Republic Act No. 7920
Republic Act No. 7920
Republic Act No. 7920
7920
February 24, 1995
ARTICLE I
TITLE AND DEFINITION OF TERMS
Section 1. Title. - This Act shall be known as the "New Electrical Engineering
Law."
Sec. 2. Definition of Terms. - As used in this Act, the following terms shall mean:
(7) Taking charge of the sale and distribution of electrical equipment and
systems requiring engineering calculations or applications of engineering
data.
(f) "Electrical system design" refers to the choice of electrical systems, including
planning and detailing of requirements for protection, control, monitoring,
coordination and interlocking of electrical systems among others.
(g) "Voltage" is the highest effective potential difference between any two
conductors of the circuit concerned expressed in volts.
(h) "Kva" refers to the installed capacity of an alternating current (A.C.) electric
plant or supply equipment, or the connected load of industrial plants, commercial
establishments, institutional buildings expressed in kilovolt-amperes.
(i) "Kw" refers to the installed capacity of a direct current (D.C) electric plant on
board watercraft expressed in kilowatts.
(n) "Watercraft" is any waterborne unit which is designed and built to have an
electric plant.
(o) "Electric locomotive" refers to the power plant mounted on wheels as used in
the railroad transportation industry.
ARTICLE II
Sec. 4. Powers and Duties of the Board. - The Board shall exercise
executive/administrative or quasi-legislative (rule-making) or quasi-judicial
(investigative) powers in carrying out the provisions of this Act. It shall be vested
with the following specific powers, functions, duties and responsibilities:
(g) Look into the conditions affecting the practice of the electrical
engineering profession, adopt measures for the enhancement of the
profession and the maintenance of high professional, technical, and
ethical standards and conduct ocular inspection of places where
registrants practice their profession, such as, but not limited to: electric
plants, substations, industrial plants or factories, commercial
establishments, institutional buildings, watercrafts, electric locomotives,
engineering offices, repair shops and similar places to determine and
enforce compliance with this Act. The Board shall authorize the duly
integrated and accredited electrical engineering association and other
registered electrical engineering associations to render assistance in this
function;
(i) Investigate violations of the Act and the rules and regulations, code of
ethics, administrative policies, orders and issuances promulgated by the
Board. The rules on administrative investigation promulgated by the
Commission shall govern in such investigation;
(m) After due notice and hearing, cancel examination papers and/or bar
any examinee from future examination; refuse or defer his registration;
reprimand the registrant with stern warning; suspend him from the practice
of his profession; revoke his certificate of registration; delist his name from
the roll of professional electrical engineers, registered electrical engineers,
and registered master electricians for continuous non-payment of annual
registration fees and non-compliance with the Continuing Professional
Education (CPE) requirements; reinstate or reenroll his name in the said
roll, reissue or return his certificate of registration. A decision of
suspension, revocation of the certificate of registration, or delisting from
the roll by the Board as provided herein, may be appealed initially to the
Commission within fifteen (15) days from receipt thereof. The decision of
the Commission may be appealed to the Court of Appeals in accordance
with the procedure provided in the Rules of Court.
(p) Prosecute or institute criminal action against any violator of the Act
and/or the rules and regulations of the Board;
(s) Prescribe guidelines and criteria on the CPE program for professional
electrical engineers, registered electrical engineers and registered master
electricians and renew their professional licenses after compliance with
the CPE requirements;
Sec. 5. Qualifications of Board Members. - Each Board member must, at the time
of his appointment:
(a) Be a natural born Filipino citizen and a resident of the Philippines for at
least five (5) consecutive years;
(b) Be at least thirty-five (35) years of age, of proven integrity with high
moral values in his personal as well as his professional conduct;
(f) Have practiced electrical engineering for a period of not less than ten
(10) years prior to his appointment, with a sworn statement as such; and
(g) Not be an official nor a member of the faculty of, nor have a pecuniary
interest in, any university, college, school or institution conferring a
bachelor's degree in electrical engineering for at least three (3) years prior
to his appointment, and is not connected with a review center or with any
group or association where review classes or lectures in preparation for
the licensure examinations are offered or conducted at the time of his
appointment.
