connection with the charges presented to
the Board, to inspect at least once a year educational institutions
offering courses in civil engineering, civil engineering works, projects
or corporations, established in the Philippines and, for safeguarding of
life, health and property, to discharge such other powers and duties as
may affect ethical and technological standards of the civil engineering
profession in the Philippines. For the purpose of this Act, the Director
of Public Works and/or his authorized representative in the provinces
and chartered cities shall be ex-officio agents of the Board and as

such it shall be their duty to help in the enforcement of the provisions

of this Act. The Board may, with the approval of the Professional
Regulation Commission issue such rules and regulations as may be
deemed necessary to carry out the provisions of this Act. The board
shall also adopt a code of ethics in the practice of civil engineering
and have an official seal to authenticate its official documents.
Section 5. Qualifications of Board Members.” Each member
of the Board shall, at the time of his appointment:

a. Be a citizen and resident of the Philippines;

b. Be at least thirty years of age and of good moral character;

c. Be a graduate of civil engineering from a recognized and legally

constituted school, institute, college or university.

d. Be a registered civil engineer duly qualified to practice civil

engineering in the Philippines;

e. Have practiced civil engineering, with a certificate as such, for a

period of not less than ten years prior to his appointment.

f. Not be a member of the faculty of any school, institute, college, or

university where civil engineering course is taught, nor have a
pecuniary interest in such institutions;

g. No former members of the faculty of any school, institute or

university where civil engineering is taught can become a member of
the Board unless he had stopped teaching for at least three
consecutive years.

Section 6. Fees and Compensation of Board.” The Board for

Civil Engineers shall charge for each application for examination the
sum of P100 (one hundred) payable to the collecting and disbursing
officer of the PRC upon filing of said application, and for each
certificate of registration, fifty pesos. Each member of the Board shall
receive a compensation of fifteen pesos for each applicant examined.
A civil engineer in the service of the Government of the Republic of the
Philippines appointed as member of the Board shall receive the
compensation as herein provided, in addition to his salary in the
Government. All authorized expenses of the Board, including the
compensation provided for herein, shall be paid by the collecting and
disbursing officer of the PRC out of such appropriation as may be made
for the purpose. (See RA 6511 & PD 223)

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.” Examination of candidates

desiring to practice civil engineering in the Philippines shall be given
in the City of Manila of each year, provided that such days do not fall
on official holidays, otherwise the examinations shall be held on the
days next following.

Section 10. Subjects of Examination.” Applicants for certificate

of registration as civil engineer shall be examined, in the discretion of
the Board, on the following subjects: mathematics, including algebra,
plane and spherical trigonometry, analytics, descriptive and solid
geometry, differential and integral calculus, and rational and applied
mechanics; hydraulics; surveying, including highway and railroad
surveying; plane, topographic and hydrographic surveying, and
advance surveying; design and construction of highways and railroads,
masonry structures, wooden and reinforced concrete buildings,
bridges, towers, walls, foundations, piers, ports, wharves, aqueducts,
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.
He shall designate any subordinate officer of the Professional
Regulation Commission to act as the Secretary and custodian of all
records including examination papers and minutes of the deliberation
of the Board.

Section 12. Qualifications for Examination.” Any person applying

for admission to the civil engineering examination as herein provided
shall, prior to the date of the examination, establish to the satisfaction
of the Board that he has the following qualifications:

a. Be at least twenty-one years of age;

b. Be a citizen of the Philippines;

c. Be of good reputation and moral character; and

d. Be a graduate of a four-year course in civil 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 engineers
shall obtain a seal of such design as the Board shall authorize and
direct: Provided, however, That the serial number of the certificate
issued by the Board shall be included in the design of the seal. Plans
and specifications prepared by, or under the direct supervision of a
registered civil engineer shall be stamped with said seal during the life
of the registrant’s certificate, and it shall be unlawful for any one to
stamp or seal any documents with said seal after the certificate of
registrant named thereon has expired or has been revoked, unless said
certificate shall have been renewed or re-issued.

