Regulates practice and licensing of electrical engineers

Issuing authority and governing board

Section 2 creates the Board of Electrical Engineering Examiners composed of a chairman and two members, appointed by the Secretary of Public Works and Communications.
Section 3 vests the Board with authority to administer the Act, and to issue, suspend, or revoke certificates of registration for the practice of electrical engineering.
Section 3 authorizes the Board to administer oaths in connection with its functions.
Section 3 empowers the Board, through the chairman and the Board seal, to subpoena witnesses, compel attendance, and require production of books and documents in cases involving violations of the Act.
Section 3 directs that if a person refuses to obey a subpoena or order to testify/produce documents, the Board shall petition the Court of First Instance, and the court shall issue the appropriate subpoena or order; non-compliance is proceeded against like refusal to obey any court subpoena/order.

Board powers: investigations and ethics

Section 3 requires the Board to look into conditions affecting electrical engineering practice in the Philippines and recommend measures to maintain good ethics and standards, safeguarding public welfare, life, health, and property.
Section 3 provides that any Board member may administer oaths or affirmations to witnesses appearing before the Board.

Qualifications, term, removal, and compensation

Section 4 requires each Board member to be:
- a Philippine citizen and resident;
- a holder of B.S.E.E. or M.S.B.E. (or equivalent) from a legally chartered engineering school/college of good standing;
- legally qualified to practice professional electrical engineering for at least ten years and actively in practice on the date of appointment; and
- not a faculty member of any engineering school offering a regular course in electrical engineering, and having no pecuniary interest in such institution.
Section 5 sets the Board members’ term at three years after appointment, or until successors are appointed and duly qualified.
Section 5 staggers initial terms: one member for one year; one member for two years; and one member for three years; members must qualify by taking the proper oath.
Section 7 allows the Secretary of Public Works and Communications to remove a Board member for continued neglect of duty or incompetency, or for unprofessional or dishonorable conduct, after an opportunity to defend in an administrative investigation.
Section 6 makes the Commissioner of Civil Service the executive officer of the Board, conducts examinations, designates a subordinate Bureau officer to act as Secretary of the Board, and keeps all records/minutes and examination papers at the Bureau of Civil Service.
Section 8 fixes compensation: the Board member receives PHP 5 for each applicant examined or registered without examination for any of the first three grades in Section 11, and PHP 3 for each applicant for the Master Electrician grade; government engineer members receive this compensation in addition to salary.
Section 8 provides that fees are collected by the designated collecting officer for the Bureau of Civil Service, which pays Board authorized expenditures including Board compensation.

Rules, annual reporting, and regulatory penalties

Section 9 authorizes the Board to adopt rules and regulations necessary to carry the Act into effect, with approval of the Secretary of Public Works and Communications and advice and consent of the Commissioner of Civil Service.
Section 9 allows inclusion of penal provisions in those regulations, punishable by a fine of not more than PHP 200, or imprisonment of not more than two months, or both, at the court’s discretion.
Section 10 requires the Board to submit an annual report after each fiscal year to the Secretary of Public Works and Communications, with a detailed account of proceedings and recommendations.

Definitions, registration coverage, and prohibited titles

Section 11 establishes four certificate grades in rank order:
- Professional electrical engineer
- Associate electrical engineer
- Assistant electrical engineer
- Master electrician
Section 12 prohibits any person from practicing or offering to practice electrical engineering in the Philippines without first obtaining a certificate of registration from the Board, unless exempted from registration.
Section 13(a) defines “Electrical Engineering” as the practice or rendering of professional electrical engineering service for a fee, salary, or other reward/compensation (or even without reward) through activities including:
- consultation, investigation, valuation, planning, designing, and preparation of specifications for electrical construction/installation/projects;
- taking charge of sale or distribution of electric supply or utilization equipment requiring engineering calculations and/or application of engineering principles and data; and
- taking charge of or supervising electrical constructions/installation and the operation, tending, and maintenance of an electric generating plant.
Section 13(a) makes it unlawful to use in connection with one’s name (or otherwise assume/advertise) any title implying one is any of the following—professional electrical engineer, associate electrical engineer, assistant electrical engineer, or master electrician—or is engaged in electrical engineering practice, unless duly licensed and registered under the Act.
Section 13(b)–(h) defines key terms used by the Act, including:
- “electric supply equipment” (equipment producing/modifying/regulating/controlling/safeguarding electric energy supply);
- “utilization equipment” (devices/connected wiring utilizing electric energy for any purpose, not part of electric supply equipment or electric generating plant);
- “electric generating plant” (complete establishment/system for production, transmission and/or distribution, including electric supply equipment and lines; each interconnected substation requiring personal supervision is treated as a separate generating plant for compliance);
- exclusions for U.S. Army or Navy electric generating plants, National/provincial/city/municipal government electric generating plants, and electric generating plants on conveyances used in land and air transportation;
- “electric supply line”, “substation”, “capacity” (kilowatt or KVA capacity as stamped on nameplate or determined by manufacturer/calculation conforming to latest AIEE or equivalent standards), and “voltage/volts” measurement rules.

