Mechanical Engineering Practice Regulation Law

Board creation and composition

Section 2 creates the Board of Mechanical Engineering Examiners within thirty days after approval.
The Board has three members, with one designated as chairman.
Members are appointed by the Secretary of Public Works and Communications.

Board powers and oversight

Section 3 empowers the Board to administer the Act, issue certificates of registration, suspend and revoke certificates of registration for the practice of mechanical engineering, and administer oaths.
The Board may subpoena witnesses and compel attendance in cases involving revocation of registration or practicing or offering to practice without registration.
The Board may require production of books, papers, documents, etc., in relevant cases.
In court enforcement, the Board may file a petition with the Court of First Instance to compel attendance or production; disobedience may be proceeded against as for refusal to obey other court subpoenas or orders.
The Board may study conditions affecting practice in all parts of the Philippines and recommend to the Secretary of Public Works and Communications ethical and technological standards for public well-being and safeguarding life, health and property, fostering orderly industrialization.

Qualifications, term, removal, compensation

Section 4 requires each Board member to be a Philippine citizen, a resident, hold a M.E. / B.S.M.E. / M.M.E. / M.S.M.E. or equivalent, be legally qualified to practice professional mechanical engineering in the Philippines, have at least ten years of prior practice as a mechanical engineer, and not be a faculty member of a school teaching regular mechanical engineering courses nor have pecuniary interest in such institution.
Section 5 provides a three-year term for Board members, or until successors are duly appointed and qualified.
The first Board is staggered: one member for one year, one for two years, and one for three years.
Vacancies are filled only for the unexpired term.
Each member qualifies by taking the required oath of office prior to performing duties.
Section 6 designates the Commissioner of Civil Service as executive officer; the Commissioner conducts examinations and designates a Civil Service subordinate to act as secretary; the Bureau of Civil Service keeps all Board records, minutes, and examination papers.
Section 7 allows removal by the Secretary of Public Works and Communications for continued neglect of duty or incompetency, or unprofessional or dishonorable conduct, only after giving the member an opportunity to defend himself in a proper administrative investigation.
Section 8 sets Board compensation: five pesos per applicant appointed or registered without examination for the first three grades, and three pesos per applicant registered without examination or examined for certified plant mechanic.
Section 8 requires all fees to be received by the collecting officer of the Bureau of Civil Service, and that officer pays authorized Board expenses, including the Board compensation.

Rules for grades, definitions, and coverage

Section 11 establishes four grades of certificates of registration in this order of rank:
- (1) Professional mechanical engineer
- (2) Mechanical plant engineer
- (3) Junior mechanical engineer
- (4) Certified plant mechanic
Section 12 prohibits any person, unless exempt from registration, from practicing or offering to practice mechanical engineering in the Philippines without a prior certificate of registration from the Board.
Section 13 defines “mechanical engineering” as practicing or rendering service for a fee, salary, or other compensation, or even without compensation, through activities such as consultation, investigation, valuation, planning, design, preparing specifications or estimates, taking charge of, supervising, or undertaking construction/erection/installation/alteration, and managing/operating/tending/maintaining mechanical equipment, machinery, or processes for mechanical works/projects/plants.
Section 13 treats offering by signs, cards, advertisement, or other ways, and using/assuming/advertising titles that convey the impression of being a professional in any grade as practicing mechanical engineering under the Act.
Section 13 defines “mechanical equipment, machinery or process” to include specified items such as steam engines, internal combustion engines, boilers, turbines, crushers, mills, mixers, pumps, compressors, cranes, conveyors, hoists, elevators, pipe lines, line-shafting, etc., but excludes motor vehicles, street cars, locomotives, steamships, motorships, airplanes, and similar transportation machinery; excludes generators, motors, transformers, rectifiers, or similar machinery primarily electrical in nature; and excludes mechanical or mill supplies, hardware, and similar articles.
Section 13 defines “mechanical works, project or plant” to include steam plants, internal combustion engine plants, hydraulic power plants, pumping plants, refrigerating plants, mills, shops, factories, foundries, shipyards, etc., containing mechanical equipment, machinery, or process driven by steam, internal/external combustion fuel, electricity, air, gas, water, heat, chemicals, or other prime movers; it does not apply to any mechanical works/projects/plants of less than twenty (20 H.P.) horsepower.
Section 14 exempts registration for specific categories, including U.S. army/navy officers/enlisted men and certain U.S. federal government employees; Philippine government employees/officials while engaged for that government unless the appointing power requires registration; certain foreign engineers consulted or for specific design/installation with not more than three (3) months’ residence in any twelve (12) months’ period, and who are legally qualified where registration requirements are not lower than those in the Act; certain foreign technical officers/professors/consultants necessary and indispensable as judged by the Secretary of Public Works and Communications; engineering students/apprentices and subordinates/training under a registered person; and any person practicing in a mechanical works/project/plant of less than twenty (20 H.P.) horsepower.
Section 15 requires technological examination for applicants for registration, except where the Act specifically allows otherwise.

