Definitions and coverage rules
- Practice of chemical engineering means rendering or offering professional chemical engineering service, for a fee, salary, reward, or compensation paid to the person or through another person, or even without such reward or compensation; the term is synonymous with rendering chemical engineering service (Section 3).
- Industrial plant means any plant with unit process and/or operations, including related pollution control and abatement process/operations (Section 3).
- Unit process means the chemical change involved in manufacture of products or treatment of industrial/chemical wastes (Section 3).
- Unit operation means the physical operation conducting or controlling a desired step in an industrial process, including specified examples such as storage, transfer, evaporation, mass transfer (e.g., distillation, absorption, adsorption, drying, humidification, extraction, leaching, mixing, dispersion), and separation (e.g., filtration, screening, molecular sieving, coalescing) (Section 3).
- Professional chemical engineering subjects include specified chemical engineering disciplines such as chemical engineering thermodynamics, calculations, physical and chemical principles, industrial processes, momentum transfer, heat transfer, mass transfer, industrial waste management and control, process equipment and plant design, and biochemical engineering and bioengineering, plus similar topics (Section 3).
- Chemical engineer means a person duly registered and holding a valid Certificate of Registration and Professional Identification Card issued by the Board of Chemical Engineering and the Professional Regulation Commission (Section 3).
Scope of practice of chemical engineering
- Professional chemical engineering service embraces professional services in relation to industrial plants (Section 4).
- Included services are consultation, investigation, estimation and/or valuation, planning, preparation of feasibility studies, designing, preparation of specifications, supervision of installation, and operation including quality management, but excluding chemical analysis and operation of the chemical laboratory (Section 4).
- Professional chemical engineering service also includes research and development (Section 4).
- The teaching, lecturing, and reviewing of professional chemical engineering subjects in the Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering curriculum or in subjects in the Chemical Engineering licensure examination in any educational institution are considered professional chemical engineering service (Section 4).
Professional Regulatory Board creation
- A Board of Chemical Engineering is created under the administrative control and supervision of the Professional Regulation Commission (Section 5).
- The Board is composed of a Chairman and two (2) members, appointed by the President of the Philippines from nominees recommended by the Commission from the duly integrated and accredited national organization of chemical engineers (Section 5).
Board powers, duties, and processes
- The Board must supervise and regulate the practice of the chemical engineering profession (Section 6).
- The Board must determine and evaluate the qualifications of applicants for registration (Section 6).
- The Board must prescribe licensure examination subjects, determine syllabi and relative weights, construct test questions, score and rate examination papers, and submit examination results to the Commission (Section 6).
- The Board, together with the Commission, must issue Certificates of Registration and Professional Identification Cards to those who pass the licensure examinations (Section 6).
- The Board must issue special permits to persons admitted to the practice and issue Certificate of Recognition for advance studies and researches and accomplishments that enrich the profession (Section 6).
- The Board must inquire into conditions affecting practice and adopt measures to maintain high professional/ethical/technical standards, including:
- Inspecting establishments where chemical engineers practice (e.g., factories, plants, offices) and/or ordering compliance, and
- Issuing Certificate of Compliance (Section 6).
- The Board must, in coordination with CHED, inspect facilities, faculty, equipment, and other aspects directly related to the chemical engineering program of educational institutions (Section 6).
- The Board must adopt rules and regulations for practice, and adopt a Code of Ethics and Code of Technical Standards (Section 6).
- The Board must investigate, under the Commission’s administrative investigation rules, violations of:
- the Act and its implementing rules and regulations, and
- the Code of Ethics and Code of Technical Standards, and
- Board administrative policies, orders, and issuances (Section 6).
- The Board must have authority to issue subpoena and subpoena duces tecum to secure witnesses or documents in connection with administrative cases before it (Section 6).
- The Board must hear and decide administrative cases against chemical engineers and firms employing chemical engineers:
- The hearing is presided by the Chairman or a Member with assistance of a Commission Attorney.
- Decisions must be concurred in by at least a majority of the Board.
- Decisions may be appealed to the Commission within 15 days from notice; otherwise, decisions become final and executory (Section 6).
- The Board must administer oaths in connection with its functions, adopt an official seal, submit an annual report, and prosecute criminal actions for violations of the Act and/or Board rules and regulations (Section 6).
- The Board must prescribe guidelines and criteria on the Continuing Professional Education (CPE) program for chemical engineers in consultation with the integrated and accredited chemical engineering organization (Section 6).
