ARTICLE IV

PRACTICE OF ARCHITECTURE

SEC. 25. Registration of Architects Required. - No person shall

practice architecture in this country, or engage in preparing
architectural plans, specifications or preliminary data for the
erection or alteration of any building located within the
boundaries of this country or use the title "Architect," or display
the word "Architect" together with another word, or display or use
any title, sign, card, advertisement, or other device to indicate
such person practices or offers to practice architecture, or is an
architect, unless such person shall have received from the Board a
Certificate of Registration and be issued a Professional
Identification Card in the manner hereinafter provided and shall
thereafter comply with the provisions of this Act.
A foreign architect or any person not authorized to
practice architecture in the Philippines, who shall stay in
the country and perform any of the activities mentioned
in Sections 3 and 4 of this Act, or any other activity
analogous thereto, in connection with the construction
of any building/structure/edifice or land development
project, shall be deemed engaged in the unauthorized
practice of architecture.
SEC. 26. Vested Rights: Architects Registered When this
Law is Passed. -

All architects registered at the time this law takes effect

shall automatically be registered under the provisions
hereof, subject, however, to the provisions herein set forth
as to future requirements. Certificate of Registration held by
such persons in good standing shall have the same force
and effect as though issued after the passage of this Act.
SEC. 27. Reciprocity Requirements. - A person who is not a
citizen of the Philippines at the time he/she applies to take
the examination shall not be allowed to take the licensure
examination unless he/she can prove, in the manner
provided by the Rules of Court that, by specific provision of
law, the country of which he/she is a citizen, subject or
national either admits citizens of the Philippines to the
practice of the same profession without restriction or allows
them to practice it after passing an examination on terms of
strict and absolute equality with citizens, subjects or
nationals of the country concerned, including the
unconditional recognition of prerequisite degrees/diplomas
issued by the institutions of learning duly recognized for the
purpose by the Government of the Philippines.
SEC. 28. Continuing Professional Development
(CPD). - To promote public interest and to
safeguard life, health and property, all practicing
architects shall maintain a program of continuing
professional development. The integrated and
accredited professional organization shall have the
responsibility of developing a continuing
professional development program for architects.
Other entities or organizations may become CPD
providers upon accreditation by the Board.
SEC. 29. Prohibition in the Practice of Architecture and Penal
Clause. - Any person who shall practice or offer to practice
architecture in the Philippines without being registered/licensed and
who are not holders of temporary or special permits in accordance
with the provisions of this Act, or any person presenting or
attempting to use as his/her own the Certificate of
Registration/Professional Identification Card or seal of another or
temporary or special permit, or any person who shall give any false
or forged evidence of any
kind to the Board or to any member thereof in obtaining a Certificate
of Registration/Professional Identification Card or temporary or
special permit, or any person who shall falsely impersonate any
registrant of like or different name, or any person who shall attempt
to use a revoked or suspended Certificate of Registration /
Professional Identification Card or cancelled special/temporary
permit, or any person who shall use in connection with his/her name
or otherwise assume, use or advertise any title or description
tending to convey the impression that he/she is an architect when
An architect, or any person whether Filipino or foreigner, who
knowingly allows the use, adoption, implementation of plans,
designs or specifications made by any person, firm, partnership
or company not duly licensed to engage in the practice of
architecture, or any person who shall violate any of the
provisions of this Act, its implementing rules and regulations,
the Code of Ethical Conduct and Standards of Professional
Practice, or any policy of the Board and the Commission, shall
be guilty of misdemeanor and charged in court by the
Commission and shall, upon conviction be sentenced to a fine
of not less than One hundred thousand pesos (Pl00,000.00) but
not more than Five million pesos (P5,000,000.00) or to suffer
imprisonment for a period not less than six (6) months or not
exceeding six (6) years, or both, at the discretion of the Court.
SEC. 30. Prohibition in the Practice of Architecture. -
Any person or entity, whether public or private,
Filipino or foreigner, who/which shall entice, compel,
coerce, require or otherwise force an architect
registered and licensed under this Act to undertake /
perform any service under the general practice of
architecture as defined under this Act, without first
executing a written contract/service agreement, shall
be guilty of a misdemeanor and shall, upon
conviction be sentenced to a fine of not less than
Two hundred thousand pesos (P200,000.00) or to
suffer imprisonment for a period not exceeding six (6)
years, or both, at the discretion of the Court.
SEC. 31. Liability of Representatives of Non-
Registered Persons.- It shall be unlawful for any
person or firm or corporation to seek to avoid the
provisions of this Act by having a representative or
employee seek architectural work in their behalf,
unless and until, such persons have duly qualified
and are duly registered/licensed, otherwise, both
those represented and the representative, the
employer and the employee shall be deemed guilty
of violation of this Act. Solicitation of architectural
work shall be construed as offering to practice
architecture and shall be unlawful for any
non_x0002_registered and unlicensed persons to do
so.
SEC. 32. Signing of Architectural Plans, Specifications and
Other Contract Documents. - It shall be unlawful for any
architect to sign his/her name, affix his/her seal, or use any
other method of signature on architectural plans, specifications
or other contract documents made under another architect's
supervision, unless the same is made in such manner as to
clearly indicate the part or parts of such work actually
performed by the former; and it shall be unlawful for any
person, except the Architect-of-record to sign for any branch of
the work, or any function or architectural practice, not actually
performed by him/her. The Architect-of-record shall be fully
responsible for all architectural plans, specifications, and other
documents issued under his/her seal or authorized signature.
The Board shall make all the necessary rules and regulations
with regards to the signing and sealing of drawings,
specifications, reports, and other documents.
SEC. 33. Ownership of Plans, Specifications and Other
Contract Documents. - Drawings and specifications and
other contract documents duly signed, stamped or
sealed, as instruments of service, are the intellectual
property and documents of the architect, whether the
object for which they are made is executed or not. It
shall be unlawful for any person to duplicate or to make
copies of said documents for use in the repetition of
and for other projects or buildings, whether executed
partly or in whole, without the written consent of
architect or author of said documents. All architects
shall incorporate this provision in all contract
documents and other instruments of service.
SEC. 34. Non-Registered Person Shall Not Claim Equivalent
Service. - Persons not registered as an architect shall not claim
nor represent either services or work as equivalent to those of a
duly qualified registered architect, or that they are qualified for
any branch or function of architectural practice, even though no
form of the title "Architect" is used.
SEC. 35. Positions in Government Requiring the Services of
Registered and Licensed Architects. - Within three (3) years from
the effectivity of this Act, all existing and proposed positions in
the local and national government, whether career, permanent,
temporary or contractual and primarily requiring the services of
an architect shall be filled only by registered and licensed
architects.
SEC. 36. Collection of Professional Fees. - It shall be unlawful for
any unregistered person to collect a fee for architectural services
except as an employee collecting a fee as representative of a
Registered Architect.
SEC. 37. Limitation to the Registration of a Firm, Company,
Partnership, Corporation or Association. - The practice of
architecture is a professional service, admission to which shall be
determined upon the basis of individual personal qualifications.
However, a firm, company, partnership, corporation or
association may be registered or licensed as such for the practice
of architecture under the following conditions:

(a) Only Filipino citizens properly registered and licensed as

architects under this Act may, among themselves, or together
with allied technical professionals, form and obtain registration as
a firm, company, partnership, association or corporation for the
practice of architecture;
(b) Registered and licensed architects shall compose at
least seventy-five percent (75) of the owners,
shareholders, members, incorporators, directors,
executive officers, as the case may be;

(c) Individual members of such firm, partnership,

association or corporation shall be responsible for their
individual and collective acts as an entity and as
provided by law;

(d) Such firm, partnership, association or corporation

shall be registered
with the Securities and Exchange Commission and the
Board.
SEC. 38. Coverage of Temporary/Special Permits. -
Foreign nationals who have gained entry in the
Philippines to perform professional services as architects
or consultants in foreign-funded or assisted projects of
the government or employed or engaged by Filipino or
foreign contractors or private firms, shall, before
assuming the duties, functions and responsibilities as
architects or consultants, secure a special/temporary
permit from the Board subject to approval of the
Commission, to practicehis/her profession in connection
with the project to which he/she was
commissioned: Provided, That a foreign national or
foreign firm, whose name or company name, with the
title architect ,
architectural consultant, design consultant, consultant or
designer appears on architectural plans, specifications
and other related construction documents, for securing
building permits, licenses and government authority
clearances for actual building project construction in the
Philippines and advertisements and billboards for
marketing purposes, shall be deemed practicing
architecture in the Philippines, whether the contract for
professional services is consummated in the Philippines
or in a foreign country: Provided, further, That the
following conditions are satisfied as follows:
(a) That he/she is a citizen or subject of a country which
specifically permits Filipino professionals to practice his/her
profession within their territorial limits, on the same basis as the
subjects or citizens of such foreign state or country;