Examinations and qualification requirements

Section 20 requires examinations twice a year, on working days and places fixed by the Board with approval of the Secretary of Public Works and Communications, with notice mailed to each candidate at least thirty days prior to the first day.
Section 21 provides that the Board prescribes examination scope and procedures, focusing on the applicant’s ability to perform engineering work for the particular grade and to ensure safety of life, health and property and economy and efficiency in design, construction, installation, maintenance, operation, organization, and management of mechanical plants or works.
The Board must prepare examination programs for submission to the Secretary for approval and must publish the programs at least six months before the examination date; later amendments likewise require approval and publication at least six months before the examination date.
Section 22 requires the Board to report ratings within ninety days after completion of examinations to the Commissioner of Civil Service, who submits them to the Secretary of Public Works and Communications for approval.
Section 23 prohibits an applicant from taking another examination for the same grade if he fails for the third time until at least one year has elapsed after his last examination.

Professional mechanical engineer qualifications

Section 16 requires, prior to admission to examination, that the applicant be at least twenty-five years old, of good reputation and moral character, and has completed high school or its equivalent.
Section 16 requires either:
- graduation from an engineering school/college approved by the Board with an approved mechanical engineering course of not less than four years, plus four years or more of active mechanical engineering practice satisfactory to the Board; or
- at least two years of technical engineering training satisfactory to the Board, or graduation in a non-engineering course, plus eight years or more of active mechanical engineering practice, with competency supported by an affidavit by a registered professional mechanical engineer.
Teaching mechanical engineering in an engineering school of recognized standing counts as active practice for qualification purposes.

Mechanical plant engineer qualifications

Section 17 requires, prior to admission, that the applicant be at least twenty-three years old, of good reputation and moral character, and has completed high school or its equivalent.
Section 17 requires either:
- graduation in mechanical engineering of not less than four years plus four years or more of active practice satisfactory to the Board and supported by an affidavit by a registered professional mechanical engineer showing competence to take charge of specified mechanical works/operation/management and related engineering services; or
- eight years or more of active practice supported by the required affidavit showing competence for the listed managerial and engineering services.
Teaching mechanical engineering in an engineering school of recognized standing counts as active practice for qualification purposes.

Junior mechanical engineer qualifications

Section 18 requires, prior to admission, that the applicant be at least twenty-one years old, of good reputation and moral character, and either:
- graduation from an engineering school/college approved by the Board with not less than four years in mechanical engineering; or
- graduation from a vocational or trade school approved by the Board with not less than three years in stationary or power plant engineering plus four years or more of active mechanical engineering practice, with competency shown by an affidavit by a registered professional mechanical engineer.
Section 18 limits competence support for the grade to service as assistant to a professional mechanical engineer or mechanical plant engineer and undertaking operation/tending/maintenance of plants of less than two hundred horsepower.

Certified plant mechanic qualifications

Section 19 requires, prior to admission (which may be oral only as the Board decides), that the applicant be at least eighteen years old, of good reputation and moral character, and has:
- completed a vocational/trade course of not less than three years in stationary or power plant engineering or mechanical plant operation plus one year or more active practice for operation/tending/maintenance of plants of less than two hundred horsepower; or
- working knowledge of English, Spanish, or recognized Philippine dialects and four years or more active practice for operation/tending/maintenance of plants of less than two horsepower, supported by an affidavit by a registered professional mechanical engineer.