Exemptions and examination requirement

Section 14 exempts registration for specified classes of persons, including:
- officers/enlisted men of the United States Army or Navy, and employees of the Federal Government of the United States, while engaged for that U.S. service;
- employees and officials of the Government of the Philippines (National, provincial, city, or municipal) while engaged for that government;
- electrical/erection/guarantee engineers called for consultation or a specific design/installation/project, limited to that work, and legally qualified in their own state/country where requirements/qualifications for certificate issuance are not lower than those in the Act;
- foreigners employed as technical officers, professors, or consultants in special branches of electrical engineering that the Secretary of Public Works and Communications judges necessary and indispensable;
- engineering students, apprentices, and other persons employed/acting as subordinates of, or undergoing training under, a person holding a valid certificate under the Act;
- persons in charge of or supervising operation/tending/maintenance of a private electric generating plant using voltages not exceeding 250 volts, subject to periodic inspection at intervals of not more than one year by a registered engineer or a national/city/provincial/municipal authority exercising jurisdiction.
Section 15 requires technical examination for all applicants for registration except where specifically allowed under the Act.
Section 16 sets qualifications for examination/application as Professional electrical engineer, including:
- at least twenty-five years of age;
- good reputation and moral character;
- completion of high school or equivalent;
- graduation in electrical engineering from a recognized university/school/college/academy/institute after a resident collegiate course of not less than four years, plus four years or more active practice of responsible character; or
- completion of at least two years resident collegiate engineering training, plus eight years or more active practice of responsible character;
- teaching in an engineering school may be regarded as active practice of responsible character.
Section 17 sets qualifications for Associate electrical engineer, including at least twenty-five years of age, good reputation and moral character, high school completion, and graduation in electrical engineering with resident collegiate course of not less than four years, plus either:
- two years or more active practice of responsible character suitable to supervising construction/installation/operation/maintenance or taking charge of sales/distribution requiring engineering calculations; or
- eight years or more active practice of responsible character suitable to supervising construction/installation/operation/maintenance or sales/distribution requiring engineering calculations;
- installation/wiring experience limited only to utilization equipment does not satisfy the requirements under the relevant paragraph.
- Electrical engineering teaching in a duly recognized engineering school may be regarded as active practice.
Section 18 sets qualifications for Assistant electrical engineer: at least twenty-three years, good reputation and moral character, high school completion/equivalent, and graduation in electrical engineering after a collegiate course of not less than four years.
Section 19 sets qualifications for Master electrician: at least twenty-three years, good reputation and moral character, graduation from a vocational/trade school or correspondence school of well-known standing plus at least three years of appropriate practice, or completion of at least a four-year high school education/equivalent plus at least five years of practice in electric wiring/installation of utilization equipment.

Examination conduct and examination scope

Section 20 provides examinations for candidates desiring to practice electrical engineering twice a year in the City of Manila and other places warranted by conditions, on working days fixed by the Board with approval of the Secretary of Public Works and Communications.
Section 20 requires written/printed notice mailed to each candidate who filed name and address with the Secretary of the Board at least thirty days before the first day of the examination.
Section 21(a) sets the professional electrical engineer exam scope as including production, transmission, distribution, and application of electrical energy for power and communication, to determine knowledge for safety of life/health/property and economy in design/construction/installation/maintenance/organization/management of generating plants and projects, and rules/regulations in the latest National Safety and Electrical Codes of the United States or of the Philippines as adopted.
Section 21(a) allows the Board to test additional fundamental subjects for professional electrical engineer, including mathematics (differential/integral calculus and complex notation), rational/applied mechanics, surveying, geology and foundations, hydraulics, resistance of materials and construction materials, electrical circuits and machinery, electronics and electrical communication/industry applications.
Section 21(a) limits the assistant electrical engineer examination to fundamental subjects only, plus questions on the rules/regulations in the latest adopted National Safety and Electrical Codes.
Section 21(b) sets associate electrical engineer exam subjects on strength of materials used in electrical constructions (including foundations), installation/erection/operation/tending/maintenance of generating plants, lines and other electric supply equipments, knowledge of standard materials and approved construction methods, and code rules/regulations in the latest adopted codes.
Section 21(c) sets master electrician exam subjects on practical applications of Ohm’s Law, knowledge of standard materials used in wiring/installation of utilization equipment and approved construction methods, code rules/regulations in latest adopted National Electrical Code as applicable, and reading wiring plans and interpreting standard symbols.

