Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City, Metro Manila

Eighteenth Congress
First Regular Session

HOUSE BILL NO. esa

Introduced by: Cong. Manvel T. Sagarbarria

EXPLANATORY

On May 13, 2014, Republic Act No. 9297 was passed, otherwise known as
the Chemical Engineering Law on 2014. The law repealed Republic Act No. 318
which was passed into Law on June 19, 1948. It took almost 56 years to the day
that the old Chemical Engineering Law was repealed in order to declare the
policy of the state regarding the practice of chemical engineering in the
Philippines, to upgrade chemical engineering education to ensure that Filipino
chemical engineers are at par with the best in the world.

However, right after the passage of RA No. 9297 in 2004, the ASEAN Mutual
Recognition Arangement (MRA) on Engineering Services wos signed on
December 9, 2005 in Kuala Lumpur by the Governments of Brunei Darussalam,
Cambodia, Indonesia, PDR Lao, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and
Vietnam. The integration of 10 ASEAN member states into a single Market and
Production base established the ASEAN Economic Community in 2015 wherein
there will be flow of goods, free flow of capital, free flow of investment and free
flow of professional services. The ASEAN framework of services (AFAS) has the
following objectives namely: 1) To facilitate mobility of engineering services of
professionals; 2) To exchange information in order to promote adoption of best
practices on standards and qualification.

In view of this development, aside from other Mutual Recognition
Arrangements (MRAs) with other international economic groupings or individual
countries in Asia, Europe , U.S.A., North and South America and Africa that may
be established in the years to come, the bill seeks the revisions of some provisions
in RA No. 9297 in order for the professional law to align with there MRAs to ensure.
that Filipino chemical engineers remain competitive with the best not only in
ASEAN but the rest of the world.

Therefore, it s respectfully requested that Congress enact the amendments
in Republic Act. No. 9297 known as the Chemical engineering Law of 2004.

ict Negros Oriental


Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City, Metro Manila

Eighteenth Congress
First Regular Session

House sino, 2970

Introduced by: Cong. Manuel T. Sagarbarria

AN ACT AMENDING CERTAIN PROVISIONS OF REPUBLIC ACT NO. 9297,
OTHERWISE KNOWN AS “THE CHEMICAL ENGINEERING LAW OF 2004”

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representative of the
Philippines in Congress assembled:

ARTICLE 1
TITLE, STATEMENT OF POLICY, DEFINITION OF TERM AND SCOPE OF PRACTICE

SECTION 1- Section 2 of RA No. 9297, otherwise known as the Chemical
Engineering Law of 2004 (RA No. 9297 for brevity), is hereby amended to read
as follows:

SECTION 2, Statement of the Policy- it is hereby declared the policy of the State to
supervise and regulate the practice of the Chemical Engineering vital to national
development, upgrade chemical engineering education in order to ensure that our
chemical engineers are at par with the best in the world, and to reserve the practice of
such profession to Filipino citizens [and foreign nationals who have
complied with all the legal requirements for the practice of the
profession.]

SECTION 2- Section 3, Paragraph | of RA No. 9297 is hereby amended to read
as follows:

Section 3. Definition of Terms. - [Chemical Engineering is the
profession in which a knowledge of mathematics, chemistry, and
other natural sciences h hysics and biol: ined by
study, experience and practice is applied with judgement to
devel jonomic ani vironmentally safe w mploying unit
processes, unit operations, physical and chemical principles in
using materials and energy in a sustainable manner. Practice of
chemical engineering shall mean the rendering or offering of professional
chemical engineering service for a fee, salary, reward or compensation, paid to



him or through another person, or even without such reward or compensation. The
term shall be synonymous with the term “rendering chemical engineering
service”

Section 3, Sub-Paragraph (d) of RA No. 9297 is hereby amended to
read as follows:

(d)Professional chemical engineering subjects. [aside_from applied
mathematics, physics, chemistry and biology] shall mean any of the
following and similar chemical engineering topics: chemical engineering
thermodynamics; chemical engineering calculations, physical and chemical
principles; industrial processes, momentum transfer; heat transfer; mass transfer,
industrial wastes management and control; process equipment and plant design;
biochemical engineering and bio-engineering; [and_nuclear_ engineering,
molecular chemical engineering, nano-engineering; environmental
chemical engineering; and materials engineering, waste water and
water_supply engineering; renewable energy sourcing and

engineering and other process industries involving a chemical
change or atom engineering.

