Law Summary
Definitions and Scope of Practice
- Practice includes offering professional chemical engineering services for compensation or gratuitously
- Industry plant, unit process and unit operation defined
- Professional chemical engineering subjects listed including thermodynamics, waste management, and biochemical engineering
- Chemical engineer = registered holder of certificate and professional ID from the Board and PRC
Scope of Professional Service
- Includes consultation, investigation, estimation, planning, designing, supervision, operation excluding chemical lab analysis
- Teaching chemical engineering subjects or licensure exam reviewing also considered professional service
Professional Regulatory Board for Chemical Engineers
- Board composed of chairman and two members appointed by President, recommended by PRC and national chemical engineering organization
- Board supervises, regulates, prescribes exam subjects, issues certificates, investigates violations, and adopts codes and standards
- Powers include subpoena issuance, hearings on administrative cases, inspections, coordination with CHED, and continuing education programs
Board Qualifications and Terms
- Appointees must be natural-born Filipinos, chemical engineers with 10 years' experience, no direct pecuniary interests in related educational institutions
- Term of three years with reappointment
- Removal for neglect, incompetence, malpractice or unethical conduct after due process
Licensure Examination
- Licensure mandatory for practice
- Held twice yearly by Board
- Exam covers physical and chemical principles, general engineering, and chemical engineering with minimum 40% weight
- Applicants must be Filipino citizens, morally upright, graduates with BS Chemical Engineering, no conviction involving moral turpitude
- Fees required
- Results reported within 30 days
Registration and Certificates
- Certificate issued to those attaining minimum passing grades
- Certificate includes full name, registration number, signed by Board and PRC Commissioner
- Seal required on professional documents
- Registration fees imposed
- Exemptions apply for certain foreign experts and lecturers limited to consultation or teaching
Suspension or Revocation
- Grounds include misrepresentation, acts inimical to the profession, gross immorality, or criminal acts
- Complaints may be filed by anyone or Board motu proprio
- Reissuance possible subject to petition
Practice Regulations
- All chemical engineers at law's effectivity automatically registered
- Only licensed persons may practice; firms cannot be registered but partnerships among engineers or architects allowed
- Unauthorized practice and impersonation are misdemeanors
- Roster of licensed engineers maintained and updated
- Government-required plans must be signed and sealed by registered chemical engineer
- Foreign chemical engineers require reciprocity
- Does not affect practice of other professions
- License number and PTR must appear on signed documents
- Registered chemical engineers automatically members of accredited national organization
Penal Provisions
- Violation punishable by fines between P10,000 to P1,000,000 or imprisonment from six months to five years or both
Enforcement and Administration
- Board assisted by PRC including legal prosecution
- Government authorities to aid enforcement
- Board empowered to promulgate rules and codes after Commission approval
Miscellaneous Provisions
- Separability clause
- Repeals Republic Act No. 318 and inconsistent issuances
- Effectivity 15 days after publication
This summary comprehensively presents all significant provisions of the Act regulating the practice of chemical engineering in the Philippines.