(b) That he/she is legally qualified to practice architecture in

his/her own country, and that his/her expertise is necessary and
advantageous to our country particularly in the aspects of
technology transfer and specialization;
(c) That foreign nationals shall be required to work with a Filipino
counterpart and shall also be responsible for public utilities and
taxes due to the Philippine government, relative to their
participation in, or professional services rendered to the project,
in accordance with the established implementing rules and
regulations providing for the procedure for the registration
and/or issuance of temporary/special permits to foreign
architects allowed by law to practice their profession in the
Philippines by the Board of Architecture and the accredited
professional organization; and
(d) Agencies, organizations or individuals, whether public or
private, who secure the services of a foreign professional
authorized by law to practice in the Philippines for reasons
aforementioned, shall be responsible for securing a special
permit from the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) and
the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) pursuant to
PRC and DOLE rules.
SEC. 39. Liability Insurance of a Person or Entity
Allowed to Practice under a Temporary/Special Permit.
- Foreign nationals, including former Filipinos wanting to
engage in the general practice of architecture as defined
in Section 3 (c) of this Act must secure locally their
professional liability insurance or malpractice insurance
or their acceptable equivalent in bond form
commensurate with the nature and magnitude of their
project involvement and their compensation(.) the
implementing rules and regulations for such a
requirement for practice shall be implemented by the
Board in consultation with the integrated and accredited
professional organization of architects within six (6)
months from the effectivity of this Act.
 ARTICLE V
FINAL PROVISIONS
SEC. 40. Integration of the Architecture Profession. - The
Architecture profession shall be integrated into one (1) national
organization which shall be accredited by the Board, subject to the
approval by the Commission, as theintegrated and accredited
professional organization of architects: Provided, however, That
such an organization shall be registered with the Securities and
Exchange Commission, as a non-profit, non-stock corporation to be
governed by by-laws providing for a democratic election of its
officials. An architect duly registered with the Board shall
automatically become a member of the integrated and accredited
professional organization of architects and shall receive the
benefits and privileges provided for in this Act upon payment of
the required fees and dues. Membership in the integrated and
accredited professional organization of architects shall not be a bar
to membership in other associations of architects.
SEC. 41. Implementing Rules and Regulations. -
Within sixty (60) days after the effectivity of this Act,
the Board, subject to the approval of the Commission
and in coordination with the integrated and
accredited professional organization, shall adopt and
promulgate such rules and regulations, Code of Ethical
Conduct and Standards of Professional Practice, to
carry out the provisions of this Act and which shall be
effective fifteen (15) days following their publication
in the Official Gazette or in two (2) major daily
newspapers of general circulation.
SEC. 42. Appropriations. - The Chairperson of the
Professional Regulation Commission shall
immediately include in the Commission's
programs the implementation of this Act, the
funding of which shall be included in the annual
General Appropriations Act.

SEC. 43. Act Not Affecting Other Professionals. -This

Act shall not be construed to affect or prevent the
practice of any other legally recognized profession.
SEC. 44. Enforcement of the Act. - It shall be the
primary duty of the Commission and the Board to
effectively enforce the provisions of this Act. All duly
constituted law enforcement agencies and officers of
national, provincial, city or municipal government or
of any political subdivision thereof, shall, upon the
call or request of the Commission or the Board,
render assistance in enforcing the provisions of this
Act and to prosecute any person violating the
provisions of the same. The Secretary of Justice or
his duly designated representative shall act as to the
Commission and the Board and shall render legal
legal adviser assistance as may be necessary in
carrying out the provisions of this Act.
Any person may bring before the Commission, Board
or the aforementioned officers of the law, cases of
illegal practice or violations of this Act committed by
any person or party.

The Board shall assist the Commission in filing the

appropriate charges through the concerned
prosecution office in accordance with law and the
Rules of Court.
SEC. 45. Separability Clause. - If any clause,
provision, paragraph or part hereof shall be declared
unconstitutional or invalid, such judgment shall not
affect, invalidate or impair any other part hereof, but
such judgment shall be merely confined to the
clause, provision, paragraph or part directly involved
in the controversy in which such judgment has been
rendered.
SEC. 46. Repealing Clause. - Republic Act No, 545, as
amended by
SEC. 47. Effectivity. - This Act shall take effect after
fifteen (15) days following its publication in the
Official Gazette or in two (2) newspapers of general
circulation.
ADDITIONAL Q &
A
What law protects the Architect from the
reproduction of copies of the contract?
An Architect refuses to
give the original plan
to the Owner. Why?
 A person found preparing
architectural plans without the
necessary license is guilty of
what?
 A group of newly licensed architects
and their friends wanted to put-up an
architectural firm. How many
percentage of the corporation should be
owned by the Architects?
 An architect was tasked to
prepare the overall concept
of a design project. What
is his liability on the
project? Explain your
answer.
Who will be liable for seeking
and soliciting architectural
works by a non-registered
person?
How can a foreign citizen be
allowed to take the Architect
Licensure Examination?
Is charitable act or “pro
bono” included as
violation in this act?
Does the IAPOA have the
power to file criminal and
civil charges against a
dishonest Architect? Why?
Why is there a need to renew a
Professional Identification Card
when registration issued for a
professional is for a lifetime?
What are the official grounds
for the suspension or removal
of the Certificate of
Registration of an Architect?
If there are two (2) Architects on a
certain project with both AoR and
Architect in charge of
Construction, and when the
building project collapses, who is
more liable? Can one sue the
liable party?
 A plan is drawn by a company
draftsman under the supervision
of a RLA. Who owns the said
document? Why?