Board qualifications, term, secretary, removal
- The Chairman and Board Members must be natural-born Filipino citizens and residents of the Philippines at appointment (Section 7).
- They must be at least holders of a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering or its equivalent, conferred by a recognized and accredited engineering school of good standing (Section 7).
- They must be registered chemical engineers with at least ten (10) years of active practice (Section 7).
- They must be members of good standing of the integrated and duly accredited national chemical engineering profession (Section 7).
- They must have no pecuniary interest, directly or indirectly, in any university/college/school/institution conferring the academic degree necessary for admission to chemical engineering practice, or where review classes are offered/conducted, and must not be members of the faculty or administration there at appointment (Section 7).
- The Board Chairman and Members have a term of three (3) years, with reappointment (Section 8).
- Vacancies are filled for the unexpired term only (Section 8).
- They must qualify by taking the proper oath prior to assumption of office; the incumbent Chairman and Members may serve for the remainder of their term until a new composition is constituted (Section 8).
- The Board has a Secretary appointed by the Commission to record minutes and perform required functions; the Commission provides the Secretary’s compensation (Section 9).
- The Commission may suspend or remove the Chairman or any Member for neglect of duty, incompetence, commission or tolerance of irregularities in licensure examinations, malpractice, or unprofessional/unethical conduct, after due notice and hearing with respect to the right to be heard and assisted by counsel (Section 10).
- Compensation or honorarium for the Chairman and Members is set by Commission rules and regulations (Section 11).
Licensure examination and registration
- All applicants for registration to practice chemical engineering must pass the licensure examination prescribed under the law (Section 13).
- The examination is given twice each calendar year on dates and venues prescribed by the Commission and conducted by the Board (Section 14).
- The licensure examination covers specified subject areas including Physical and Chemical Principles, General Engineering, and Chemical Engineering, with the requirement that the relative weight of Chemical Engineering is not less than forty per centum (40%) (Section 15).
- Applicants must be Philippine citizens, have good moral character, be graduates of a Government-recognized school/institute/college/university conferred the Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering or its equivalent, and must not have been convicted of an offense involving moral turpitude by a court of competent jurisdiction (Section 16).
- Each admitted applicant must pay examination fees prescribed by the Board before taking the examination (Section 17).
- The Board must complete correction of examination papers within twenty (20) days from the last day of the examination; the Commission must report ratings not more than thirty (30) days after the Board completes correction (Section 18).
Certificates, roster, and professional identification
- The Commission, upon recommendation of the Board, must enter successful examinees into the Roster of Chemical Engineers and issue:
- a Certificate of Registration, and
- a Professional Identification Card (Section 19).
- Certification eligibility requires a general average of no less than seventy per centum (70%) and a subject rating of at least fifty per centum (50%) in any examination subject (Section 19).
- Every Certificate of Registration must state the registrant’s full name and registration number, and must be signed by the Chairman and Members of the Board and the Commissioner, then authenticated by the official seal of the Commission stating entitlement to practice with all privileges appurtenant thereto (Section 19).
- Certificates remain in full force until suspended or revoked in accordance with the Act (Section 19).
- A Professional Identification Card must be issued to each registrant who has paid the prescribed fee; it bears the signature, number, date of issuance, expiry date, and is duly signed by the Chairman of the Commission (Section 19).
- Upon registration, each chemical engineer must obtain a seal prescribed by the Board bearing the registrant’s name, registration number, and the legend “Registered Chemical Engineer” (Section 20).
- Plans, specifications, reports, and other professional documents prepared by or under the supervision of the registrant and issued professionally must be stamped on every sheet with the seal when filed with Government authorities or submitted/used professionally (Section 20).
- Every registered chemical engineer must pay registration fees to the Commission as the Commission prescribes (Section 21).
- The Commission must keep and regularly update a roster of all duly licensed and registered chemical engineers with their names, registration numbers, and places of business, and must make it available to interested parties (Section 28).
Practice rules and who may practice
- Chemical engineers registered at the time the Act takes effect must be automatically registered (Section 25).
- Only persons properly licensed and registered may practice chemical engineering, except as provided in the Act (Section 26).
- No firm, partnership, corporation, or association may be licensed and registered as such for the practice of chemical engineering; however, duly licensed and registered chemical engineers may form partnerships with themselves or with other licensed and registered engineers and architects and use the titles “Chemical Engineers” and “Engineers and Architects” in partnership names (Section 26).