Section 15. Exemption from Registration.”

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

a. Officers or enlisted men of the United States and Philippine Armed

Forces, and civilian employees of the Government of the United States
stationed in the Philippines while rendering civil engineering services
for the United States and/or Philippines.

b. Civil engineers or experts called in by the Philippine Government for

consultation, or specific design and construction of fixed structures as
defined under this Act, provided that their practice shall be limited to
such work.

2. Any person residing in the Philippines may make plans on

specifications for any of the following:

a. Any building in chartered cities or in towns with building ordinances,

not exceeding the space requirement specified therein, requiring the
services of a civil engineer.

b. Any wooden building enlargement or alteration which is to be used

for farm purposes only and costing not more than ten thousand pesos.

c. Provided, however. That there shall be nothing in this Act that will
prevent any person from constructing his own (wooden or light
material) residential house, utilizing the services of a person or
persons required for the purpose, without the use of a civil engineer,
as long as he does no violate local ordinances of the place where the
building is to be constructed.

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.
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 whether reinforced or not.

b. Building of more than two stories.

c. Building with frames of structural steel.

d. Building of structures intended for public gathering or assemblies

such as theaters, cinematographs, stadia, churches, or structures of
like nature.

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 involving moral
turpitude, or to any person guilty of immoral or dishonorable conduct,
or to any person guilty of immoral or dishonorable conduct, or to any
person of unsound mind. In the event of a refusal to issue a certificate
to any person, the Board shall give to the applicant a written
statement setting forth its reason for such action, which statement
shall be incorporated in the records of the Board.

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. Such application shall be

accomplished in the same form prescribed for examination,

but the Board may, in its discretion, exempt the

applicant from taking the requisite

examination.

Section 19. Transitory Provisions.” As soon as this

Act takes effect, any person desiring to practice the

profession of civil engineering shall be required to obtain a

certificate of registration in the manner and under

the conditions hereinafter provided. All civil engineers duly

licensed under the provisions of Act Numbered

Twenty-nine hundred and eighty-five, as amended, at the

time this Act takes effect, shall be automatically

registered under the provisions hereof. Certificates of

registration held by such persons in good standing shall

have the same force and effect as though the same have
been issued under the provisions of this Act. 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
practice or offer to practice civil engineering in the

Philippines without being registered in accordance with the

provisions of this Act or any person presenting or

attempting to use as his own the certificate of registration

of a registered civil engineer, or any person who shall

give any false or forged evidence of any kind to the Board, or

any person who shall impersonate any registrant

civil engineer of different name or any person who shall

attempt to use a revoked or suspended certificate of

registration, or any person who shall use in connection with

his name or otherwise assume, use or advertise

any title or description tending to convey the impression

that he is a civil engineer, without holding a valid

certificate of registration, or any person who shall violate

any of the provision of this Act, shall be guilty of a

misdemeanor and shall, upon conviction, be 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.” It shall

be unlawful for any person to order or otherwise cause the

construction, reconstruction, or alteration of any

building or structure intended for public gathering or

assembly such as theaters, cinematographs, stadia,

churches or structures of like nature, and any other

engineering structures mentioned in section two of this Act

unless the designs, plans, and specifications of same have

been prepared under the responsible charge of, and

signed and sealed by a registered civil engineer, and unless

the construction, reconstruction and/or alteration

thereof are executed under the responsible charge and

direct supervision of a civil engineer. Plans and designs

of structures must be approved as provided by law or

ordinance of a city or province or municipality where the

said structure is to be constructed.