Sec. 6. Term of Office. - The members of the Board shall hold office for a term of
three (3) years from the date of appointment or until their successors shall have
been appointed and qualified. They may, however, be reappointed for a second
term. Each member shall qualify by taking an oath of office before entering upon
the performance of his duties.
Vacancies in the Board shall be filled by the President from the list of
recommendees by the Commissioner who were chosen from the list of nominees
submitted by the integrated and accredited association for the unexpired term
only.
Sec. 8. Compensation of Chairman and the Board Members. - The chairman and
members of the Board shall receive a monthly compensation of no less than
twelve thousand pesos (P12,000.00): Provided, That the chairman shall receive
a monthly compensation of ten percent (10%) more: Provided, further, That such
compensation shall be increased or modified pursuant to the General
Appropriations Act of the year: Provided, furthermore, That they shall receive
other benefits that may be provided for by law.
ARTICLE III
EXAMINATION AND REGISTRATION
Sec. 10. Examination Required. - All applicants for registration for the practice of
electrical engineering in the Philippines shall be required to pass a technical
examination as hereafter provided except as otherwise specifically allowed under
this Act.
Sec. 12. Examination Fees. - All applicants for oral examinations for professional
electrical engineer and written examinations for registered electrical engineer and
registered master electrician shall be subject to payment of fees prescribed by
the Commission: Provided, That ninety percent (90%) of the fees is to be treated
as a special fund for the programs, projects and activities of the Commission and
the remaining ten percent (10%) shall be set aside as a trust fund for the
establishment and maintenance of the center for continuing education and
research.
Sec. 13. Registration Fees, License Fees and Fines. - All applicants for
registration and license to practice as professional electrical engineer, and
registered master electrician, shall be subject to the payment of registration fees,
license fees, and fines in case of violation of the pertinent rules and regulations
for the amounts prescribed by the Board and approved by the Commission:
Provided, That fifty percent (50%) from these collections are to be treated as a
special fund for programs, projects and activities of the commission and the other
fifty percent (50%) shall be set up in a separate special fund for the supervisory
and regulatory functions of the Board.
Sec. 14. Exemption from Examination and Registration. - (a) Examination and
registration shall not be required of foreign electrical engineers,
erection/commissioning/guarantee engineers employed as technical consultants
by the Philippine government or by private firms, for which the pertinent
professional society certifies that no qualified Filipino professional is available, or
of foreign electrical installers for the erection and installation of a special project
or for any other specialized work, subject to the following conditions:
(iii) That prior to commencing work, the foreign professional shall secure a
special permit from the Commission;
(iv) That said foreign professional shall not engage in private practice on
their own account;
(v) That for every foreign professional contracted pursuant to this section,
one Filipino understudy who is registered under the provisions of this Act
shall be employed by the private firm utilizing the services of such foreign
professional for at least the duration of the alien expert's tenure with said
firm; and
(vi) That the exemption herein granted shall be good only for six(6)
months, renewable for another six (6) months at the discretion of the
Board: Provided, That in case the foreign professional ceases to be
employed in accordance with this section and engages in an occupation
requiring registration as electrical engineer such professional must be
registered under the provisions of this Act.
(c) He has not been finally convicted by the court of an offense involving
moral turpitude;
(d) He has not been finally convicted by the court of an offense involving
moral turpitude; and
(d) He has not been finally convicted by the court of an offense involving
moral turpitude; and
For the purpose of confirming the service record and clarifying the
technical report submitted by the applicant for registration as a
professional electrical engineer, an oral examination or interview shall be
conducted on the following documents to be submitted to the Board:
(1) Certified experience record from the date applicant took oath as a
registered electrical engineer indicating the inclusive dates, companies
worked for, description of specific responsibilities, significant
accomplishments as well as the name and position of immediate
supervisors;
The applicant must obtain passing marks on the experience record and on
the technical report in order to qualify for registration as a professional
electrical engineer.
The number of test questions shall be such that the examinations can be finished
in one (1) eight-hour day.
The relative weights shall be fifty percent (50%) for technical subjects and fifty
percent (50%) for Philippine Electrical Code.
