29/07/2023
“Civil engineers and other professionals, therefore, must secure PCAB and represent their title as contractors, not engineers or designers, if they wish to construct structures that fall outside their expertise and were not primarily designed by them”
Architects and engineers are granted the exemption to perform design-build services, provided the projects fall strictly within their areas of expertise. Civil engineers and others who engage architects for design and build services in architectural projects are encouraged to bear this in mind.
Architects and engineers are considered the most qualified for design-build roles due to their in-depth knowledge and ability to hold liabilities on the projects they design. Unlike other contractors, they do not require PCAB licenses and registration. This is because they perform professional services regulated by the PRC, while contractors provide purely business-oriented services on a project and are regulated by CIAP registered under SEC and DTI. Contractors, who are not necessarily architects or engineers, may employ such professionals as part of their Specialized Technical Employee Services (STES).
Like contractors who are categorized based on the type and scale of projects, professionals can only legally offer design-build services within the bounds of their professional capacity. This means that their involvement should be limited to projects within their field of expertise or projects they have personally designed. They are generally responsible for the overall design. However, the philosophy "if you can do it, you do it" is not covered by this exemption.
Architectural projects such as buildings, houses, schools, and other habitable structures should legally be designed and built by architects and covered by their license. Other engineers can also be exempted from securing PCAB for engineering projects that fall within their expertise, such as highways and bridges for civil engineers and other specific types of projects for different engineering disciplines.
Architects are not permitted to design and build engineering projects, and likewise, civil engineers cannot design and build architectural projects. They can only function as consultants on a project outside the category of their licenses, taking responsibility for specific components. They can fully perform on projects that categorically belong to their field of expertise.
No civil engineer should employ or hire the services of an architect for the purpose of performing design-build services on architectural or other non-civil engineering structures. Likewise, architects cannot do the same for civil and other engineering projects. Professionals and contractors, however, can enter into joint ventures for design-build services on large-scale projects, where the most qualified professional leads the project.
Some engineers may argue that exemptions should not be limited to the category of structures. However, the law does not permit the expansion of such privileges. Civil engineers and other professionals, therefore, must secure PCAB and represent their title as contractors, not engineers or designers, if they wish to construct structures that fall outside their expertise and were not primarily designed by them.
Granting such exemptions would legalize the contracting of unrelated services such as medical equipment supplies and medical services merely by employing practitioners from those fields. This is not only outside the civil engineering scope but is also considered highly inappropriate.
Do you want to join us in our boot camp? There’s a lot to know about constructing business. Check our website for more details: https://philippineaces.com/bootcamp2023.html