Ratings, reexamination, and special registrations

Section 22 requires the Board to report examination ratings within one hundred twenty days after completion of examinations to the Commissioner of Civil Service, which submits ratings to the Secretary of Public Works and Communications for approval.
Section 23 prohibits an applicant who fails the examination for the same grade for the third time from taking another exam until at least one year has elapsed after the last examination.
Section 24 provides professional electrical engineer registration without examination for members of the first Board of Electrical Engineering Examiners.
Section 24 also provides no examination for any person who, as of approval of the Act, had a specific record of four years or more active practice of responsible character and possesses either:
- passed a civil service examination for senior electrical engineer; or
- was a duly licensed electrical engineer under Act Numbered Two thousand nine hundred eighty-five (Philippine Legislature, nineteen hundred twenty-one), as amended.
Section 25 provides no examination for associate electrical engineer if, as of approval of the Act, the applicant had either:
- a specific record of ten years or more active practice of responsible character, plus the first three qualifications specified in Section 17; or
- passed a civil service examination for senior or assistant electrical engineer, or was duly licensed under Act Numbered Two thousand nine hundred eighty-five as amended, plus two years or more active practice of responsible character.
Section 25 bars associate-by-qualification applicants from undergoing further examination when applying for professional electrical engineer after fulfilling the engineering experience required for professional grade.
Section 26 provides no examination for assistant electrical engineer if, as of approval of the Act, the applicant had:
- passed a civil service examination for senior or assistant electrical engineer; or
- was duly licensed under Act Numbered Two thousand nine hundred and twenty-one (as amended).
Section 26 bars assistant-by-qualification applicants from undergoing further examination when applying for professional or associate electrical engineer after fulfilling the experience required respectively for those grades.
Section 27 provides master electrician registration without examination if, as of approval of the Act, the applicant had:
- passed a civil service examination for electrical inspector (or its equivalent), or
- practiced as a licensed electrical contractor in chartered cities whose ordinances require examination for contractor licensing for electrical installations,
- with the proviso that the applicant must still be holding a valid license on the date of filing the application.

Certificate issuance, seals, fees, and denials

Section 28 requires the Secretary of Public Works and Communications to issue the certificate of registration upon the Board’s recommendation and after payment of the registration fee under the Act, to applicants who satisfactorily meet all requirements for the grade, in the Board’s opinion and with the Secretary’s approval.
Section 28 requires all certificates to show the registrant’s full name, have a serial number, be signed by all Board members, the Secretary of Public Works and Communications, and the Commissioner of Civil Service, and be attested by the official seal.
Section 28 provides that issuance by the Board is evidence that the person is entitled to rights and privileges of the relevant registered grade while the certificate remains unrevoked and unsuspended.
Section 29 requires professional electrical engineer registrants to obtain a seal bearing the registrant’s name, certificate number, and the legend “Professional Electrical Engineer.”
Section 29 mandates that plans, specifications, reports, and professional documents prepared by or executed under immediate supervision of the registrant and issued by the registrant must be stamped on every sheet with the seal when filed with Government authorities or submitted/used professionally.
Section 29 makes it unlawful to stamp/seal documents with the registrant’s seal after the certificate has been revoked or suspended, unless the certificate is reinstated or reissued.
Section 30 sets fees:
- Examination fee: PHP 30 for professional electrical engineer, associate electrical engineer, or assistant electrical engineer (listed as “distant electrical engineer” in the Act), and PHP 20 for master electrician.
- Registration fee: PHP 10 for professional electrical engineer, associate electrical engineer, or assistant electrical engineer, and PHP 5 for master electrician.
- For registration without examination for professional/associate/assistant: PHP 25 and for master electrician: PHP 14.
Section 31 requires the Board to refuse to issue a certificate to any person convicted of any criminal offense involving moral turpitude, any person guilty of immoral or dishonorable conduct, or any person of unsound mind.
Section 31 requires a written statement of reasons for refusal, incorporated in the Board record.