The passing general average rating shall be seventy percent (70%) with no
grade below fifty percent (50%) in any subject.
Sec. 20. Report of Ratings. - The Board of Electrical Engineering shall, within
one hundred fifty (150) days after the date of completion of the examinations,
report the ratings obtained by each candidate to the Commission.
Sec. 21. Reexamination of Failed Subjects. - An applicant shall be allowed to
retake, any number of times, only the subject/s in which he has obtained a grade
below fifty percent (50%). When he shall obtained an average grade of seventy
percent (70%) in the subject/s repeated, he shall be considered to have passed
his licensure examination.
Sec. 22. Oath. - All successful candidates in the examination shall be required to
take a professional oath before the Board or any government official authorized
to administer oaths prior to entering upon the practice of professional electrical
engineer, registered electrical engineer, and registered master electrician.
Sec. 24. Continuing Professional Education Program. - The CPE guidelines shall
be prescribed and promulgated by the Board subject to the approval of the
Commission, after consultation with the integrated and accredited electrical
engineering associations, other associations of the electrical engineering
profession, and other concerned sectors. The Board shall incorporate in the said
guidelines the creation of a CPE council that shall be composed of officers
coming from the Board, the Commission, the integrated and accredited electrical
associations, and other concerned sectors. It shall be vested with the functions,
duties and responsibilities to implement the guidelines and shall have the juridical
personality that is distinct and separate from and independent of the Board, the
Commission, the integrated and accredited electrical engineering association,
and other associations of the electrical engineering profession.
Sec. 25. Integration of the Electrical Engineering Professions. - The electrical
engineering professions shall be integrated into one national organization which
shall be recognized by the Board as the one and only integrated and accredited
association of professional electrical engineers, registered electrical engineers
and registered master electricians. Every professional electrical engineer,
registered electrical engineer and registered master electrician upon registration
with the Board as such, shall ipso facto, become a member of the integrated
national organization. Those who have been registered with the Board but are
not members of the said organization at the time of the effectivity of this Act, shall
be allowed to register as members of the said integrated organization within
three (3) years after the effectivity of this Act. Membership in the integrated
organization shall not be a bar to membership in the other associations of the
electrical engineering profession.
The registrant shall be allowed again to use his seal or stamp in the documents
he prepares, signs or issues only after he is reinstated to the practice of his
profession and reissued a new professional license.
Sec. 28. Refusal to Issue Certificates. - The Board of electrical engineering shall
not issue a certificate of registration to any person convicted by the court of any
criminal offense involving moral turpitude or to any person guilty of immoral or
dishonorable conduct or to any person of unsound mind. In the event of refusal to
issue certificates for any reason, the Board shall give the applicant a written
statement setting forth the reasons for such action, which statement shall be
incorporated in the records of the Board.
After no less than a year from the finality of the Board's decision, the Board, out
of equity and justice, may recommend to the Commission the issuance of the
certificate of registration to the applicant.
(a) Being a professional electrical engineer, he has signed and affixed his
seal on any plan, design, technical reports, valuation, estimate,
specification or other similar document or work not prepared by him or not
executed under his immediate supervision;
The decision of the board shall be final and executory unless it is appealed by
the respondent to the Commission within fifteen (15) days from the receipt of
such decision. The Board's or Commission's decision is appealable by the
respondent to the Court of Appeals in accordance with the procedure provided
under the Rules of Court.
Any person, firm, association or corporation may file charges in accordance with
the provisions of this section against any licensee, or the Board may, on its own
initiative (motu propio) investigate and/or take cognizance of acts and practices
constituting cause for suspension or revocation of the certificate of registration by
proper resolution or order, such charges shall be in writing and shall be sworn to
by the person making them and shall be filed with the Board.
The respondent shall have the right to a speedy and public hearing and to
confront and cross-examine witnesses against him.
A new certificate of registration to replace any certificate that has been lost,
destroyed or mutilated may be issued, subject to the rules of the Board.