Section 24. The practice of civil engineering is a

professional service, admission to which must be
determined upon individual, personal qualifications. Hence,
no firm, partnership, corporation or association may

be registered or licensed as such for the practice of civil

engineering: Provided, however, That persons properly

registered and licensed as civil engineers may, among

themselves or with a person or persons properly

registered and licensed as architects, form, and obtain

registration of, a firm, partnership or association using

the term “Engineers” or “Engineers and Architects,” but,

nobody shall be a member or partner of such firm,

partnership or association unless he is duly licensed civil

engineer or architect, and the members who are civil

engineers shall only render work and services proper for a

civil engineer, as defined in this Act, and the

members who are architects shall also only render work and
services proper for an architect, as defined in the

law regulating the practice of architecture; individual

members of such firms, partnership or association shall be

responsible for their own respective acts.

Section 25. Reciprocity requirements.” No person who is not

a citizen of the Philippines at the time he

applies to take the examination shall be allowed to take it

unless he can prove in the manner provided by the

Rules of Court that, by specific provision of law, the country

of which he is a citizen, subject, or national either
admits citizens of the Philippines to the practice of the same
profession without restriction or allows them to

practice it after an examination on terms of strict and

absolute equality with citizens, subjects, or nationals of the

country concerned, including the unconditional recognition

of degrees issued by institutions of learning duly

recognized for the purpose by the Government of the

Philippines: Provided, That if he is not a citizen of the

Philippines, and was admitted to the practice of a profession

in the Philippines after December 8, 1941, his

active practice in that profession, either in the Philippines or

in the state or country where he was practicing his

profession, shall not have been interrupted for a period of

two years or more prior to July 4, 1946, and that the

country or state from which he comes allows the citizens of

the Philippines by specific provision of law, to

practice the same profession without restriction or on terms

of strict and absolute equality with citizens, subjects

or nationals of the country or state concerned.

Section 26. Roster of civil engineers.” A roster

showing the names and places of business of all

registered civil engineers shall be prepared by the

Commissioner of PRC periodically but at least once a year.

Copies of this roster shall be placed on file with the PRC and
furnished to all department heads, mayors of all
chartered cities, to the Director of Public Works, to such
other Bureaus, government entities or agencies and

municipal and provincial authorities as may be deemed

necessary and to the public upon request.

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).

xxxx…..xxxxx…….xxxx…....xxxx
 Civil Engineering Law
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. —

The practice of civil engineering within
the meaning and intent of this Act shall embrace services in
the form of consultation, design, preparation of plans,
specifications, estimates, erection, installation and
supervision of the construction of streets, bridges,

highways, railroads, airports and hangars, portworks,

canals, river and shore improvements, lighthouses, and dry
docks; buildings, fixed structures for irrigation, flood
protection, drainage, water supply and sewerage works;
demolition of permanent structures; and tunnels. The
enumeration of any work in this section shall not be
construed as excluding any other work requiring civil
engineering knowledge and application.
The term "civil engineer" as used in this Act shall mean a
person duly registered with the Board of Examiners for Civil
Engineers in the manner as hereinafter provided.

Article II
Board Of Examiners For Civil Engineers
Section 3 Composition of Board. — Within thirty days after
the approval of this Act there shall be created a Board of
Examiners for Civil Engineers, hereinafter referred to as the
Board, to be composed of a chairman and two members who
shall be appointed by the Secretary of Public Works and
Communications. The members of the Board shall hold office
for a term of three years after appointment or until their
successors shall have been appointed and shall have duly
qualified. The first members of the Board appointed under
this Act shall hold office for the following terms: One
member for one year; one member for two years; and one
member for three years. Each member of the Board shall
qualify the proper oath of office before entering upon the
performance of his duties. Any members of the Board may
be removed by the Secretary of Public Works and
Communications for neglect of duty, incompetency,
malpractice, unprofessional, unethical, immoral, or
dishonorable conduct, after having been given opportunity to
defend himself in a proper administrative investigation:
Provided, That during the process of investigation the
Secretary of Public Works and Communications shall have
the power to suspend such member under investigation and
shall appoint a temporary member in his place. Vacancies in
the Board shall be filled for the unexpired term only.

