RA 9297

• Republic Act No. 9297, also known as the "Chemical Engineering Law of 2004", is an act that regulates the practice of chemical engineering and repeals Republic Act No. 318, also known as "The Chemical Engineering Law".
• The practice of chemical engineering involves 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.
• This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days following its publication in the Official Gazette or in any major newspaper of general circulation.
• Republic Act No. 318 is hereby repealed and all other laws, decrees, orders, rules and regulations, ordinances, and other issuances or parts thereof which are inconsistent with this Act are hereby superseded, repealed or amended accordingly.
• An industrial plant is any plant in which a unit process and or operations are involved, including the related pollution control and abatement process or operations.
• A unit process is the chemical change which is involved in the manufacture of industrial or consumer products or the treatment of industrial or chemical wastes.
• A unit operation is the physical operation by which a desired step in an industrial process is conducted or controlled, including storage of gases, liquids, solids, heat, transfer, evaporation; mass transfer, i.e., distillation, absorption, adsorption, drying, humidification, extraction, leaching, mixing and separation, i.e., filtration, screening, molecular sieving and coalescing.
• Professional chemical engineering subjects include 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 waste management and control; process equipment and plant design; and biochemical engineering and bioengineering.
• A chemical engineer is a person duly registered and a holder of a valid Certificate of Registration and Professional Identification Card issued by the Board of Chemical Engineering and the Professional Regulation Commission.
• The scope of practice of a professional chemical engineer includes consultation requiring chemical engineering knowledge, skill and proficiency; investigation; estimation and/or valuation; planning; preparation of feasibility studies; designing; preparation of specifications; supervision of installation; operation, including quality management; but excluding chemical analysis and operation of the chemical laboratory.
• The Board may, for reasons it may deem sufficient and upon proper petition, reissue revoked Certificates of Registration or Certificates of Compliance.
• No person shall practice chemical engineering or render chemical engineering service, without a valid certificate of registration and a valid professional identification card.
• All chemical engineers who are registered at the time this Act takes effect shall automatically be registered.
• Any person who shall commit the following acts shall be guilty of misdemeanor: practice chemical engineering or render chemical engineering services, or pass himself off or advertise himself as a chemical engineer without a valid certificate of registration or when such has been suspended or revoked; attempt to use as his own the certificate or seal of another person or impersonate any registered chemical engineer, or furnish the Board or Commission any false information or document in order to secure a Certificate of Registration.
• Foreign chemical engineers who have distinguished themselves in their respective fields of specification, contracted as professors or lecturers or chemical engineering subjects by Philippine schools, colleges, institutes or universities on a direct hire or exchange basis, are exempt from registration.
• Registration shall not be required of foreign chemical engineers recognized as experts in their specific fields of chemical engineering, called in by the Republic of the Philippines for consultation or for a specific design, installation or project, provided their practice shall be confined to such work.
• Complaints against registered chemical engineers and firms employing chemical engineers may be filed by any person or by the Board motu proprio.
• Certificates of Compliance may be suspended or revoked for noncompliance with the provisions of this Act.
• No firm, partnership, corporation or association may be licensed and registered as such for the practice of chemical engineering, but duly licensed and registered chemical engineers may form partnerships among themselves or with other licensed and registered engineers and architects and use the title “Chemical Engineers,” “Engineers and Architects” in their partnership name.
• Any of the following shall be sufficient ground for the suspension or revocation of a Certificate of Registration: misrepresentation in connection with an alleged performance of chemical engineering devices, acts inimical to the chemical engineering profession, and gross immorality or commission of any act involving moral turpitude.
• A new Certificate of Registration or Certificate of Compliance may be issued to replace a lost, destroyed or mutilated Certificate, subject to the rules and regulations of the Board, and upon payment of the appropriate fees to the Commission.
• Except as may be provided in this Act, only persons properly licensed and registered may practice chemical engineering.
• The Board may inspect establishments where chemical engineers practice their profession, such as factories, plants, offices and the like, to determine and enforce compliance with the provisions of this Act and issue Certificate of Compliance.
• Inquire into the conditions affecting the practice of the profession and adopt measures for the enhancement and maintenance of a high professional, ethical and technical standard.
• Submit the examination results to the Commission.
• In coordination with the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), inspect the facilities, faculty, equipment and other aspects directly related to the chemical engineering program of educational institutions.
• Issue subpoena and subpoena duces tecum to secure the attendance witnesses or the production of documents in connection with any administrative case before the Board.
• The teaching, lecturing and reviewing of professional chemical engineering subjects in the curriculum of the Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering degree or a subject in the Chemical Engineering licensure examination given in any school, college, university or any other educational institution is also considered a professional chemical engineering service.
• There shall be created a Board of Chemical Engineering, hereinafter referred to as the Board, under the administrative control and supervision of the Professional Regulation Commission, hereinafter called Commission.
• Investigate, in accordance with the rules on administrative investigation promulgated by the Commission, violations of this Act and its implementing rules and regulations, the Code of Ethics and the Code of Technical Standards for chemical engineers, administrative policies, orders and issuances promulgated by the Board.
• The Board shall be composed of a Chairman and two (2) members to be appointed by the President of the Philippines from among those recommended by the Commission from the nominees of the duly integrated and accredited national organization of chemical engineer.
• Hear and decide administrative cases filed against chemical engineers and firms employing chemical engineers.
• Adopt rules and regulations for the practice of chemical engineering.
• The hearing shall be presided by the Chairman or a Member of the Board with the assistance of an Attorney of the Commission.
• Adopt a Code of Ethics and a Code of Technical Standards for the practice of chemical engineering.
• The Board shall have the following powers and duties:
• Any decision shall be concurred in by at least a majority of the Board.
• Issue special permits to persons admitted to the practice of the profession and Certificate of Recognition for advance studies and researches and accomplishments in the profession that contribute to its enrichment.
• Issue Certificates of Registration and Professional Identification Card to applicants who have passed the licensure examinations for registered chemical engineers.
• Prescribe the subjects in the licensure examination and determine the syllabi of the subjects and their relative weights.