Regulating Landscape Architecture Practice

Definitions and scope of practice

Section 2 defines “Scope of the practice of Landscape Architecture” as planning, designing, specifying, supervising, and giving general administration and responsible direction to the functional, orderly, and aesthetic arrangement of natural scenery and land areas to produce the most desirable effect for human use and enjoyment of outdoor spaces.
The defined scope covers landscape projects and components for both private and public use, including softscape of plants and landscape components, and includes gardens, sports fields, playgrounds, recreational grounds, camping sites, resorts, national and public parks, historical parks, squares, memorial parks, subdivisions, parks and parkways, zoological and botanical gardens, greenbelts, cemeteries, plazas, patios, yards, outdoor shopping and pedestrian malls, promenades, sidewalks, roads and walkway systems, traffic islands, easements and circles, roof and open interior gardens and courts, and other open spaces.
The defined scope includes protection, conservation, and rehabilitation of natural environment and scenery to enhance the ecological system and quality of life, including:
- Planning sites and outdoor spaces;
- Recommending and formulating landscape development policies on visual resources, streetscapes, rehabilitation of inner cities, slums, and historical districts, and parks and recreation items as area development plan components at local, regional, and national levels, and as components of area development and planning codes, zoning ordinances, and other studies;
- Consultation, oral advice and direction, conferences, evaluation, investigation, estimates, appraisals and assessment, and landscape architectural and operational programming;
- Schematic design, design studies and development, concepts and contract documents;
- Preparation of preliminary technical, economic, and financial feasibility studies including specialized studies such as environmental impact assessments (EIA);
- Preparation of plans, specifications, bills of materials, cost estimates, general conditions, and landscape work contract documents;
- Construction and project management, including general management, administration, supervision, coordination, and responsible direction to planning, designing, construction, reconstruction, enlargement, renovation, repair, orderly removal or demolition, remodeling, alteration, preservation or restoration of landscape sites or structures and their component sites and environs; and
- Site programming, grounds maintenance and administration, and landscape architectural conservation and restoration.
Section 2 further states that Landscape Architecture practice includes teaching Landscape Architecture subjects given in licensure examinations for Landscape Architects, computer-aided design, coordination of systems and processes to enhance and safeguard life, health, and property and enrich quality of life, and landscape architecture design of engineered structures or any part thereof.
Section 2 defines “Landscape Architect” as a natural person qualified to practice Landscape Architecture and issued a valid certificate of registration/professional license and a valid professional identification card by the Board of Landscape Architecture created under the Act and the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC).

Board creation, composition, qualifications, and terms

Section 3 creates a Board of Landscape Architecture under the administrative control and supervision of the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC).
The Board consists of a Chairperson and two (2) members, appointed by the President from a list forwarded by the PRC.
The PRC must forward a list with five (5) nominees for each position, chosen, ranked in order of preference, submitted by the integrated and duly accredited national association of Landscape Architects in the Philippines.
The Board must be organized not later than six (6) months from the effectivity of the Act.
Section 4 sets Board member qualifications as follows:
- Natural-born citizen and resident of the Philippines;
- At least thirty-five (35) years of age;
- Holder of a Bachelor of Landscape Architecture or its equivalent from a CHED-recognized/accredited school (in the Philippines or abroad);
- Registered Landscape Architect with a valid certificate of registration/professional license and an active practitioner for not less than ten (10) years prior to appointment (except the first Chair and members who receive certification/license under the Act);
- Must not, for three (3) consecutive years prior to appointment, be a faculty member of any school/institution teaching regular Landscape Architecture course, nor have pecuniary interest in or administrative supervision over such school;
- Must not, for three (3) consecutive years prior to appointment, be connected with a review center or any group/association offering review classes/lectures for licensure at the time of appointment;
- Has never been convicted of any crime involving moral turpitude.
Section 5 provides a three (3) year term for Board members, with the option of one re-appointment for one full term of three (3) years.
Section 5 requires qualification by taking the proper oath prior to performing duties, and assigns initial staggered chair/member terms of three (3) years, two (2) years, and one (1) year for the first Board members.