Section 4 Powers and duties of the Board. — The Board

of Examiners for Civil Engineers is vested with authority,
conformable with the provisions of this Act, to administer
oaths, issue, suspend and revoke certificates of registration
for the practice of civil engineering, issue certificates of
recognition to civil engineers already registered under this
Act for advanced studies, research, and/or highly specialized
training in any branch of civil engineering, subject to the
approval of the Secretary of Public Works and
Communications, to investigate such violations of this Act
and the regulations, thereunder as may come to the
knowledge of the Board and, for this purpose, issue
subpoena and subpoena duces tecum to secure appearance
of witnesses in connection with the charges presented to
the Board, to inspect at least once a year educational
institutions offering courses in civil engineering, civil
engineering works, projects or corporations, established in
the Philippines and, for safe-guarding of life, health and
property, to discharge such other powers and duties as may
affect ethical and technological standards of the civil
engineering profession in the Philippines. For the purpose of
this Act, the Director of Public Works and/or his authorized
representative in the provinces and chartered cities shall be
ex-officio agents of the Board and as such it shall be their
duty to help in the enforcement of the provisions of this Act.
The Board may, with the approval of the Secretary of Public
Works and Communications, issue such rules and
regulations as may be deemed necessary to carry out the
provisions of this Act. The Board shall also adopt a code of
ethics in the practice of civil engineering and have an
official seal to authenticate its official documents.

Section 5 Qualifications of Board members. — Each

member of the Board shall, at the time of his appointment:

Be a citizen and resident of the Philippines;

Be at least thirty years of age and of good moral character;

Be a graduate of civil engineering from a recognized and

legally constituted school, institute, college or university;

Be a registered civil engineer duly qualified to practice civil

engineering in the Philippines;

Have practiced civil engineering, with a certificate as such,

for a period of not less than ten years prior to his
appointment;
Not be a member of the faculty of any school, institute,
college, or university where the civil engineering course is
taught, nor have a pecuniary interest in such institutions;

No former members of the faculty of any school, institute or

university where civil engineering is taught can become a
member of the Board unless he had stopped teaching for at
least consecutive years.

Section 6 Fees and compensation of Board. — The

Board of Examiners for Civil Engineers shall charge for each
application for examination the sum of forty pesos payable
to the collecting and disbursing officer of the Bureau of Civil
Service upon filing of said application for examination, and
for each certificate of registration, twenty pesos. Each
member of the Board shall receive a compensation of five
pesos for each applicant examined. A civil engineer in the
service of the Government of the Republic of the Philippines
appointed as member of the Board shall receive the
compensation as herein provided, in addition to his salary in
the Government. All authorized expenses of the Board,
including the compensation provided for herein, shall be
paid by the collecting and disbursing officer of the Bureau of
Civil Service out of such appropriation as may be made for
the purpose.
Section 7 Annual report. — The Board shall, at the end
of each fiscal year, submit to the Secretary of Public Works
and Communications 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 be
required to pass a technical examination as hereinafter
provided.

Section 9 Holding of examination. — Examination of

candidates desiring to practice city engineering in the
Philippines shall be given in the City of Manila beginning the
second Monday of February and August of each year,
provided that such days do not fall on official holidays,
otherwise the examinations shall be held on the days next
following.

Section 10 Subjects of examination. — Applicants for

certificates of registration as civil engineer shall be
examined, in the discretion of the Board, on the following
subjects: mathematics, including algebra , plane and
spherical trigonometry , analytics ,
descriptive and solid geometry ,
differential and integral calculus , and
rational and applied mechanics ;
hydraulics , surveying , including highway
and railroad surveying ; plane, topographic
and hydrographic surveying , and advance
surveying ; design and construction of
highways and railroads, masonry
structures, wooden and reinforced
concrete buildings, bridges, towers, walls,
foundations, piers, ports, wharves,
aqueducts, sanitary engineering works,
water supply systems, dikes, dams, and
irrigation and drainage canals .

