R. a.

9266 mastersclass
S.

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WHAT COULD BE SOME OF THE BENEFITS AND PRIVILEGES THAT AN AUTOMATIC IAPOA MEMBER CAN
ENJOY/ AVAIL OF
I. SOME POSSIBLE IAPOA BENEFITS
1) a 3-year renewal period of IAPOA dues (ONLY IF the IAPOA member shall decide to avail of IAPOA benefits and
privileges) with a plastic IAPOA identification card also for a 3-year period; the certificate and the card shall be
primarily used to avail of the succeeding benefits and privileges;
2) legal assistance to IAPOA members who shall file cases to uphold R.A. No. 9266, with the IAPOA as complainant;
3) quality continuing professional education (CPD) courses, specialization programs and skillset development
programs that may include physical planning and design clinics-seminars-workshops, and that shall be provided only
by suitably experienced/ qualified IAPOA members who may be specialists or experts in certain areas of professional
architectural practice i.e. both free and limited to full pay programs, and all with testing to fully ensure the amount of
knowledge gained and retained;
4) use of portions of the IAPOA facilities as a business center and as a limited-time lodging space (via individual or
group lease or rental arrangements) for assisting small and startup practices;
5) conduct of IAPOA job-fairs and networking gatherings during major conferences or conventions, including mass
oath-taking events for LEA passers;
6) discounting arrangements for IAPOA members availing of construction or finishing materials suppliers or reference
materials such as code books, source books, trade magazines, catalogues, and the like;
7) IAPOA-facilitated matching scholarship grants for IAPOA members who would like to take up higher studies;
8) IAPOA-facilitated loan arrangements or car exchanges and real/personal property exchanges i.e. that shall ensure
fair exchanges between/ among participating IAPOA members;
9) discounted-subsidized-assisted access to medical and life insurance coverage e.g. group insurance where the
coverage shall be facilitated by the IAPOA and the premiums shall be only paid by the availing IAPOA member; and
10) an IAPOA leadership training program that shall ensure a steady stream of properly oriented and motivated
future IAPOA leaders.
II. SOME POSSIBLE IAPOA PRIVILEGES
1) The SOLE AND UNCONTESTED practice of the State-regulated profession of architecture in the PH as a
PRIVILEGE granted by the State and by the laws of the land SOLELY to registered and licensed architects (RLAs),
IF AND ONLY IF:
a) the IAPOA first believes in the efficacy of the valid and subsisting law (one that is in full effect) that is R.A. No.
9266, where NOT one of its provisions is enjoined by any court decision or order, any TRO, any injunction, or any
jurisprudence;
b) the IAPOA truly believes in the majesty of the law i.e. that the law (R.A. No. 9266) is superior to any executive
issuance such as DPWH Memorandum Circulars (MCs), administrative orders (AOs), lower court decisions or
pending cases that are NOT about any provision of R.A. No. 9266 (as the true and direct subject of the original
complaint);
c) the IAPOA believes in the Government’s capability to fully implement and enforce a valid and subsisting law i.e.
the filing of administrative, civil, criminal and special cases for the willful violation/s of a valid and subsisting law such
as R.A. No. 9266, and that the IAPOA itself shall be the entity to file such cases in order to protect the pertinent
architectural practice privileges and the practitioners;
d) the IAPOA itself does NOT serve as the hindrance to the lawful practice of architecture by natural persons duly
qualified by law e.g. by NOT interposing requirements for the renewal of the RLA’s professional identification card
(PIC) that may find NO real basis in law; and
e) the IAPOA is truly vigilant and proactive in the defense of the sole privilege of RLAs to practice architecture on PH
soil, through any and all means that may range from persuasion to advocacy to militancy (and everything in
between).
2) The UNCONDITIONAL privilege of the being an AUTOMATIC IAPOA member as provided by law i.e. to be
differentiated from an AUTOMATIC IAPOA member who also opts to pay the IAPOA dues in exchange for other
IAPOA privileges that may be defined elsewhere.

IS THE PAYMENT OF THE IAPOA DUES MANDATORY, OPTIONAL OR VOLUNTARY?

A plain reading of the Sec. 40 clause “and shall receive the benefits and privileges provided for in this Act upon
payment of the required fees and dues.” may suggest that that the payment of the IAPOA dues may actually be
optional on the part of the automatic IAPOA member i.e. the registered architect/ RA (as automatic IAPOA member)
shall only receive the IAPOA benefits and privileges once the RA elects to pay the required fees and dues. From the
above, it is clear that the payment made by the RA (already an automatic IAPOA member) i.e. an act that may be
voluntary or optional on the part of the RA (and apparently not mandatory) is the sole act that shall allow for the
subsequent receipt of the IAPOA benefits and privileges.
As this may actually be a question of law, the same may probably be submitted for resolution by the courts (and as it
is a clear question of law, the same may be properly within the jurisdiction of the Highest Court of the land, along with
other questions of law pertaining to R.A. No. 9266 that clearly state the qualifications for the State-regulated
professional practice of architecture on PH soil, as compared to other professional regulatory laws (PRLs). Thanks.

THE MANDATED PHYSICAL SEPARATION (DISTANCING) OF BUILDINGS-STRUCTURES-DWELLINGS IN THE

PHILIPPINES (PH) FOR OVER 7 DECADES. Article 670 of R.A. No. 386, the 1949 New Civil Code of the PH
(NCCP) mandates a 2.0 meter (m) EASEMENT from the property line i.e. 4.0 m of separation between windows to
protect privacy. This means that protruding (cantilevered) enclosed spaces like bedrooms and toilets or balconies or
deck roof structures at the upper floors are NOT legal as these bring the eyes of a neighbor closer to the adjoining
dwelling (thereby potentially compromising the privacy, safety and security of the occupants of said dwelling).
Rules VII and VIII (under Chapters 7 & 8) of P.D. No. 1096, the 1977 National Building Code of the PH (NBCP),
likewise requires a 2.0 m SETBACK from the property line i.e. 4.0 m of separation between the outermost faces of
buildings (OFBs) to maximize natural light and ventilation. These 7-decades old requirements under law, applicable
mainly to certain types of developments, have acquired an entirely new significance - that of physical distancing
between neighbors i.e. occupants of adjacent properties, in consideration of public health concerns.
For properties NOT similarly situated, FIREWALLS without openings (or operable windows) OR firewalls with legally-
constructed 2.0 m deep LIGHT & VENTILATION WELLS can become the default solution. 

Republic Act No. 9266 SECTION 33. Ownership of Plans, Specifications and other Contract Documents. - Drawings
and specifications and other contract documents duly signed, stamped or sealed, as instruments of service, are the
intellectual property and documents of the architect, whether the object for which they are made is executed or not. It
shall be unlawful for any person to duplicate or to make copies of said documents for use in the repetition of and for
other projects or buildings, whether executed partly or in whole, without the written consent of architect or author of
said documents.