Board powers, oversight, supervision, and rules

Section 8 makes Board issuances subject to review and approval of the PRC.
Section 8 provides that Board decisions, resolutions, or orders in administrative cases that are not interlocutory are subject to review only on appeal.
The Board must:
- Promulgate and adopt rules and regulations to carry out the Act;
- Supervise registration, licensure, and practice of professional Landscape Architects;
- Administer oaths related to the Act;
- Issue, suspend, revoke, or reinstate certificates of registration/professional licenses;
- Adopt an official seal;
- Monitor conditions affecting practice and adopt measures to enhance professional, ethical, and technical standards;
- Prescribe/adopt a Code of Ethics and Code of Technical Standards;
- Hear and try administrative cases involving violations of the Act, implementing rules, and the Code of Ethics, and issue subpoena and subpoena duces tecum;
- Prescribe guidelines for a Continuing Professional Education (CPE) program in coordination with accredited Landscape Architects’ associations;
- Prepare, adopt, issue, or amend exam syllabi, determine and prepare questions within the syllabus scope, use full computerization in giving and correcting licensure examination subjects except landscape architectural design and planning, and release results;
- Approve, issue, limit, or revoke temporary license to practice;
- Coordinate with CHED to ensure Landscape Architecture education complies with CHED policies, standards, and curriculum/course requirements, including faculty, library, and facilities; and
- Perform other duties necessary for the enhancement of the profession and growth of Landscape Architecture education.
Section 9 provides that the Board is under administrative supervision of the PRC, while all Board records—including applications for examination and administrative/investigative cases—are kept in the custody of the PRC; the PRC designates the Board secretary and provides the Secretariat and support services.
Section 10 requires the Board, with PRC approval, to adopt and promulgate implementing rules within ninety (90) days from Act approval, effective 15 days after required publication.
Section 11 requires an annual report at the close of each calendar year to the President through the PRC, detailing proceedings, accomplishments, and recommendations to upgrade and improve practice conditions.

Examinations, registration, licensing, and seal rules

Section 12 requires all applicants for registration (except as specifically allowed) to pass a written technical examination provided under the Act, subject to fees prescribed by the PRC.
Section 13 requires examination applicants to establish the following requisites to the Board’s satisfaction:
- Citizen of the Philippines or citizen of a foreign country/state with reciprocity in Landscape Architecture practice;
- A graduate of a Landscape Architecture baccalaureate or postgraduate degree from a CHED-recognized or IFLA/ASLA-accredited institution; or alternatives:
  - A baccalaureate Architecture graduate with at least twenty (20) units of Landscape Architecture design courses or with at least five (5) years Landscape Architecture experience; or
  - A baccalaureate Horticulture graduate with at least forty (40) units of Landscape Architecture design subjects or with at least five (5) years Landscape Architecture experience;
- The alternative educational/experience pathway applies within ten (10) years after passage of the Act;
- No conviction of any crime involving moral turpitude.
Section 14 defines exam coverage as:
- Landscape Architectural Design and Planning;
- Ecology and Nature Conservation;
- Landscaping Technology and Materials;
- Planting Design and Interior Plantscaping;
- Professional Practice and Ethics; and
- History of Landscape Architecture and Theory of Design.
Section 15 sets passing qualifications:
- A weighted general average of seventy percent (70%); and
- No grade lower than sixty percent (60%) in any given subject.
Section 15 provides retaking rules:
- If weighted average is seventy percent (70%) or higher but any subject is below sixty percent (60%), the examinee must take only the subject(s) below sixty percent (60%) within two (2) years from the date of the last examination;
- If the examinee still fails after two (2) attempts, the examinee must take the entire Board examinations again;
- In a removal examination, if recomputation makes the weighted general average lower than seventy percent (70%), the examinee must take the entire Board examinations again, and each retaken subject must have a rating of at least seventy percent (70%) to pass.
Section 16 requires the Board to submit ratings to the PRC within fifteen (15) days after the examination, unless extended for just cause; after release of results, the Board must send by mail each examinee’s rating to the given address using the mailing envelope submitted during the examination.
Section 17 requires successful candidates to take an oath of profession before the Board or any authorized government official administering oaths before practicing.
Section 18 provides issuance of registration and license:
- A certificate of registration/professional license is issued to those who pass the examination upon payment of registration fees;
- The certificate bears signatures of the PRC Chairperson, the Board Chairperson and members, stamped with the official seal, and indicates entitlement to practice under the Act;
- The certificate remains effective unless withdrawn, suspended, or revoked under the Act;
- A professional license bearing registration number and date of issuance is issued to every registrant who paid required fees until revocation or suspension after administrative investigation or removal from the roster.
- The PRC must issue a professional identification card as a ministerial matter at the professional’s option for identification upon payment of the appropriate amount.
Section 19 imposes seal and signing requirements:
- A duly licensed Landscape Architect must affix the Board-approved seal on all plans, drawings, specifications, and other contract documents prepared by or under direct supervision.
- Upon registration, each registrant obtains a seal of design adopted by the Board; plans and specifications prepared by or under supervision must be stamped with that seal.
- No stamping/sealing on documents is allowed after the professional license loses validity unless reinstated to practice.
- Government officers and officials enforcing construction/alteration landscape laws must not accept/endorse landscape plans or specifications not prepared and submitted in full accord with the Act.
- No payment for works with plans/specifications not prepared, signed, and sealed by a duly licensed Landscape Architect must be approved by such enforcement officials.
- The prohibition on acceptance/endorsement and payment approval applies where the cost of construction or alteration of the landscape is more than Three hundred fifty thousand pesos (P350,000).
- A Landscape Architect may not sign name, affix seal, or use another signature method on documents made under another Landscape Architect’s supervision unless the manner clearly indicates the portion or function actually performed; the Landscape Architect in charge is fully responsible for all plans and documents issued under his/her seal or signature.
- The Board must promulgate rules on seal design implementation, signing and sealing rules, and related documentary requirements.
- Signed/stamped/sealed drawings and specifications as instruments of service are the property and documents of the Landscape Architect whether the project is executed or not.
- No person may duplicate or make copies of such documents for repetition in other projects/buildings without written consent of the Landscape Architect or author.
- All drawings, specifications, and other documents used for construction/renovation/refurbishing of landscape works must be signed and sealed by a licensed Landscape Architect.
- Any violation of these requirements is a ground for administrative and/or criminal action.
Section 20 requires Landscape Architects to indicate their registration number and professional tax receipt number on documents signed, used, or issued in connection with professional practice.