Section 11 Executive officer of the Board. — The

Commissioner of Civil Service shall be the executive officer
of the Board and shall conduct the examinations given by
said Board. He shall designate any subordinate officer of the
Bureau of Civil Service to act as the Secretary and
custodian of all records including examination papers and
minutes of the deliberation of the Board.

Section 12 Qualifications for examination. — Any

person applying for admission to the civil engineering
examination as herein provided shall, prior to the date of the
examination, establish to the satisfaction of the Board that
he has the following qualifications:

Be at least twenty-one years of age;

Be a citizen of the Philippines;

Be of good reputation and moral character; and

Be a graduate of a four-year course in civil 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 Examiners for 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

engineers shall obtain a seal of such design as the Board
shall authorize and direct: Provided, however, That the serial
number of the certificate issued by the Board shall be
included in the design of the seal. Plans and specifications
prepared by, or under the direct supervision of a registered
civil engineer shall be stamped with said seal during the life
of the registrant's certificate, and it shall be unlawful for any
one to stamp or seal any documents with said seal after the
certificate of the registrant named thereon has expired or
has been revoked, unless said certificate shall have been
renewed or re-issued.

Section 15 Exemption from registration. —Registration

shall not be required of the following persons:

Officers or enlisted men of the United States and Philippine

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

Any person residing in the Philippines may make plans or

specifications for any of the following:

Any building in chartered cities or in towns with building

ordinances, not exceeding the space requirement specified
therein, requiring the services of a civil engineer.

Any wooden building enlargement or alteration which is to

be used for farm purposes only and costing not more than
ten thousand pesos.

Provided, however, That there shall be nothing in this Act

that will prevent any person from constructing his own
(wooden or light material) residential house, utilizing the
services of a person or persons required for that purpose,
without the use of a civil engineer, as long as he does not
violate local ordinances of the place where the building is to
be constructed.

Nor shall anything in this Act prevent draftsmen, student

clerk-of-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.

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 be obras" to continue as such, provided
they shall not undertake the making of plans supervision for
the following classes of work:

Building of concrete whether reinforced or not.

Building of more than two stories.

Building with frames of structural steel.

Building of structures intended for public gathering or

assemblies such as theaters, cinematographs, stadia,
churches, or structures of like nature.

Nor shall anything in this Act prevent professional architects

and engineers to practice their professions.
Section 16 Refusal to issue certificate. — The Board of
Examiners for Civil Engineers shall not issue a certificate to
any person convicted by a court of competent jurisdiction of
any criminal offense involving moral turpitude, or to any
person guilty of immoral or dishonorable conduct, or to any
person of unsound mind. In the event of a refusal to issue a
certificate to any person, the Board shall give to the
applicant a written statement setting forth its reason for
such action, which statement shall be incorporated in the
records of the Board.

Section 17 Suspension and revocation of certificates.

— Subject to the approval of the Secretary of Public Works
and Communications, the Board shall have the power, after
due notice and hearing, 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 a 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.
Such application shall be accomplished in the same form
prescribed for examination, but the Board may, in its
discretion, exempt the applicant from taking the requisite
examination.
Section 19 Transitory provisions. — As soon as this
Act takes effect, any person desiring to practice the
profession of civil engineering shall be required to obtain a
certificate of registration in the manner and under the
conditions hereinafter provided.

All civil engineers duly licensed under the provisions of Act

Numbered Twenty-nine hundred and eighty-five, as
amended, at the time this Act takes effect, shall be
automatically registered under the provisions hereof.
Certificates of registration held by such persons in good
standing shall have the same force and effect as though the
same have been issued under the provisions of this Act.

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 practising 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 subdivision 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 of Examiners for Civil Engineers.