ARTICLE IV
SUNDRY PROVISIONS RELATIVE TO THE
PRACTICE OF ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING
Sec. 31. Field of Practice. - The field of practice for professional electrical
engineers, registered electrical engineers, and registered master electricians
shall be as follows:
(a) A professional electrical engineer's field of practice includes the sole
authority to seal electrical plans, etc., and to practice electrical engineering
in its full scope as defined in this Act;
(c) Give false or forged evidence of any kind to the Board or to any
member thereof in obtaining a certificate of registration or professional
license;
Sec. 33. Personnel Required. - Except as otherwise provided in this Act, every
electric plant, industrial plant or factory, commercial establishment, institutional
building, watercraft, electric locomotive or in any other installation where persons
and properties are exposed to electrical hazards shall not have less than the
following complement of professional electrical engineer, registered electrical
engineer, and registered electrical engineer, and registered master electricians:
(a) Electric plants with total installed generating capacity of any size and
employing voltages of any standard rating - one (1) professional electrical
engineer or one (1) registered electrical engineer. However, for capacities
up to five hundred-kilovolt amperes (500 Kva) and employing voltages of
up to six hundred volts (600 V) - one (1) registered master electrician;
(b) Industrial plants or factories, commercial establishments, or
institutional buildings having a connected Kva load of any size and
employing voltages of any standard rating - one (1) professional electrical
engineer or one (1) registered electrical engineer. However, for connected
loads up to five hundred kilovolt-amperes (500 Kva) and employing
voltages up to six hundred volts (600 V) - one (1) registered master
electrician;
This section, however, shall not apply to any installation which has a connected
load of fifty kilovolt-amperes (50 Kva) or less and employs voltages of not more
than two hundred fifty volts (250 v) and for installations which are designed to be
automatic and do not require resident personnel for their safe operation:
Provided, however, That their maintenance and repair shall be under the charge
of a duly registered personnel: Provided, further, That a yearly inspection will be
conducted and certified to be in a safe operating condition by a professional
electrical engineer, a registered electrical engineer, or a registered master
electrician.
Sec. 36. Posting of Certificates. - The owner, manager or the person in charge of
an electric plant, industrial plant or factory, commercial establishment,
institutional building, watercraft, or electric locomotive shall post or cause to be
posted in a conspicuous place within such plant or establishment the certificate
of registration of the engineers or electricians employed in such plant or
establishment, in a frame protected by transparent glass or equivalent.
Sec. 39. Enforcement of the Act by Officers of the Law. - It shall be the duty of all
constituted officers of the law of the national government, or any provincial, city
or municipal government or of any political subdivision thereof to prosecute any
person violating the provisions of this Act. The Secretary of Justice or his
assistant shall act as legal adviser of the Board and render such legal assistance
as may be necessary in carrying out the provisions of this Act.
Sec. 40. Penalty Clause. - Any person who shall violate any of the provisions of
this Act shall be guilty of misdemeanor and shall, upon conviction, be sentenced
to a fine of not less than Ten thousand pesos (P10,000.00) nor more than Fifty
thousand pesos (P50,000.00) or imprisonment for a period not less than six (6)
months nor more than five (5) years or both at the discretion of the court.
ARTICLE V
TRANSITORY PROVISIONS
Sec. 41. Terms of Office of Board Members. - Upon approval of this Act, the
incumbent chairman and two (2) members of the Board shall continue to serve
until their terms of office expire or until their replacements have been appointed
by the President and shall have been duly qualified.
ARTICLE VI
FINAL PROVISIONS
Sec. 43. Repealing Clause. - Republic Act No. 184 and existing provisions of
provincial, city or municipal ordinances or regulations pertaining to examinations
for electrical contractors, electrical inspectors, or electricians, and all other laws,
part of laws, orders, ordinances or regulations in conflict with this Act are hereby
repealed or amended accordingly.
Sec. 44. Separability Clause. - If any part of this Act or the application of such
provision or circumstance is declared unconstitutional, the remainder of this Act
or the application of such provision to other persons or circumstances shall not
be affected by such declaration.
Sec. 45. Effectivity Clause. - This Act shall take effect after thirty (30) days
following its full publication in the Official Gazette or newspaper of general
circulation.