CIVIL ENGINEERING LAW

Republic Act No. 544

Approved, June 17, 1950 (As amended by
R. A 1582, approved on June 16, 1956)
 ARTICLE I.
TITLE OF THE ACT AND DEFINITION OF TERMS
Section 1. Title of Act.
This 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 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 dishonest 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 recommendation by 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. Power and Duties of the Board
The Board of Civil Engineers is vested with authority,
comfortable with the provisions of this Act, to administer oath, 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 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 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: Qualification 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 practice civil engineering, with a certificate as such, for
a period of not less than ten years prior to his appointment.
f) Not a member of the faculty of any school, institute or
university where civil engineering 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 stop teaching for at
least three consecutive years.
Section 6: Fees and compensation of board.
The board of civil engineers shall charge for each
application for examination the sum of P100(one
hundred) payable of 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 as a member as a member of the board shall
receive the compensation as herein provided in addition
to his salary in the government. All authorized e the
expenses of the board, including, the compensation
provided 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 be required to pass a
technical examination as herein after 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.
Application 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 soil
geometry, differential and integral calculus, and
rational and applied mechanics; 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, pier, ports,
wharves, aqueducts, sanitary engineering works,
water supply system, 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 deliberation of the board.
Section 12. Qualification For Examination.
Any person applying for admission to the
civil engineering examination as heir in
provided shall, prior to the date of the
examination, establish to the satisfaction of the
board that 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 four-year course in civil
engineering in from school, institute,
collage 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 anyone 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 reissued.
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 not
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 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 on 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.
 ARICLE 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 misdemeanour 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 theatres, 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, administration to which must be determined upon
individual, personal qualifications. Hence, no firm,
partnership, corporation or association may be registered or
licensed as such as for the practice of civil engineering:
provided, however, that persons properly registered and
licensed as civil engineers may, among themselves or with a
person to 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 member
who are civil engineers shall only render work and services
proper for a civil engineer, as defined in this act, and the
member who are architects shall only render work and
services proper for architects, 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. The 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 citizen 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
citizen, subjects, or nationals of the country concerned, including
the unconditional recognition of degrees issued by institutions of
learning duly recognized for purpose by the Government of the
Philippines: provided, that if he is not a citizen of the Philippine, 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 practice in
that 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 eight-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 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)