Registration without exam and certificates

Section 24 allows registration as professional mechanical engineer without examination if the application is submitted within one year from the Act’s effective date and the applicant proves a four years or more record of active practice on the date of Act approval, meeting competency to render professional mechanical engineering service, plus at least one listed qualification:
- passing a civil service examination for senior mechanical engineer; or
- being a mechanical engineer duly licensed under Act Numbered Two thousand nine hundred eighty-five of nineteen hundred twenty-one, as amended.
Section 25 allows registration as mechanical plant engineer without examination if the application is submitted within one year from Act effective date and the applicant shows one of the following:
- ten years or more active practice and meeting the first three qualifications required under Section 17;
- actual employment at Act approval in a regularly organized mechanical works/project/plant of more than two hundred horsepower, with satisfactory supervisory services without any serious accident as certified by the employer, with registration valid only for the specific works/plant/project of employment;
- passing a civil service examination for senior mechanical engineer or being duly licensed under Act Numbered Two thousand nine hundred and eighty-five and having four years or more active practice showing competence for specified engineering managerial/engineering services in manufacturing/supply/distribution connection.
Section 26 allows registration as junior mechanical engineer without examination if the application is submitted within one year after Act effective date and the applicant shows either:
- passing a civil service examination for senior or assistant mechanical engineer; or
- being duly licensed under Act Numbered Twenty-nine hundred and eighty-five of nineteen hundred and twenty-one, as amended.
Section 27 allows registration as certified plant mechanic without examination if the application is submitted within one year after Act effective date and the applicant proves either:
- ten years or more active plant operation practice for operation/maintenance of plants of less than two hundred horsepower, with language capability, and the first two qualifications under Section 19; or
- actual employment at Act approval in operation of a regularly organized plant of less than two hundred horsepower without serious accident certified by the employer, with registration valid only for the specific works/project/plant of employment.
Section 28 requires the Secretary of Public Works and Communications to issue a certificate of registration upon Board recommendation after payment of registration fee, to applicants satisfactorily meeting requirements for the grade based on Board approval of ratings by the Secretary of Public Works and Communications.
Section 28 requires certificates to show registrant’s full name, a serial number, signatures of all Board members, the Secretary of Public Works and Communications, and the Commissioner of Civil Service, and attestation by the official seal.
Section 28 makes issuance evidence that the person named is entitled to rights and privileges of the corresponding registered grade while the certificate remains unrevoked or unsuspended.

Seals, stamping, fees, refusal, appeal

Section 29 requires each professional mechanical engineer registrant to obtain a Board-prescribed seal bearing the registrant’s name, certificate number, and the legend “Registered Professional Mechanical Engineer.”
Section 29 requires plans, specifications, reports, and other professional documents prepared by or executed under immediate supervision of the registrant and issued by him to be stamped with the seal on every sheet when filed with government authorities or when submitted or used professionally.
Section 29 prohibits anyone from stamping/sealing documents with that seal after the registrant’s certificate has been revoked or suspended unless the certificate has been reinstated or reissued.
Section 30 sets examination fees accompanying applications:
- Professional mechanical engineer: thirty pesos
- Mechanical plant engineer: thirty pesos
- Junior mechanical engineer: twenty pesos
- Certified plant mechanic: ten pesos
Section 30 sets registration fees for registrants:
- Professional mechanical engineer: ten pesos
- Mechanical plant engineer: ten pesos
- Junior mechanical engineer: ten pesos for junior? (stated as ten pesos for junior mechanical engineer in the general registration fees; and specific “without examination” fees list twenty pesos for junior)
- Certified plant mechanic: five pesos
Section 30 sets registration fees when registered without examination:
- Professional mechanical engineer or mechanical plant engineer: thirty pesos
- Junior mechanical engineer: twenty pesos
- Certified plant mechanic: ten pesos
Section 31 requires the Board to refuse to issue a certificate to a person convicted of any criminal offense involving moral turpitude or to a person of unsound mind; it must give the applicant a written statement of reasons incorporated into the Board record.
Section 32 authorizes the Board, after proper notice and hearing, to suspend or revoke certificates for causes listed in Section 32, or for fraud/deceit in obtaining a certificate, gross negligence or incompetency, or unprofessional or dishonorable conduct.
Section 32 provides appeal to the Secretary of Public Works and Communications; the Secretary’s decision is final.
Section 33 authorizes application for a new certificate after one year from revocation for reasons the Board deems sufficient, with the Board able to exempt the applicant from examination in its discretion.
Section 33 authorizes replacement of lost/destroyed/mutilated certificates subject to Board rules and a five pesos charge for issuance.
Section 34 authorizes a special permit for practice in a specified line/branch/activity for a specified project or in a specified plant/organization to a person holding a valid certificate from another Board, upon proof of competency and that issuance is necessary, urgent, and will not jeopardize duly registered engineers; it also authorizes special permits to persons who rendered satisfactory supervisory service without serious accident in a regularly organized plant for at least three years prior to approval, with application filed within one year from approval.
Section 34 requires every special permit to be governed by the Act and Board rules for certificates; the Board may suspend, revoke, or reissue it as with certificates.
Section 34 states a special permit holder is treated as registered in the Board for compliance while the permit is valid.
Section 34 makes every special permit automatically void after six months from issuance unless issued for a shorter period; it also limits a person to no more than one special permit at a time.
Section 34 requires a ten pesos fee for issuance of a special permit.

