Republic Act No. 5336




REPUBLIC ACT No. 5336 An Act Amending Commonwealth Act Numbered Two Hundred Ninety-Four, as Amended, Entitled "An Act to Regulate the Practice of Mechanical Engineering in the Philippines, to Provide for Licensing the Operating Personnel in Mechanical Plants and for Other Purposes" Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippine Congress Assembled: Section 1. Subparagraph two of section four of Commonwealth Act Numbered Two hundred ninety four, otherwise known as the "Mechanical Engineering Law" is hereby amended to read as follows: "(2) Hold the degree of M.E. or B.S.M.E. or M.M.E. or M.S.M.E., or the equivalent thereof, conferred by an engineering school or college, legally chartered and of recognized standing." Section 2. Section eight of the same Act is hereby amended to read as follows: "Sec. 8. Compensation of Board.— The members of the Board shall each receive as compensation the sum of ten pesos for each applicant examined or registered without examination for any of the first two grades provided under Section eleven hereof; and five pesos for each applicant registered without examination or examined for the grade of certified plant mechanic: Provided, That the total amount shall not exceed the sum of eighteen thousand pesos per annum. Any mechanical engineer in the service of the Government of the Philippines appointed as member of the Board shall receive the compensation herein provided, in addition to his salary. All fees shall be received by the officer designated by competent authority as the collecting officer for the Civil Service Commission, and such officer shall pay all authorized expenses of the Board, including the compensation provided for by this Act for the members of the Board. Section 3. Section eleven of the same Act is hereby amended to read as follows: "Sec. 11. Grades.— Certificates of registration for the practice of mechanical engineering shall be of three grades and in the order of rank as follows: (1) professional mechanical engineer, (2) mechanical engineer, and (3) certified plant mechanic." Section 4. Paragraph (a) of Section thirteen of the same Act is hereby amended to read as follows: "Sec. 13. Definition of terms.— (a) Mechanical engineering.— A person shall be deemed to be practicing mechanical engineering or rendering mechanical engineering service within the meaning and intent of this Act, who shall, for a fee, salary or other reward or compensation paid to himself or to another person, or even without such reward or compensation, render professional mechanical engineering service in the form of consultation, investigation, valuation, planning, design, or preparation of specifications or estimates for, or take charge of management, administration and supervision of the construction, erection, installation or alteration of, or render engineering service in connection with the manufacture, sale, supply or distribution of, or to manage, operate, tend or maintain any mechanical equipment machinery or process, for any mechanical works, project or plant; or who shall, by means of signs, cards, advertisement or in any other way, offer to practice mechanical engineering or to render professional mechanical engineering service, or who shall in connection with his name, or otherwise, use, assume or advertise any title or description tending to convey the impression that he is a professional mechanical engineer, or mechanical engineer, or certified plant mechanic, or that he is engaged in the practice of mechanical engineering as defined in this Act." Section 5. Subparagraphs (c) and (d-1) of Section sixteen of the same Act is hereby amended to read as follows: "(c) That he is a registered mechanical engineer under the provisions of this Act. "(d) That he has graduated from an engineering school or college of recognized standing, after completing an approved course in mechanical engineering of not less than four years; and that after he has been conferred a degree as provided in Section eighteen of this Act he has a specific record of a total of four years or more of active practice in mechanical engineering work of a character satisfactory to the Board, and in an affidavit by one or more registered professional mechanical engineers indicate that the applicant is competent to practice as professional mechanical engineer. "In considering the qualifications of applicants, being in charge of mechanical engineering teaching in an engineering school of recognized standing may be regarded as being in active practice in mechanical engineering work." Section 6. Subparagraph (d-2) of Section sixteen and Section seventeen of the same Act are hereby repealed. Section 7. Section eighteen of the same Act is hereby amended to read as follows: "Sec. 18. Qualifications of applicant for mechanical engineer.— Any person applying for examination and for a certificate of registration as mechanical engineer shall, prior to admission to examination, establish to the satisfaction of the Board: "(a) That he is at least eighteen years of age: Provided, That no license shall be issued to him until he reaches the age of twenty-one. "(b) That he is of good reputation and moral character. "(c) That he holds the degree of bachelor of science in mechanical engineering, mechanical engineer, master in mechanical engineering, master of science in mechanical engineering, or the equivalent thereof, conferred by a university, school, college, academy or institute duly constituted and recognized as such by the government or the state in which it is established after completing a collegiate course of not less than four years." Section 8. Sections twenty-one, twenty-four, and twenty-five of the same Act, as emended, are hereby amended to read as follows: "Sec. 21. Scope of examinations.