Refusal, suspension, revocation, and reissuance

Section 21 directs the Board to refuse registration and/or issuance of certificate/license to any person convicted by final judgment of any criminal offense involving moral turpitude, guilty of immoral or dishonorable conduct, or judicially declared of unsound mind.
Section 21 requires the Board to issue a written detailed statement of reasons; the statement must be incorporated in Board records.
Section 21 allows a party adversely affected to apply for relief with the Court of Appeals after exhausting administrative remedies.
Section 22 authorizes the Board, upon due notice and hearing, to:
- Revoke or suspend a Landscape Architect’s certificate of registration/professional license; or
- Cancel a temporary/special permit
- for causes including:
  - Revocation/suspension for causes specified in preceding sections; and
  - Use or perpetuation of fraud or deceit in obtaining registration/license;
  - Incompetence, negligence, or gross ignorance;
  - Abetment of illegal practice of Landscape Architecture;
  - Chronic inebriety or habitual use of drugs;
  - Violation of the Act, implementing rules, and/or Board policies including the Code of Ethics for Landscape Architects.
Section 22 provides that Board action is appealable to the PRC, whose decision is final, without prejudice to applying with the Court of Appeals for appropriate relief.
Section 23 allows the Board, after expiry of two (2) years from revocation/suspension, to entertain an application for a new certificate/license for equity and justice or when the cause has disappeared or for other reasons the Board considers sufficient.
Section 23 authorizes the Board, at its discretion, to exempt the applicant from undergoing an examination.
Section 23 authorizes replacement of a lost certificate/license upon payment of required fees.

