QuestionsQuestions (Republic Act No. 8560)
RA 8560 defines the practice of Geodetic Engineering as a professional and organized act of gathering physical data on the earth’s surface using precision instruments, including the scientific and methodical processing of such data and presenting them on graphs, plans, maps, charts or documents. It expressly includes activities such as control surveys, land surveys for titling, subdivision/consolidation surveys, submission of survey plans, engineering surveys, gravimetric/photogrammetric surveys, GIS-related mapping, construction survey/grade setting, as-staked/as-built surveys, mineral/mining surveys, and installation surveys guiding large industrial equipment, among others.
Examples include: (1) horizontal and vertical control and political boundary surveys; (2) land surveys to determine metes and bounds and prepare plans for titling; (3) subdivision, consolidation, and/or consolidated-subdivision of titled properties; (4) conduction of engineering surveys and preparation of technical engineering survey plans (topographic/hydrographic/tidal/profile/cross-section/construction/boundary surveys); (5) conduction of gravimetric and photogrammetric surveys and technical preparation of their survey plans; (6) survey and mapping works for geographic/land information systems; (7) as-staked/as-built surveys for infrastructures; (8) mineral and mining surveys.
A Geodetic Engineer is a natural person who has been issued a Certificate of Registration by the Board of Geodetic Engineering and has taken the Oath of Profession of Geodetic Engineers.
The Board consists of a chairman and two (2) members, appointed by the President from a list of three (3) recommendees for each position, chosen/ranked in order of preference and submitted by the duly integrated and accredited association of geodetic engineers. It must be organized not later than six (6) months from the effectivity of the Act.
A Board member must be: (1) a natural-born citizen and resident of the Philippines; (2) at least forty (40) years old; (3) a registered geodetic engineer with a valid professional license and an active practitioner for at least ten (10) years prior to appointment; (4) not a faculty member of any school offering a regular Geodetic Engineering course and not having pecuniary interest in or administrative supervision over such institution; (5) not connected with a review center or group offering review lectures/classes within the three (3) consecutive years prior to appointment; and (6) not convicted of any offense involving moral turpitude.
Board members serve a term of three (3) years and until successors are appointed/qualified. For first appointees, one holds three years, one two years, and one one year. They may be reappointed but may not serve continuously for more than six (6) years.
The Board promulgates implementing rules, supervises examination/registration/licensure and practice, administers oaths, issues Certificates of Registration, issues/suspends/revokes licenses, adopts an official seal, enhances professional and ethical standards, ensures CHED compliance of schools in coordination with CHED, prescribes a Code of Ethical and Professional Standards, hears administrative cases (issuing subpoenas), prescribes guidelines for Continuing Professional Education (CPE), prepares/amends exam syllabi, approves temporary licenses, and performs other functions for professional and educational development.
The Board is under the administrative supervision of the PRC. All Board records, including applications, examination papers/results, minutes, administrative cases, and investigations, are kept by the Commission. The Commission also designates the Secretary of the Board and provides secretariat and support services.
An applicant must establish that he is a Philippine citizen and that he is a graduate of Bachelor of Science in Geodetic Engineering from a government-recognized school.
The exam covers: Mathematics; Theory and Practice of Surveying; Property Surveying (including Isolated, Cadastral, Mineral and Mining Surveys); Cartography and Photo-grammetry; Geodesy, Geodetic Surveying and Least Squares; Engineering Surveys and Construction Surveying; Laws on Natural Resources including Laws on Property, Land Registration and Agrarian Reform; Laws on Obligations and Contracts; and the Code of Ethics of the profession.
A candidate passes if he obtains a weighted general average of at least 70%, with no grade lower than 55% in any subject. If the weighted general average is 70% or higher but any subject is below 55%, the candidate must take re-examination in the subject/s where the grade is below 55%.
An applicant who fails the examination for the third time may take another examination only after the lapse of one year.
After passing the exam, the successful candidate takes an oath of profession (Sec. 18). A Certificate of Registration is issued upon payment of registration fees, bearing required signatures and the Board’s seal. A professional license is then issued upon payment of professional fees; no person may practice unless he has secured a license in the manner provided. A license is valid until its expiration date.
Plans/specifications prepared or under direct supervision of a registered geodetic engineer must be stamped with the seal during license validity. No one may stamp or seal documents with the seal after expiration/lost validity unless reinstated/renewed. Government officers charged with enforcing laws/regulations on geodetic engineering shall not accept/endorse survey plans/documents not prepared and submitted in full accord with the Act. They shall not approve payments for work/plans/documents not signed and sealed by a duly licensed geodetic engineer.
No. The practice is a professional service determined on an individual’s qualifications, and the geodetic engineer is responsible for the correctness of the survey work. No firm/corporation may be registered/licensed as such for the practice. However, licensed geodetic engineers may form/obtain SEC registration for a firm using the term “Geodetic Engineers,” but only licensed geodetic engineers may be members/partners/associates, and they may only render services proper for a geodetic engineer.
All practicing geodetic engineers registered at the time RA 8560 takes effect shall automatically be registered.
The profession is integrated into one (1) national organization recognized by the Board and PRC as the only integrated and accredited association. Upon registration, every professional geodetic engineer automatically becomes a member and receives related benefits/privileges. Those not members at the effectivity of the Act may register as members within three (3) years. Membership is not a bar to other associations.
The Board may revoke/suspend or cancel a permit upon due notice and hearing for causes such as: fraud or deceit in obtaining a certificate of registration; incompetence; negligence; abetment of illegal practice; and/or violation of the Act, its implementing rules, board policies, and the Code of Ethics. The Board action is appealable to the Commission within 15 days from written notice.
Upon conviction, the violator may be penalized by a fine of not less than P50,000 nor more than P200,000, or imprisonment of not less than six (6) months nor more than six (6) years, or both fine and imprisonment, at the discretion of the court.