Suspension, revocation, appeal, and reissuance

Section 32 authorizes the Board, upon proper notice and hearing, to suspend or revoke certificates for causes in Section 31, for use/perpetration of fraud or deceit in obtaining a certificate, or for gross negligence/incompetency or unprofessional/dishonorable conduct.
Section 32 provides that Board action is appealable to the Secretary of Public Works and Communications, whose decision is final.
Section 32 sets grounds for revocation for unprofessional/dishonorable conduct including:
- signing/affixing the seal on plans/designs/technical reports/valuation/specifications/estimates or similar documents or work not prepared by the registrant or not executed under the registrant’s immediate supervision; or
- representing oneself as having taken charge/supervised electrical construction/installation, operation/tending/maintenance of a generating plant, or in charge of sales/distribution requiring engineering calculation/data without actually doing so.
Section 32 allows any person, firm, association, or corporation to profer charges under Section 32; it also allows the Board to motu proprio investigate or take cognizance, including through proper resolution or order.
Section 32 requires charges to be written, sworn, filed with the Secretary of the Board.
Section 33 allows the Board, after one year from revocation, to entertain an application for a new certificate in the same manner as original applications, and in discretion may exempt from examination.
Section 33 allows issuance of a replacement certificate for lost/destroyed/mutilated certificates subject to Board rules, with a PHP 5 charge for replacement.

Special permits for limited practice

Section 34 authorizes the Board, in its discretion and subject to approval of the Secretary of Public Works and Communications, to issue special permits for a specified line/branch/activity for a specific design/investigation/construction project or for a specified plant/organization.
Section 34 allows special permits only to persons already holding a valid certificate of registration issued by a Board of Engineering Examiners in the Philippines, and only if competent to perform the service/activity and issuance will not jeopardize interests of duly registered practitioners.
Section 34 allows special permit issuance for positions involving operation/tending/maintenance of generating plants for public utility or use in connection with public utility/convenience employing voltages not exceeding 250 volts, and for supervising construction/installation/operation of electric supply for public service communication/signalling or X-ray/electronic equipment for public use requiring dangerous voltages, if the applicant shows at least three years of satisfactory service without serious accident as certified by the employer.
Section 34 limits special permits to the specific purpose stated in detail in the permit and makes them subject to suspension/revocation/reissuance under the certificate framework.
Section 34 provides that a special-permit holder is considered registered in the Board of Electrical Engineering Examiners for compliance purposes while the special permit remains valid.
Section 34 sets a PHP 10 fee for issuance of a special permit and requires no person to hold more than one permit at one time.