Section 22 Penal provisions. — Any person who shall

practice or offer to practice civil engineering in the
Philippines without being registered in accordance with the
provisions of this Act or any person presenting or attempting
to use as his own the certificate of registration of a
registered civil engineer, or any person who shall give any
false or forged evidence of any kind to the Board, or any
person who shall impersonate any registrant civil engineer
of different name, or any person who shall attempt to use a
revoked or suspended certificate of registration, or any
person who shall use in connection with his name or
otherwise assume, use or advertise any title or description
tending to convey the impression that he is a civil engineer,
without holding a valid certificate of registration, or any
person who shall violate any of the provisions of this Act,
shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and shall, upon conviction,
be 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 nor
more than one year, or both, in the discretion of the court.

Article V
Miscellaneous Provisions
Section 23 Preparation of plans and supervision of
construction by registered civil engineer. —

It shall be unlawful for any person to order or otherwise

cause the construction, reconstruction, or alteration of any
building or structure intended for public gathering or
assembly such as theaters, cinematographs, stadia,
churches or structures of like nature, and any other
engineering structures mentioned in section two of this Act
unless the designs, plans, and specifications of same have
been prepared under the responsible charge of, and signed
and sealed by a registered civil engineer, and unless the
construction, reconstruction and/or alteration thereof are
executed under the responsible charge and direct
supervision of a civil engineer. Plans and designs of
structures must be approved as provided by law or
ordinance of a city or province or municipality where the
said structure is to be constructed.
Section 24 as last updated by RA 1582 (1956)
The practice of civil engineering is a professional service,
admission to which must be determined upon individual,
personal qualifications. Hence, no firm, partnership,
corporation or association may be registered or licensed as
such for the practice of civil engineering: Provided, however,
That persons properly registered and licensed as civil
engineers may, among themselves or with a person or
persons properly registered and licensed as architects,
form, and obtain registration of, a firm, partnership or
association using the term "Engineers" or "Engineers and
Architects," but, nobody shall be a member or partner of
such firm, partnership or association unless he is a duly
licensed civil engineer or architect, and the members who
are civil engineers shall only render work and services
proper for a civil engineer, as defined in this Act, and the
members who are architects shall also only render work and
services proper for an architect, as defined in the law
regulating the practice of architecture; individual members
of such firms, partnership or association shall be
responsible for their own respective acts.

Section 25 Reciprocity requirements. — No person

who is not a citizen of the Philippines at the time he applies
to take examination shall be allowed to take it unless he
can prove in the manner provided by the Rules of Court that,
by specific provision of law, the country of which he is a
citizen, subject, or national either admits citizens of the
Philippines to the practice of the same profession without
restriction or allows them to practice it after an examination
on terms of strict and absolute equality with citizens,
subjects, or nationals of the country concerned, including
the unconditional recognition of degrees issued by
institutions of learning duly recognized for the purpose by
the Government of the Philippines: Provided, That if he is not
a citizen of the Philippines, and was admitted to the practice
of a profession in the Philippines after December 8, 1941, his
active practice in that profession, either in the Philippines or
in the state or country where he was practicing his
profession, shall not have been interrupted for a period of
two years or more prior to July 4, 1946, and that the country
or state from which he comes allows the citizens of the
Philippines by specific provision of law, to practice the same
profession without restriction or on terms of strict and
absolute equality with citizens, subjects or nationals of the
country or state concerned.

Section 26 Roster of civil engineers. — A roster

showing the names and places of business of all registered
civil engineers shall be prepared by the Commissioner of
Civil Service periodically but at least once a year. Copies of
this roster shall be placed on file with the Secretary of
Public Works and Communications and furnished to all
department heads, mayors of all chartered cities, to the
Director of Public Works, to such other Bureaus, government
entities or agencies and municipal and provincial authorities
as may be deemed necessary and to the public upon
request.

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 Thirty-one 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
declaration shall not invalidate the other provisions hereof.

Section 29 Effectivity. — This Act shall take effect

upon its approval.