18/07/2020
ARCHITECTS AND ENGINEERS ARE EXEMPTED FROM PCAB TO PERFORM DESIGN-BUILD BUT ONLY TO PROJECTS CATEGORICALLY BELONG TO THEIR AREAS OF EXPERTISE. A REMINDER TO SOME CIVIL ENGINEERS PERFORMING OR EMPLOYING ARCHITECTS TO OFFER A DESIGN AND BUILD IN ARCHITECTURAL PROJECTS.
By Ar LB: Supplemental regulations In connection to topic credited to Coffie talk with maestro
Architects and engineers are exempted to perform design-build as the most qualified and can hold liabilities on the project they design. They don't need PCAB licenses and registration as of those other contractors because they are performing professional services under regulation of PRC while contractors are non-professional performing pure business-oriented services on a project who are regulated by CIAP registered under sec and DTI. Contractors are not necessarily an architect nor engineer but may employ one as STEs.
Like contractors who are categorized on type and scale of projects, note that a professional can only carry legally a design-build services on his professional capacity which means, within the coverage of his licence or expertise or a project that belongs to their categories that he designed himself (not applicable to projects not designed by him nor projects that do not fall on his categories) where he is generally responsible for the overall design."if you can do it, you do it" is not cover by this exemption. Architectural projects such as Buildings, houses, schools, and other habitable building structures shall be legally designed and built by architects and covered by their license. Other engineers can be exempted also to secure PCAB on engineering projects that fall to their expertise such as highways and bridges for civil engineers and other types of engineers for their respective categories of projects(not only limited to architect and civil engineers).
Architects cannot design build an engineering projects likewise civil engineers cannot design and build an architectural projects because they are responsible only on a specific component as a consultant to prime professional and cannot be liable in general design liabilities on projects outside the category of their licenses. They can only perform on structures categorically belong to them as a basic professional in small projects and prime in collaboration where a professional is the most expert on a structure or product and not only a consultant to specific part. Same applies to other engineers in their respective engineering projects.
In no case that a civil engineer alternatively employs nor hires a service of architect nor perform of its own design-build services on architectural and other non-civil engineering structures that belong to architect and other professionals, likewise the architect can’t carry the same on civil and other engineering projects. It will become a profit-oriented where the expert professional is employed to an engineer who is the boss instead of having direct responsibilities to the client.In no case shall a contractor offer a design and build services of the architect or engineers in typical architectural nor engineering projects as contractors are business entities and no direct liabilities on design. Professionals and contractors may however enter into joint venture design and build on large projects where the prime professional of a specific category or the one who could provide the most important requirements of projects takes the lead. Contractors led design-build is only possible to projects that require their specialties to which that service is highly needed by the project(experience, technology, specialty, equipment, fast-track, etc.).
Some engineers could argue that there is no such rule that exemptions are only limited to the category of structures. The law does not and shall never allow expansion of privileges like what some civil engineers propose to extend their exemptions to architectural structures or buildings which are non-civil engineering projects and products that they are not an expert or basic professional of but working only as a consultant to prime professional in a specific component.Civil engineers and any professional are therefore required to secure PCAB and shall represent the tittle as contractor and not an engineer or designer if they wish to construct structures that are not within their categories of expertise and not primarily designed by him. If their proposition is true, That would legalize them also to contract medical equipment supplies to hospital-like contracts and medical services by just hiring medical practitioners which may not necessarily civil engineering in nature scopes and is very inappropriate.