— The examination for professional mechanical engineer shall be testimonial which shall consist of a submission of an enumeration of the applicant's experiences including the presentation of an engineering report pertinent to his line of experience attested to by one or more professional mechanical engineers duly notarized to the satisfaction of the Board. "The scope of the examinations and the methods of procedure shall be prescribed by the Board with special reference to the applicant's ability to do the class of engineering work pertaining to the particular grade he is to be registered for, and to prove that said applicant has sufficient technological knowledge to insure safety to life, health and property as well as economy and efficiency in the design, construction, installation, maintenance, operation, organization and management of mechanical plants or works.1avvphi1 It shall be the duty of the Board to prepare the programs of examinations and to publish the same at least six months before the date of the examinations wherein they are to be used. "Any alteration or amendments that the Board may later wish to introduce in said program shall also be published at least six months before the date of the examinations. "Sec. 24. Registration as professional mechanical engineer without examination.— No examination shall be required of any person who shall, with his application for registration as professional mechanical engineer submitted to the Board after the date this Act becomes effective, present evidence or other proof satisfactory to the Board, showing that, on the date of the approval of this Act, he was a mechanical engineer duly licensed by the Board of Examiners for Mechanical Engineers under Act Numbered Two thousand nine hundred eighty-five of the Philippine Legislature of nineteen hundred twenty-one, as amended. "Sec. 25. Registration as mechanical engineer without examination.— No examination shall be required of any person who shall, with his application for registration as mechanical engineer, submitted to the Board the date this Act becomes effective, present evidence or sufficient proof satisfactory to the Board, showing that, on the date of the approval of this Act, as amended, he was a junior mechanical engineer duly registered by said Board under the original provisions of this Act." Section 9. Section twenty-six of the same Act is hereby repealed. Section 10. Sections twenty-eight, thirty, thirty-six, thirty-seven, thirty-eight, thirty-nine and forty-one of the same Act, as amended, are hereby amended to read as follows: "Sec. 28. Issuance of certificates.— The Board shall issue a certificate of registration upon payment of the registration fee as provided for in this Act, to any applicant who, in the opinion of the Board and after approval of his ratings by the Office of the President, has satisfactorily met all the requirements specified in this Act for the particular grade for which he is registering. "All certificates of registration shall show the full name of the registrant, shall have a serial number, and shall be signed by all the members of the Board and the Commissioner of Civil Service, and shall be attested by the official seal. "The issuance of a certificate of registration by the Board to a registrant shall be evidence that the person named therein is entitled to all the rights and privileges of a registered professional mechanical engineer, mechanical engineer, certified plant mechanical, as the case may be, while said certificate remains unrevoked or unsuspended. "Sec. 30. Fees for examination and registration.— Every applicant for examination for the grade of professional mechanical engineer or mechanical engineer shall pay an examination fee of fifty pesos; and for the grade of certified plant mechanic, a fee of twenty pesos; which fee shall accompany the application. "Every registrant for the grades of professional mechanical engineer and mechanical engineer shall pay a registration fee of ten pesos; and for certified plant mechanic, a fee of five pesos: Provided, That when an applicant is registered, without examination, for the grade of professional mechanical engineer or of mechanical engineer, he shall be required to pay a registration fee of thirty pesos; and for the grade of certified plant mechanic, a fee of ten pesos. "Sec. 36. Field of action authorized for each grade; prohibitions.