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Presidential Decree/Republic Act concerning Civil Engineering

PURPOSE OF STUDY
• To learn more about Presidential Decree/Republic Act concerning Civil Engineering.
• To give us a better knowledge of what are of Presidential decree/Republic Act
concerning Civil Engineering.

REPUBLIC ACT NO. 544

REPUBLIC ACT NO. 544 - AN ACT TO REGULATE THE PRACTICE OF
CIVIL ENGINEERING IN THE PHILIPPINES

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."
Sec. 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, ports 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.

(b) 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

Sec. 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,
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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.
Sec. 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.
Sec. 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 the 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 consecutive
years.
Sec. 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,
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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.
Sec. 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

Sec. 8. Examination requirement. – All applicants for registration for the practice of civil
engineering shall be required to pass a technical examination as hereinafter provided.
Sec. 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:
(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.
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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 anyone 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. – (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 or 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 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.
(3) 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.
(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 be 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 storeys.
(c) Building with frames of structural steel.
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(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 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

Sec. 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.
Sec. 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.
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Sec. 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

Sec. 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.
Sec. 24. Firms and corporations engaged in civil engineering practice. – A firm, partnership,
corporation, or association may engage in the practice of civil engineering in the Philippines
provided that such practice is carried out under the supervision of a civil engineer or civil engineers
holding valid certificates issued by the Board.
No firm, partnership, corporation or association, using the name of a person or persons as in the
name of the firm, shall advertise as civil engineers unless said person or persons are registered
civil engineers.
Sec. 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
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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.
Sec. 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.
Sec. 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."
Sec. 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.

Sec. 29. Effectivity. – This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

PRESIDENTIAL DECREE No. 702 May 16, 1975

FURTHER AMENDING SECTION TWO OF PRESIDENTIAL DECREE

NUMBERED FOUR HUNDRED AND FIFTY-EIGHT, AS AMENDED,
CREATING THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HIGHWAYS

WHEREAS, the construction, rehabilitation, betterment, improvement and maintenance of rural

roads and bridges are of paramount importance, as they are the traffic generators that provide the
link to the main arteries of transportation from the rural to the urban areas;

WHEREAS, the speedy and efficient construction, rehabilitation, betterment, improvement and
maintenance or rural roads and bridges would create better incentive for the people particularly
the farmers to increase their production output, as they would be assured of an adequate and
convenient facilities for transport and for marketing their products;

WHEREAS, providing the people particularly those in the rural areas with adequate, safe and
convenient facilities in transporting their products would stabilize and reduce prices of their
commodities and thereby foster economic progress;

WHEREAS, There is at present no specific bureau of office under the Department of Public
Highways, charged with the responsibility of formulating and developing policies, plans, programs
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and standards for the construction, rehabilitation, betterment, improvement and maintenance of
rural roads and bridges, and the same is being undertaken by different agencies;

WHEREAS, in order to insure a more integrated planning and programming scheme directed
towards the establishment of an efficient transport system responsive to the attainment of the
economic development goals of the country, it is imperative that a specialized agency be created
for this purpose.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, FERDINAND E. MARCOS, President of the Philippines, by virtue of

the powers vested in me by the Constitution, do hereby decree and order:

Section 1. Sec. 2 of Presidential Decree No. 485, as amended to read as follows:

"Sec. 2. Organization of the Department of Public Highways. The Department of Public Highways,
hereinafter called the department, shall be composed of a Department Proper made up of the
immediate Office of the Secretary, the Planning Service, the Administrative Service, the Financial
and Management Service, the Project Execution Service and the Special Projects Service; three
bureaus, namely: (a) the Bureau of Construction and Maintenance, (b) the Bureau of Equipment,
and (c) the Bureau of Barangay Roads; and the Regional and District Offices."

Sec. 2. Functions of the Bureau of Barangay Roads. The Bureau shall essentially be a staff bureau
performing advisory, consultative and specialized staff functions, shall coordinate with respect to
the construction, rehabilitation, betterment, improvement and maintenance of barangay roads and
bridges in so far as national funds are concerned; shall formulate and develop for the Secretary
policies, plans, programs and standards for the construction, rehabilitation, betterment,
improvement and maintenance of barangay roads and bridges within a province, city, municipality
and barangay.

Sec. 3. Organization of the Bureau of Barangay Roads. The Bureau shall be headed by a Director
and assisted by an Assistant Director who shall be appointed by the President upon
recommendation of the Secretary of Public Highways.