10) Nuclear Engineering is the application of the breakdown

or fission, as well as, fusion of atomic nuclei and the
‘application of other sub-atomic physics, based_on
huclear_physics. Includes in_particular the interaction
and maintenance of systems and components such as
nuclear reactor, nuclear power plants, nuclear weapons,

nuclear medicine, nuclear safety and nuclear waste
disposal.

(i) Molecular Chemical Engineering is a precision form of
chemical _engineering which requires the natural

manipulation of molecules with the use of devices such
gs scanning tunneling microscope that includes protein

engineering, the creation of protein.

(ll) Nano Engineering which is synonymous _to
nanotechnology is the manipulation of matter with at
least_one dimension at _1_to 100 nanometers. This
includes nanomaterials, fullerenes, _ nanoparticles,
applications in _ nanomedicine, _nanotoxicolo:
molecular self-assembly, nanoelectronics
nanometrology, and molecular nanotechnology.

(iv) Environmental_Engineering includes the integration of
science and engineering principles for the improvement
of the natural environment, provide healthy water, air
and land for human habitation. It includes waste water
management, _air_pollution control, recycling, waste
disposal, radiation __protection, __industrial__hygiene,

environmental_sustainabilit ublic_health issues and
knowledge of environmental laws, rules and regulations.

(v)  Material__Engineering or _Materials_Science isan
iterdisciplinary field involving the ies of materials



and_its application to various areas of science and
engineering in investigating the relationship between the
composition and the structure of materials at atomic or
molecular scales and their macroscopic properties.

(vi) Waste Water and Water Supply Engineering is a branch
of engineering involved in the development of sources of

supply, transmission, distribution and treatment of water
for industry, residential, irrigation and other purposes. It

includes management of water supplies for human and
environmental health, collection of waste through

centralized sewer systems, delivery to treatment plants

to remove pollutants, design, installation and operation
of treatment plants.

(vil) Renewable Energy Sourcing and Engineering include

biomas: and fer_generation, fuel sourcing and

supply, geothermal, hydropower, solar, wind and other
renewable sources.

SECTION 3, Sub-Paragraph (e) of RA No. 9297 is hereby
amended to read as follows:

(e}Chemical engineer shall mean a person duly registered and a holder of a
valid Certificate of Registration and Professional Identi Card issued
by the Board of Chemical Engineering and the Professional Regulation
Commission. [Moreover, a Chemical Engineer principally works
in_the industry, on research, design and engineering,
managing __installations and directing manufacturing

operations, process control, solutions provider, environmental
engineerin: and ___biochemical/biological__ engineerin:

planning, academe, and_in marketing and distribution
channels. Basically, the chemical engineer works in industry
where unit processes and unit operations are involved to
convert inorganic and organic materials as well as metallic
ores into usable intermediate raw materials and commercial
products. _In_addition, the chemical _engineer__designs
environmental, biochemical/biological, _ biometaphysical,
nano-engineering and catharsis processes.]

SECTION 3 - Section 4, Sub-Paragraphs (1), (2). (3), (4). (5). (6). (7).

(10) of RA No. 9297 are hereby amended to read as follows:

(8), (9) and

SECTION 4. Scope of Practice. ~ Professional chemical engineering service shall

embrace the following similar services in relation to industrial plants:

(1) Consultation requiring chemical engineering knowledge, skill

and

proficiency. [Professional service involves the improvement and

enhancing of production processes, systems development,



improvement and application of mature

(2) Investigation involves the application of science such as

forensics and chemical engineering principles in investigating

materials, products, structures, components, equipment_and

systems that fail to attain design capacities, efficiency and
safety requirements.]

(3) Estimation and/or valuation [involve the application of value and
cost engineering for the organized approach in providing the

nes functions at the least cost and the identification and

elimination of unnecessary costs without affecting the quality

of installations, products and service, cost control, cost
forecasting and risk analysis.]

(4) Planning [involves the systematic approach in working out the
sequence of activities that are required to complete a project

gnd linking them all together using available resources to
attain the best possible effect.)

(5) Preparation of feasibility studies [Involves the evaluation and
analysis of the potential success of a proposed project based
on extensive investigation and research to support the process
of decision making of the project proponent.

(6) Designing [Involves the process with general_validity and
applicability of a wide variety of engineering situations by
creation of systems, devices, and processes useful to and
sought by proponents to accomplish the desired goal with the
use_of latest design tools like ACAD, Sketch-up and other
similar software.)