— It shall be unlawful for any person, unless exempted from registration under Section fourteen of this Act: "(a) To be in responsible charge of the preparation of plans, designs, investigation, valuation, technical reports, specifications, or estimates, or to be in performance of other professional mechanical engineering service for any mechanical works, project or plant, either for himself or for others, unless he holds a valid certificate of registration as professional mechanical engineer. "(b) To be in responsible charge of the construction, erection, installation or alteration or of the performance of mechanical engineering service in connection with the manufacture, sale, supply or distribution of any mechanical equipment, machinery or process for any mechanical works, project or plant, either for himself or for others, unless he holds a valid certificate of registration as professional mechanical engineer or mechanical engineer. "(c) To operate, tend, or maintain, or be in charge of the operation, tending, or maintenance of any mechanical equipment, machinery or process for any mechanical works, project or plant of fifty horsepower or more but of less than three hundred horsepower, unless he holds a valid certificate of registration as professional mechanical engineer, mechanical engineer, or certified plant mechanic. "(d) To operate, tend, or maintain, or be in charge of the operation, tending or maintenance of any mechanical equipment, machinery or process for any mechanical works, project or plant of three hundred horsepower or more, unless he holds a valid certificate of registration as professional mechanical engineer, or mechanical engineer. "Sec. 37. Personnel required in mechanical plants.— Every mechanical works, project, or plant, in operation shall have not less than the following complement of resident engineers or mechanics duly registered under this Act: "(a) Fifty horsepower or over but below three hundred horsepower, one certified plant mechanic, or one mechanical engineer of any rank: Provided, That every mechanical works, project or plant of fifty horsepower or over but below three hundred horsepower operating in more than one shift every twenty-four hours, shall have, in addition to the minimum personnel herein required, one certified plant mechanic or one mechanical engineer of any rank in charge or each and every additional shift. "(b) Three hundred horsepower or over, one mechanical engineer or one professional mechanical engineer: Provided, That every mechanical works, projects or plants of three hundred horsepower or more shall have at least one resident mechanical engineer or professional mechanical engineer, in charge of each shift. "Sec. 38. Preparation of plans and supervision of construction by registered engineers required.— It shall be unlawful for any person to order or otherwise cause the construction, erection, installation, or alteration of any mechanical equipment, machinery or process for any mechanical works, project or plant of fifty horsepower or more, unless designs, plans, layouts, and/or specifications have been prepared under the responsible charge of, signed and sealed by a registered professional mechanical engineer, and unless the construction, erection, installation, and/or alteration thereof are executed under the responsible charge and direct supervision of a registered professional mechanical engineer, a registered mechanical engineer, or a person exempt from registration under subsection (c) or (d) of Section fourteen of this Act. "Sec. 39. Application to firms and corporations.— A firm or a co-partnership, or a corporation, or an association may engage in the practice of mechanical engineering in the Philippines, provided only that such practice is carried on by professional mechanical engineers, or mechanical engineers, or certified plants mechanics, holding valid certificates of registration issued by the Board. "In the case of a firm, co-partnership, corporation, association, society or company, the manager, administrator, or the person who has charge of the management or administration of the business shall be held personally liable for any violation of this Act. "Sec. 41. Roster of engineers and mechanics.— A roster showing the names and places of business of all registered professional mechanical engineers, mechanical engineers, or certified plant mechanics, shall be prepared by the Commissioner of Civil Service during the months of January and July of each year, commencing one year from the date this Act becomes effective. Copies of this roster shall be mailed to each person so registered, placed on file with the Board and copies furnished to all Department Heads, to the Mayors of all chartered cities, to the Director of Public Works, to such other bureaus, governmental agencies, and municipal and provincial authorities as may be deemed necessary, and to the public upon request." Section 11. The same Act is further amended by inserting a new section between Section forty-seven and Section forty-eight, to be known as Section forty-seven-A which shall read as follows: "Sec. 47-A. Transitory Provision— Subjects Mechanical Plant Engineer.— Effective upon approval of this Act, the original grade of mechanical plant engineer shall retain their original certificate and shall continue to practice as such with the following field of action: "To be in responsible charge of the construction, erection, installation or alteration or of the performance of engineering service in connection with maintenance, sale, supply or distribution of any mechanical equipment, machinery or process for any mechanical works, project or plant, either for himself or for others and all the rights and privileges of mechanical engineer as provided in this Act, as amended." Section 12. This Act shall take effect upon its approval. Approved: June 15, 1968. The Lawphil Project - Arellano Law Foundation