It shall be composed of four (4) divisions, namely: the Administrative Division; the Construction,
Rehabilitation, Betterment and Improvement Division; and the Maintenance Division.

Sec. 4. Organization of the Different Division:

1. The Administrative Division shall be headed by an Administrative Officer V and assisted by an

Administrative Officer III who shall be appointed by the Secretary of Public Highways upon the
recommendation of the Director of the Bureau of Barangay Roads. It shall be responsible for
personnel, information, legal and general services.

2. The Planning, Programming, Design and Survey Division (PPDSD) shall be headed by a staff
Civil Engineer as Chief of the Division, and assisted by an Assistant Staff Civil Engineer as
Assistant Division Chief, who shall be appointed by the Secretary of Public Highways upon the
recommendation of the Director of the Bureau of Barangay Roads. The PPDSD shall be
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responsible for undertaking the planning, programming and design of feeder roads and bridges,
including the necessary survey and location work, formulate specifications and prepare estimates.
3. The Construction, Rehabilitation, Betterment and Improvement Division shall be headed by a
Staff Civil Engineer as Chief, CRBI Division, and assisted by an Assistant Staff Civil Engineer as
Assistant chief, CRBI Division, who shall be appointed by the Secretary of Public Highways upon
the recommendation of the Director of the Bureau of Barangay Roads. The CRBI Division shall
be responsible for exercising technical supervision over all the activities relating to construction,
rehabilitation, betterment and improvement of feeder roads and bridges, establish policy
guidelines; extend consultative service, and set standards and procedures for construction,
rehabilitation, betterment and improvement works.
4. The Maintenance Division shall be headed by a Staff Civil Engineer as Chief, Maintenance
Division and assisted by an Assistant Staff Civil Engineer as Assistant Chief, Maintenance
Division who shall be appointed by the Secretary of Public Highways upon the recommendation
of the Director of Barangay Roads. The Maintenance Division shall be responsible for exercising
technical supervision over all activities relating to maintenance of barangay road and bridge
projects being undertaken by field offices and local governments including barangays; and
extending consultative service by setting standards and procedures for maintenance works.
Sec. 5. Appropriations. All national funds appropriated and programmed by the Department of
Public Highways for the construction, rehabilitation, betterment, improvement and maintenance
of barangay roads and bridges including the shares of provinces, cities, municipalities and the
allocation for the maintenance of farm-to-market or feeder roads and bridges within a barangay
area, from the Highway Special Fund, shall be released to the Department of Public Highways
which shall then sub-allot them to the barangays but construction and maintenance shall be under
the supervision of the Department of Public Highways through the Bureau of Barangay Roads.
Sec. 6. Special Provisions. In the implementation of projects falling under this Decree, the
following provisions shall be strictly observed:
(a) Functions The Secretary of the Department of Public Highways shall issue guidelines and
policies regarding the function of the different Divisions and Sections within this Bureau.
(b) National Aid Maintenance for feeder of Farm-to-Market Roads within Barangay Area;
(aa) For purposes of determining the maintenance allocations for municipalities and barangays,
there should be separate inventory of such roads within the poblacion and barangay area to be
submitted by the municipal and barangay councils respectively and duly approved by the Secretary
of Public Highways.
(bb) National Aid Maintenance Fund for the Maintenance of Feeder or Farm-to-Market Roads
within Barangay Area shall be released in the same manner under which maintenance aids to
provinces, cities and municipalities are released; however, there shall be no counterpart fund
requirement.
(cc) National Aid Maintenance funds for Feeder or Farm-to-Market Roads within Barangay Area
shall be sub-alloted to Barangay officials concerned who have been duly authorized by law to
receive and disbursed Barangay Funds, otherwise in the absence thereof, to the Municipal
Treasurer concerned, thru the Office of the Highway District/City Engineer.
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(dd) The Barangay Council, in coordination with the Highway District Engineer/City Engineer
shall undertake maintenance work of feeder or farm-to-market roads within its barangay area in
accordance with the program of work duly approved by the respective Highway District or City
Engineer; however, in case where the capability of the barangay council to maintain road are
limited or they fail to maintain adequately the road, the Highway District/City Engineer concerned
shall take over, upon recommendation of the Highway Regional Director.
Sec. 7. All existing laws, rules and regulations inconsistent with this Decree are hereby modified
amended or revoked.
Sec. 8. This Decree shall take effect upon its approval.

References:
• http://laws.chanrobles.com/republicacts/6_republicacts.php?id=548
• http://www.chanrobles.com/presidentialdecrees/presidentialdecreeno702.html#.XV9BT-gzZPY