Practice rules: rights, registration, partnerships, reciprocity, permits

Section 24 provides vested rights by requiring that all Landscape Architects registered at the time the Act takes effect are automatically registered.
Section 25 allows registration without examination for:
- Landscape Architects who have taken at least sixty (60) academic units of Landscape Architecture and practiced for ten (10) years prior to effectivity; and
- Architects and/or environmental planners (whether registered/licensed or not) who have practiced Landscape Architecture for ten (10) years prior to effectivity and can show proof of practice.
Section 25 requires filing of applications for registration without examination with the Board within two (2) years from effectivity, subject to PRC approval.
Section 26 permits practice through partnerships, associations, and corporations that register with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) using terms such as “Landscape Architects,” “Landscape Architects and Planners,” “Architects and Landscape Architects,” or an appropriate term.
Section 26 requires that eighty percent (80%) of partnership/association/corporation members are persons properly registered/licensed as Landscape Architects.
Section 26 provides that only duly registered/licensed design professionals and the members who are Landscape Architects shall render work and services proper for a Landscape Architect as defined under the Act, and SEC registration documents must be submitted to the Board for these entities to serve as vehicles for licensed professionals to practice their professions.
Section 27 imposes responsibility rules:
- Individual partners/stockholders/members are personally and jointly responsible and liable for their respective acts in practicing their professions.
- The partnership/association/corporation is responsible and liable for other contractual obligations.
- The managing partner or president (or authorized representative) is authorized to enter contracts for these services.
- Only a partner/stockholder registered/licensed in a particular profession may be responsible for and sign plans and documents involving the practice of that profession.
Section 28 integrates the profession into one (1) national organization accredited by the Board subject to PRC approval as the one and only integrated and accredited association of Landscape Architects.
Section 28 provides that a duly registered Landscape Architect automatically becomes a member of the integrated national organization and receives benefits/privileges upon payment of required fees and dues.
Section 28 provides that membership in the integrated organization is not a bar to membership in other Landscape Architects’ associations.
Section 29 requires foreign reciprocity: no foreign Landscape Architect may be registered and issued a certificate/license to practice, consult, or receive rights/privileges under the Act unless the foreign country specifically permits Filipino Landscape Architects to practice within its territorial limits on the same basis.
Section 30 sets temporary/special permit conditions for foreign nationals performing professional Landscape Architecture services in the Philippines:
- Foreign nationals who entered to perform professional services as Landscape Architects or consultants in foreign-funded joint venture or government assisted projects, or are employed/engaged by Philippine or foreign contractors or private firms, must secure a special/temporary permit from the Board subject to PRC approval and DOLE approval before assuming duties for the specific project.
- A foreign national must show conditions are satisfied, including:
  - Citizenship from a country that specifically permits Filipino professionals to practice their profession within that country’s territorial limits on the same basis;
  - Legal qualification to practice Landscape Architecture in the foreign national’s own country and that expertise is necessary and advantageous to the Philippines, particularly for technology transfer and specialization;
  - Working with a Filipino counterpart;
  - Sharing professional fees, services, and documentation expenses pertaining to the project by both foreign and Filipino Landscape Architects;
  - Joint and several liability and taxes due to the Philippine Government by both foreign and Filipino Landscape Architects according to participation or professional services rendered, if any;
  - Obtaining an employment permit from DOLE.
- DOLE employment permit may be issued to a non-resident alien or to the applicant-employer after DOLE determines non-availability of a competent, able, and willing person in the Philippines at the time of application.
- Reciprocity for Filipinos in the foreign national’s country of nationality is required for the further issuance condition.

Illegal practice, enforcement, and penalties

Section 32 designates the PRC as the enforcement agency of the Board, requiring the PRC to implement the Act’s provisions and enforce Board-adopted implementing rules, conduct investigations for the Board on complaints against violators, including violations of the Code of Ethics, Code of Technical Standards, and other Board policies.
Section 33 prohibits illegal practice:
- No person may practice Landscape Architecture in the Philippines, or use the title “Landscape Architect” or any means indicating qualification to perform Landscape Architect work—including titles like “Landscape Consultant,” “Landscape Designer,” “Landscape Engineer,” “Landscape Artist,” “Landscape Agriculturist,” “Landscape Horticulturist,” “Landscape Planner,” “Land Planner,” “Site Planner,” or similar terms suggesting Landscape Architect work—unless issued a certificate of registration/professional license or a temporary/special permit by the Board and PRC.
Section 33 imposes criminal penalties for specified illegal acts, including practicing or offering to practice without proper registration/exemption/license/permit; using or attempting to use another’s certificate or seal as one’s own; giving false or forged evidence to the Board or its members to obtain registration; impersonating a registrant; using a revoked, suspended, or invalid certificate; using or advertising a title or description conveying the impression of being a Landscape Architect when not; and violating provisions of the Act and its rules and regulations and the Code of Ethics.
Section 33 provides penalty ranges:
- A fine of not less than PHP 50,000 and not more than PHP 200,000, and/or
- Imprisonment of not less than six (6) months and not more than three (3) years, at the court’s discretion to impose fine and imprisonment.
Section 33 requires immediate deportation for aliens after payment of the fine or service of sentence without any further proceedings.

Administrative vacancy, removals, separability, and repeal

Section 7 requires filling vacancies in Board membership only for the unexpired portion of the term.
Section 7 authorizes removal of Board members by the President upon PRC recommendation after giving the member an opportunity to defend in a proper administrative investigation by the PRC, on grounds of:
- Neglect of duty or incompetence;
- Violation or tolerance of violations of the Act or the Code of Ethics for Landscape Architecture;
- Final judgment of any criminal offense;
- Manipulation or rigging of Landscape Architecture licensure examination results, disclosure of secret and confidential examination information prior to the examination, or tampering of grades.
Section 34 contains a separability clause: invalidity of one clause does not impair other provisions.
Section 35 repeals or modifies laws, decrees, executive orders, and other administrative issuances and parts thereof inconsistent with the Act.