Practice prohibitions, field of action, and enforcement

Section 35 makes it a misdemeanor for any person to:
- practice or offer to practice in the Philippines without registration or exemption;
- present or attempt to use another person’s certificate or seal as one’s own;
- give false or forced evidence to obtain a certificate;
- falsely impersonate a registrant;
- attempt to use a revoked or suspended certificate;
- use or advertise titles implying being an electrical engineer or registered under any grade in Section 11 without holding a valid certificate for that grade; or
- violate any provision of the Act.
Section 35 provides punishment upon conviction: a fine of not less than PHP 100 and not more than PHP 1,000, or imprisonment of not exceeding three months, or both, at the court’s discretion.
Section 36 establishes field-of-action prohibitions tied to grade certificates, including:
- practicing in full scope (as defined in Section 13) only by holders of a professional electrical engineer certificate;
- taking charge/supervising construction/installation and operation/tending/maintenance of generating plants, or taking charge of sales/distribution of equipment requiring engineering calculations/data, only by professional or associate holders;
- taking charge/supervising operation/tending/maintenance of generating plants up to 4,800 volts, or wiring/installation of utilization equipment, only by professional, associate, or assistant holders;
- taking charge/supervising operation/tending/maintenance of generating plants up to 750 volts, or wiring/installation of utilization equipment, only by professional, associate, assistant, or master electrician holders;
- taking charge/supervising for public utility or public utility convenience using voltages up to 250 volts only by professional/associate/assistant/master holders or a valid special permit; and
- taking charge/supervising construction/installation of electric supply equipment for public service communication/signalling, or X-ray/electronic equipment requiring dangerous voltages, only by holders of the specified certificates or a valid special permit.
Section 37 requires electric generating plants in operation to have not less than the following resident complement (or special-permit personnel where allowed), based on voltage and use:
- for public utility/convenience up to 250 volts: at least one professional/associate/assistant/master or a person with valid special permit;
- for voltages up to 750 volts: at least one professional/associate/assistant/master;
- for voltages up to 4,800 volts: at least one professional/associate/assistant;
- for voltages above 4,800 volts: at least one professional in charge of the complete establishment and one associate for each substation of the complete establishment.
Section 37 allows additional subordinate qualified personnel commensurate with efficient operation/service and safeguarding public welfare, life, and property.
Section 38 prohibits unauthorized persons from drawing up plans/designs/specifications for electrical constructions/installations/projects.
Section 38 requires that no electrical construction/installation be undertaken unless plans/designs/specifications are prepared under responsible charge of, and signed and sealed by, a professional electrical engineer, and a construction permit is secured for execution; execution must be under the responsible charge/supervision appropriate to authorized grades, or by a special-permit holder or persons exempt from registration under Section 14, and all requirements of the Government agency exercising jurisdiction are complied with.
Section 38 authorizes safety inspectors of the Bureau of Labor, or designated district/city engineers or other agents as the Secretary of Labor may designate, to enforce the Act’s requirements for installations/operation/tending/maintenance of generating plants and pass on applications for electrical construction/installation within their districts in cases not acted upon by the Public Service Commission, and to issue corresponding permits if plans/specifications conform.
Section 38 permits waiver of submission of plans for specified small/simplified applications:
- lighting and/or household appliances involving installation of twenty outlets or less;
- power/heat applications utilizing electrical energy not exceeding four kilowatts;
- telephone installations, conditioned on a layout sketch, a list of materials/devices, and a signed statement that the application conforms with National Electrical Code rules/regulations adopted.
Section 38 assigns specialized enforcement:
- Secretary of National Defense enforces requirements for radio stations’ generating plants;
- Collector of Customs enforces requirements for conveying plants for water transportation and regulates electrical constructions/installation of equipment for radio communications and conveyances used in water transportation;
- Collector of Internal Revenue checks licenses of persons in charge of sale/distribution of equipment requiring engineering calculation/data.
Section 38 requires all applications for electrical construction permits, including plans/layouts/statements, to be filed for reference.

Firms, posting, roster, reciprocity, and officers’ duties

Section 39 allows firms, co-partnerships, corporations, associations, societies, or companies to engage in electrical engineering practice only if the practice is carried out by duly licensed and registered electrical engineers/associate/assistant/master in the authorized field of action for each grade, or by persons exempt under Section 14(c) and Section 14(d).
Section 39 imposes personal liability: for firms/companies, the manager/administrator/person in charge of business management is personally liable for violations of the Act.
Section 40 requires the owner/manager/person in charge of any electric generating plant, firm, co-partnership, corporation, or joint stock association to post in a conspicuous place within the plant/establishment a framed protected-by-transparent-glass certificate of registration of the engineers employed.
Section 41 requires the Commissioner of Civil Service to prepare an annual roster of registered professional/associate/assistant electrical engineers and master electricians during the month of July every year, commencing one year after the Act becomes effective.
Section 41 requires copies of the roster to be mailed to registered persons and placed on file with Secretary of Public Works and Communications, furnished to department heads, mayors of chartered cities, Director of Public Works, Public Service Commission office, Collector of Customs, other government agencies and provincial/municipal authorities as needed, and furnished to the public upon request.
Section 42 provides that no foreign engineer is admitted to examination, given a certificate, or entitled to rights/privileges under the Act unless the foreign engineer’s country specifically permits Filipino engineers to practice within its territorial limits on the same basis.
Section 43 mandates enforcement: all constituted officers of the National Government and local governments must prosecute violations of the Act.
Section 43 designates the Secretary of Justice (or assistant) to act as legal adviser of the Board and render legal assistance necessary to carry out the Act.

Appropriation, repeals, separability-like effect, and limits

Section 44 provides that the Act does not affect or prevent the practice of any other legally recognized profession.
Section 45 appropriates PHP 2,000 out