- A chemical engineer must indicate his Certificate of Registration number, Professional Identification Card number, date of issuance during validity, and the Privilege Tax Receipt (PTR) of documents he signs, uses, or issues in connection with practice (Section 32).
Prohibitions and compliance requirements
- A person must not practice chemical engineering or render chemical engineering service without a valid Certificate of Registration and a valid Professional Identification Card (Section 27).
- The following acts constitute misdemeanor:
- Practicing chemical engineering or rendering chemical engineering services, or passing off/advertising as a chemical engineer without a valid Certificate of Registration or when the certificate has been suspended or revoked;
- Attempting to use another person’s certificate or seal as one’s own or impersonating a registered chemical engineer;
- Furnishing the Board or Commission false information or documents to secure a Certificate of Registration (Section 27).
- Government approvals for industrial plant designs are controlled:
- Any proposal, design, specification, working drawing, or plan for an industrial plant or part thereof submitted to any Government agency (national or local), including GOCCs, must not be processed or approved and no permit/license/franchise/authorization/certification shall be issued unless the proposal/design/specification/working drawing/plan is signed by a registered chemical engineer with the seal and registration number affixed (Section 29).
- Foreign chemical engineers are restricted by reciprocity:
- No foreign chemical engineer is granted any right or privilege under the Act unless the country grants Filipino chemical engineers the same or similar rights/privileges (Section 30).
- The Act does not prevent the practice of other lawfully recognized professions (Section 31).
Exemptions from registration
- Registration is not required, upon proper application with the Board, for foreign chemical engineers recognized as experts in their specific fields when called by the Republic of the Philippines for consultation or a specific design, installation, or project, provided practice is confined to such work (Section 22).
- Registration is also not required upon proper application for foreign chemical engineers contracted as professors or lecturers or chemical engineering subject instructors by Philippine schools/colleges/institutes/universities on a direct hire or exchange basis, subject to verification of credentials by the Board (Section 22).
Ethics, integration, and CPE
- There shall be an integrated national organization of chemical engineers duly accredited by the Board and Commission (Section 33).
- A chemical engineer registered with the Board and Commission automatically becomes a member of the accredited organization and receives benefits appurtenant thereto upon payment of required fees and dues (Section 33).
- Membership in the integrated and accredited national organization bars membership in other associations of chemical engineers (Section 33).
Administrative and criminal enforcement
- The Board is assisted by the Commission in implementing the Act and its implementing rules and regulations and other policies (Section 35).
- Commission lawyers act as prosecutors against illegal practitioners and other violators (Section 35).
- Government authorities must assist in enforcing the Act and its rules (Section 35).
Sanctions and penalties
- Any person who violates any provision of the Act commits misdemeanor and, upon conviction, faces:
- a fine of not less than P10,000.00 nor more than P1,000,000.00, or
- imprisonment of not less than six (6) months nor more than five (5) years, or both, at the discretion of the court (Section 34).
- Suspension or revocation grounds include:
- misrepresentation in connection with alleged performance of chemical engineering devices,
- acts inimical to the chemical engineering profession, and
- gross immorality or commission of an act involving moral turpitude (Section 23).
- Certificates of Compliance may be suspended or revoked for noncompliance with the Act’s provisions (Section 23).
- Complaints against registered chemical engineers and firms employing chemical engineers may be filed by any person or filed motu proprio by the Board (Section 23).
- Complaints must be in writing, sworn to by the persons executing them, and filed with the Secretary of the Board (Section 23).
Reissuance and replacement of certificates
- The Board may reissue revoked Certificates of Registration or Certificates of Compliance for reasons it deems sufficient upon proper petition (Section 24).
- Replacement of lost, destroyed, or mutilated Certificates of Registration or Certificates of Compliance is allowed subject to Board rules and payment of the appropriate fees to the Commission (Section 24).
Implementing rules, separability, repeal, effectivity
- The Board must adopt and promulgate implementing rules and regulations, including the Code of Ethics and Code of Technical Standards, subject to Commission approval; these rules take effect after thirty (30) days following publication in the Official Gazette or in a major newspaper of general circulation (Section 36).
- The Act contains a separability clause: invalid/unconstitutional sections do not invalidate the other sections (Section 37).
- The Act repeals Republic Act No. 318 and supersedes, repeals, or amends all inconsistent laws, decrees, orders, rules, regulations, ordinances, and other issuances or parts thereof (Section 38).
- The Act’s effectivity rule is 15 days after publication in the Official Gazette or a major newspaper of general circulation (Section 39).