Conduct prohibitions and enforcement

Section 35 makes it a misdemeanor to practice or offer to practice mechanical engineering in the Philippines without being registered or exempted, or to use or attempt to use another’s certificate or seal, or to give false or forced evidence to obtain registration, or to falsely impersonate a registrant, or to attempt to use a revoked or suspended certificate.
Section 35 also makes it a misdemeanor to assume or use titles or descriptions implying registration in any grade in Section 11 without holding a valid certificate for that grade, or to violate any provision of the Act.
Section 35 imposes, upon conviction, a fine of not less than one hundred pesos and not more than one thousand pesos, or imprisonment not exceeding three months, or both, at the court’s discretion.
Section 36 prohibits, unless exempt, the following without the specified certificate(s):
- Being responsible for preparation of plans/designs/investigations/valuation/technical reports/specifications/estimates or other professional service for mechanical works/projects/plants unless holding a valid certificate as professional mechanical engineer.
- Being responsible for construction/erection/installation/alteration or for engineering service connected with manufacture/sale/supply/distribution of mechanical equipment/machinery/process for such works/projects/plants unless holding a valid certificate as professional mechanical engineer or mechanical plant engineer.
- Operating/tending/maintaining, or being in charge of operation/tending/maintenance of machinery/equipment for plants of twenty horsepower or more but less than two hundred horsepower unless holding a valid certificate as professional mechanical engineer, mechanical plant engineer, junior mechanical engineer, or certified plant mechanic.
- Operating/tending/maintaining, or being in charge of operation/tending/maintenance of machinery/equipment for plants of two hundred horsepower or more unless holding a valid certificate as professional mechanical engineer or mechanical plant engineer.
Section 37 requires every mechanical works/project/plant in operation to maintain resident personnel registered under the Act with minimum complements:
- For twenty horsepower or over but below two hundred horsepower: one certified plant mechanic or one mechanical engineer of any rank.
- For two hundred horsepower or over but below one thousand horsepower: one mechanical plant engineer or one professional mechanical engineer.
- For plants operating in more than one shift every twenty-four hours: one certified plant mechanic or one mechanical engineer of any rank in charge for each additional shift.
- For plants of one thousand horsepower or more: at least one resident mechanical plant engineer or professional mechanical engineer in charge of each shift.
Section 38 prohibits ordering or causing construction/erection/installation/alteration of mechanical equipment/machinery/process for mechanical works/projects/plants of twenty horsepower or more unless:
- designs/plans/layouts/specifications have been prepared under responsible charge of, signed and sealed by a registered professional mechanical engineer; and
- the construction/erection/installation/alteration is executed under responsible charge and direct supervision of a registered mechanical plant engineer, or a person exempt from registration under Section 14(c) or (d).
Section 39 authorizes firms/corporations/associations to engage in mechanical engineering practice in the Philippines only if the practice is carried on by registered persons for the corresponding grades holding valid certificates.
Section 39 makes the manager/administrator/person in charge of business personally liable for violations by the entity.
Section 40 requires the owner, manager, or person in charge of mechanical works/projects/plants of twenty horsepower or more of a firm/co-partnership/corporation/joint-stock association to post in a conspicuous place within the plant or business premises the certificate(s) of the employed engineer(s) and certified plant mechanic, in a frame protected by transparent glass or its equivalent.
Section 41 requires the Commissioner of Civil Service to prepare and distribute a roster of registered engineers and mechanics in January and July each year beginning one year after the Act’s effective date, with copies mailed to registered persons, placed on file with the Secretary of Public Works and Communications, furnished to Department Heads, Mayors of chartered cities, Director of Public Works, other bureaus and agencies as needed, and furnished to the public upon request.
Section 42 bars foreign engineers/mechanics from admission to examination, issuance of certificates, or rights/privileges under the Act unless their country specifically permits Filipino mechanical engineers and/or mechanics to practice within its territorial limits on the same basis.
Section 43 obliges all duly constituted law enforcement officers of national, provincial, city, municipal governments and political subdivisions to enforce the Act and prosecute violators; the Secretary of Justice or assistant serves as legal adviser of the Board and renders necessary legal assistance.
Section 44 states the Act does not affect or prevent the practice of any other legally recognized professions.

Personnel, professional practice limits, and permits

Section 36 limits who may be in responsible charge, who may execute specific work, and who may operate/maintain machinery based on installed capacity thresholds and certificate grade.
Section 37 operationalizes those limits by requiring minimum registered resident personnel in plants depending on horsepower and shift configuration.
Section 34 authorizes temporary special permission regimes for limited lines/projects/plants, governed by the Act’s certificate rules and duration limits.

Funding, separability, and repeal

Section 45 appropriates two thousand pesos from the National Treasury not otherwise appropriated for the year nineteen hundred and thirty-eight to be disbursed by the Secretary of Public Works and Communications under the Act.
Section 45 requires all sums collected under the Act to be paid into the National Treasury as general funds, subject to the first twelve months use rule.
Section 46 provides separability: unconstitutional or invalid sections do not invalidate other sections.
Section 47 repeals all laws, parts of laws, orders, ordinances, or regulations in conflict with the Act, including parts of Act Numbered Twenty-nine hundred and eighty-five, as amended, as they pertain to mechanical engineering practice.
Section 47 expressly repeals conflicting regulations relating to the practice of mechanical engineering.