(7) Preparation of specifications [is_the setting of explicit technical
standard requirements to be satisfied by a material, design,

product or service. The specifications may be set by
government agencies, standards organizations (ASTM, 1SO,
EN, AIChE, AOAC, P, codex, etc.), trade associations,
corporations and other referenced by a contract or

procurement document,
(8) Supervision of installation [involves the inspection of materials,

equipment supplied to project site, carry out quality control to
reference with the technical specifications, completeness
ggainst_packing lists, monitoring of scheduled tasks and
activities, making adjustments when necessary to ensure
completion of installation on schedule and within budget.

(9) Operation, including quality management, but excluding chemical analysis
and operation of the chemical laboratory, [Involves the operation and
quality_management of industrial_plants producing process
materials, food _and__nutrifion _ products, _ chemicals,
fuel/lubricants_and_additives, synthetic products, packagin

products, explosives, agricultural_chemicals, personal_and



health care products including power/energy generation and

other operation involve_the application of _ chemical
engineering principles; but excluding chemical analysis and
ration of the chemical laboratory;] and

(10) The teaching, lecturing and reviewing of professional chemical
engineering subjects in the curriculum of the Bachelor of Science in

Chemical Engineering degree, [that may be amended from time to
time_by the Commission_on Higher Education (CHED) in

coordination with the Academe and the Board of Chemical
Engineering], or a subject in the Chemical Engineering licensure
examination given in any school, college, university or any other
educational institution shall be considered a professional chemical
engineering service

SECTION 4 - Article Ill of Section 16, Paragraph (d) of RA No. 9297 is hereby
amended to read as follows:
(d) That he/she has not been convicted of an offense involving moral

turpitude [or obliquity] by a court of competent jurisdiction,

SECTION 5 — The following provisions should be added to Article Ill under the title
UICENSURE EXAMINATION AND REGISTRATION of RA No. 9297, as SECTION 25
SECTION 26 and SECTION 27, and shall read as follows:

[Section 25. Renewal of Professional License. ~ The professional
license issued to a Chemical Engineer shall be valid for THREE

ears from its issuance and, unless the holder thereof is

empt from PD requirem: all be renewed eve!
THREE (3) years on irth_month of the Chemical
Engineer_upon_presentation/ submission of the required
Continuing Professional_Education/Development credit units
eamed and payment of prescribed fees as verified and

validated by the accredited professional organization.
[Section 26. Categories. - Certificates of Registration for the

practice _of chemical engineering shall_be of TWO (2)
categories and in order of rank as follows:

(a)Professional Chemical Engineer,
(b) Chemical Engineer]

[Section 27. Qualifications of Applicants for Professional
Chemical lineer.-_Any applicant to the fessional
chemical engineering license must, at the time of filing of his
application, establish to the satistaction of the Board that:

(a)He/She is a citizen of the Philippines;

(b)He/She must not have been convicted of a crime
involving moral turpitude or obliquity by a court of
competent jurisdiction;



(c)He/She has a valid Certificate of Registration and

he is a registered Chemical Engineer and a holder
of a valid professional license;

(d)He/She has graduated from an engineering school
or college of recognized standing, after

completit an_approved course in chemical

engineering;

(e)He/she has a specific record of at least TWELVE
(12) _years of active chemical _ engineering
practice, reckoned from the time he/she

registered a chemical engineering practice; and

(f) He/She is competent to practice, as attested to by
at least TWO (2) professional chemical engineers.]

SECTION 6 — The following sections found on Article IV under the title PRACTICE
OF CHEMICAL ENGINEERING of RA No. 9297, are amended by changing their
numerical designation as follows:

A. [Section 25 shall be designated as SECTION 28

B. Section 26 shall be designated as SECTION 29

C. Section 27 shall be designated as SECTION 30

D. Section 28 shall be designated as SECTION 31

E. Section 29 shall be designated as SECTION 32

F. Section 30 shall be designated as SECTION 33
G. Section 31 shall be designated as SECTION 34

H. Section 32 shall be designated as SECTION 35

|. Section 33 shall be designated as SECTION 36
J. Section 34 shall be designated as SECTION 37

K. Section 35 shall be designated as SECTION 38
L. Section 36 shall be designated as SECTION 39

M. Section 37 shall be designated as SECTION 40
N. Section 38 shall be designated as SECTION 41

O. Section 39 shall be designated as SECTION 42]

APPROVED.