Philippine Institute of Civil Engineers

Philippine Institute of Civil Engineers, Inc.
Abbreviation PICE
Formation December 11, 1973 (1973-12-11)
Type Professional Organization
Headquarters

No. 4, Albany Street, Aurora Cubao,

Quezon City, Philippines
Location
Region served
 National and International
President
 Eugenio R. Pipo, Jr.
1st Vice-President
 Ranulfo C. Feliciano
2nd Vice-President
 Ador G. Canlas
Affiliations Professional Regulation Commission
Website www.pice.org.ph
Formerly called
 Philippine Society of Civil Engineers, Philippine Association of Civil Engineers

The Philippine Institute of Civil Engineers or PICE is a professional organization for civil engineers in the Philippines. It was formed by merging two separate organizations of civil engineers: one group working from government sector and the second group working in the private sector.[1][2]

Brief history

In the late 1920s, group of civil engineers from the government sector formed the Philippine Society of Civil Engineers (PSCE) which was the first civil engineering organization in the Philippines with Engr. Marcial Kasilag as its first president.[1][3]

In 1937, the Philippine Association of Civil Engineers (PACE) was formed. This time, it was a group of civil engineers in the private sector with Engr. Enrique Sto. Tomas Cortes as its first president.[1]

The objectives of both organizations were similar with each other in which both of them wants to: "elevate the standards of the profession, encourage research and engineering knowledge and technology, foster fellowship among members, and promote interrelation with other technological and scientific societies".

The PACE being the most active than the PSCE led to the transfer of many PSCE members to PACE. In 1950, Republic Act No. 544 (also known as the "Civil Engineering Law") was passed through the efforts of PACE President Alberto Guevarra.[4]

In 1972, PACE President Engr. Cesar A. Caliwara, exerted a serious effort in merging the two organization. Leaders of PACE and PSCE negotiated, and talked about the choice of name. Some concerns were raised such as formal accounting and turnover of assets and liabilities, accreditation of bonafide members and election rules for the first officers which were sooner resolved. These gave birth to the Philippine Institute of Civil Engineers Inc. and on December 11, 1973, the Securities and Exchange Commission issued a registration certificate to the association.

On February 1974, the first election of officers was held and Engr. Cesar Caliwara became its first president. In order to truly unite the civil engineers of the Philippines, provincial chapters were organized. In August 13, 1975, the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) recognized the PICE as the only official organization of civil engineers in the Philippines.

Present time

On July 24, 2012, Philippine President Benigno Aquino III issued a declaration by virtue of Proclamation No. 439 signed by Executive Secretary Paquito N. Ochoa Jr. and has declared November 2012 as Civil Engineering Month to focus national attention on the importance of the civil engineering profession.[5]

PICE now has more than 71,900 registered civil engineer-members in 97 chapters and some 25,390 civil engineering student-members in 174 student chapters throughout the country.[5]

Legal issues

In 2003. The United Architects of the Philippines (UAP) and PICE signed a joint resolution supporting the passage of Architecture and Civil Engineering bills delineating their respective scope of practice and to strengthen their collaborative efforts in common goals.[6]

The two professional groups through their leaders stressed the need for the immediate passage of their respective bills, which would benefit their hundreds of thousand members nationwide.

In 2004, the Architecture Act was passed and signed into law. But in 2005, a petition for declaratory relief filed on May 3, 2005 by the PICE and Engr. Leo Cleto Gamolo to declare null and void Sections 302.3 and 302.4 of the Revised Implementing Rules and Regulations (“Revised IRR”) of Presidential Decree No. 1096 (the “National Building Code”). The said provisions require that architectural documents submitted in applications for building permits must be prepared, signed and sealed by architects. PICE claim that the said sections of the Revised IRR, by effectively prohibiting Civil Engineers from also preparing, signing and sealing architectural documents, are contrary to the National Building Code and the Republic Act No. 544 (the “Civil Engineering Law”), which purportedly gave Civil Engineers the said right. After several court hearings at the Manila Regional Trial Court, the PICE's motion was denied and the RTC ruled in favor of the architects. This issue was brought by the PICE to the Court of Appeals.[7]

In January 5, 2012, the Court of Appeals, in its decision granted the appeal of PICE and reversed the Decision of the Regional Trial Court thus giving the Civil Engineers the rights from preparing, signing and sealing architectural documents[8]

Chapters

Regular chapter

The general membership of the institute, except for the honorary and student members, was organized into autonomous chapters composed of members residing or having principal sites of business in the area to be served by the chapter. The regular chapters are formed for the purpose of:

Student chapter

The institute supports the formation of student chapters in engineering Institutions in order to:

The regular chapters are tasked to supervise all student chapters organized in their areas and aid them in their undertakings.

International chapter

Upon the approval of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to the amended By-laws (November 25, 1999), the formation of international chapters was made possible. The chapters, which are based on other countries, is a manifestation of the institute's commitment to reach-out to Filipino civil engineers around the world and to establish a more concrete point of union for Filipino civil engineers.

Affiliate societies

Notable members

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Accredited Professional Organization". www.prc.gov.ph.
  2. ↑ "Philippine Institute of Civil Engineers 35th National Convention". Manila Bulletin. November 27, 2009. |first1= missing |last1= in Authors list (help)
  3. ↑ "Philippine Institute of Civil Engineers 75th Anniversary and National Convention". Manila Bulletin. November 21, 2012. |first1= missing |last1= in Authors list (help)
  4. ↑ "An Act to Regulate the Practice of Civil Engineering in the Philippines". The Corpus Juris.
  5. 1 2 "Philippine Institute of Civil Engineers 75th Anniversary and National Convention". Manila Bulletin. November 21, 2012. |first1= missing |last1= in Authors list (help)
  6. ↑ "UAP & PICE Collaboration". United Architects of the Philippines.
  7. ↑ "Architects WIN Anew Over CEs in Court". Architecture.
  8. ↑ "CA-G.R. CV No. 93917 DECISION" (PDF). Court of Appeals of the Philippines.
  9. ↑ "The Philippines' 40 Richest". Forbes.
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