Republic Act No. 4374

This Act shall be known as the "Geodetic Engineering Law".

Any person who is technically and legally qualified to practise geodetic engineering under this Act shall be known "geodetic engineer", which term shall supersede "surveyor", in accordance with this Act.

There is hereby created a Board of Examiners for Geodetic Engineers hereinafter referred to as the Board, to be composed of a Chairman and two Members, all to be appointed by the President of the Philippines with the consent of the Commission on Appointments, upon the recommendation of the Commissioner of Civil Service from among the registered practising geodetic engineers of recognized standing in the Philippines as certified to by any officially recognized association of geodetic engineers in the Philippines and possessing the qualifications prescribed in section five of this Act. The first members of the Board shall be appointed within two years from the approval of this Act; Provided, That the present Board of Examiners for Surveyors shall continue to function in lieu of the new Board until the members of the latter shall have been appointed and qualified.

The Board is vested with the authority, conformably with the provisions of this Act, to:

Any person failing or refusing to obey the subpoena or order of the said court shall be held liable in the same manner as for refusal to obey any other subpoena or order of the court.

Each member of the Board must, at the time of his appointment, be:

The members of the Board shall hold office for a term of three years: Provided, That the first appointee to the Board shall hold office for the following terms: the Chairman for three years, one member for two years, and one member for one year. Any vacancy occurring within the term of a member shall be filled for the unexpired portion of the term only. Each member of the Board shall qualify by taking the proper oath prior to the assumption of office.

The Commissioner of Civil Service shall be the executive officer of the Board, and shall conduct the examination given by it according to the rules and regulations promulgated by him and approved by the President of the Philippines. The Secretary of the Board of Examiners appointed in accordance with section ten of Act Numbered Four Thousand Seven, as amended by Republic Act Numbered Five Hundred and Forty-six, shall also be the Secretary of the Board. All the records of the Board, including examination papers, minutes of deliberations and records of administrative proceedings and investigations, shall be kept by the Commissioner of Civil Service.

The members of the Board shall each receive as compensation a fee of ten pesos for each applicant examined and ten pesos for each certificates of registration granted without prior examination.

The President of the Philippines may, upon recommendation of the Commissioner of Civil Service, suspend or remove any member of the Board for continued neglect of duty, incompetence, commission or tolerance of irregularities in the examination, malpractice, or unprofessional or dishonorable conduct, after having given the member concerned an opportunity to be heard and/or defend himself in a proper administrative investigation.

The Board may, subject to the approval of the Commissioner of Civil Service and of the President of the Philippines, promulgate such rules, regulations, and code of ethics as may be necessary to carry out the provision of this Act. After its approval, the rules, regulations or code of ethics shall be published in the Official Gazette. Penal provisions may be included in said rules and/or regulations, the violations of which shall be punishable by a fine of not more than two hundred pesos or an imprisonment for not more than six months, or both, in the discretion of the court.

The Board shall submit an annual report to the President of the Philippines after the close of each fiscal year, giving a detailed account of its proceedings during the year and embodying such recommendations as it may deem proper.

No person shall practice or offer to practice geodetic engineering in the Philippines as defined in this Act, or use the title "Geodetic Engineer" or any word, letter, figure or sign whatsoever, tending to convey the impression that he is a geodetic engineer, or advertise or indicate in any manner that he is qualified to perform the work of a geodetic engineer without holding a valid certificate of registration as geodetic engineer issued by the Board in accordance with this Act.

Any person, except geodetic engineering or surveying students and graduates who perform geodetic engineering work under the supervision of a registered geodetic engineer-instructor for the purpose of training, shall be deemed to be practicing geodetic engineering within the meaning and intent of this Act, who shall, with or without, fee, salary or other reward or compensation:

Provided, That this provision shall not apply to military or nautical schools.

Except as otherwise permitted under this Act, all applicants for registration for the practice of geodetic engineering shall undergo a technical examination as provided for herein.

In order to be admitted to the geodetic engineering examination, an applicant must, at the time of filing his application thereof, establish to the satisfaction of the Board that:

Examination for candidates desiring to practice geodetic engineering in the Philippines shall be given by the Board twice a year in the City of Manila or at such other place as may be deemed necessary and expedient by the Board, subject to the approval of the Commissioner of Civil Service and the President of the Philippines.

The Examination of the practice of geodetic engineering in the Philippines shall consist of written tests, which shall cover mathematics, theory and practical problems in surveying including problems in isolated, cadastral and mineral land surveys, cartography, laws on property and registration of title thereto, geodesy and other subjects which the Board may prescribe for the standard curriculum as approved by the Department of Education.

In order to pass the examination, a candidate must obtain an average rating of seventy per cent, with no rating below fifty percent in any subject: Provided, That an applicant, who fails to obtain a passing average rating but who obtained at least seventy percent in each of at least one-half () of the total subjects given in the examination, may be permitted to take within two years from the date of his first examination, another examination on the subjects in which he obtained a grade below seventy percent. Should the examinee still fail in the set of subjects repeated in the second examination, he shall be required to take all the subjects in the next examination.

The Board shall, within one hundred and twenty days after the examination, report the result thereof to the Commissioner of Civil Service, who shall, with his recommendation, submit such result to the President of the Philippines for approval.

A Certificate of registration for geodetic engineer shall be issued to any applicant who passes the examination after the approval of his ratings by the President of the Philippines and upon payment of the required fees: Provided, That upon payment of the required fees, the Board may issue within a period of not exceeding two years from the approval of this Act, a certificate of registration as geodetic engineer, without the necessity of undergoing the examination herein prescribed, to any applicant who, on the date of the approval of this Act:

The certificate of registration issued by the Board to the registrant shall be evidence that the person named therein is entitled to the rights and privileges of a registered geodetic engineer while said certificate remains in force or unrevoked.

All registrants under this Act shall be required to take a professional oath before the Board or before any person authorized to administer oaths, before commencing the practice of his profession.

Each registered geodetic engineer shall obtain a seal of such design as the Board shall authorize and prescribe. Plans and technical descriptions prepared by or under the direct supervision of a registered geodetic engineer shall be stamped with said seal. The geodetic engineer shall be fully responsible for all plans, technical descriptions, and other documents under his seal or authorized signature. The Board shall make all necessary rules and regulations relating to the use of authorized signatures and seals on plans, maps, technical and lot descriptions, reports and other survey returns and documents registered by geodetic engineers.

Every applicant for the examination shall pay an examination fee of forty-five pesos, and a registration fee of ten pesos.

Every applicant for registration without prior examination shall pay a fee of fifty-five pesos.

The fee for a duplicate certificate shall be ten pesos.

Every practicing Geodetic Engineer shall pay an annual registration fee of two pesos which shall be paid on or before April 30 of every ensuing year.

All fees shall be paid to the disbursing officer of the Board of Examiners, and such officer shall pay from the receipts thereof all the authorized expenses of the Board, including the compensation of each member.

The Board shall refuse to issue a certificate of registration to any person convicted by a court of competent jurisdiction of any crime involving moral turpitude, to any person of immoral or dishonorable conduct, and to any person of unsound mind, furnishing the party concerned with a written statement containing the reason or reasons for such action, which statement shall be incorporated in the records of the Board.

The Board shall also have the power to revoke or suspend the validity of a certificate of registration as Geodetic Engineer issued to any registrant for any of the causes mentioned in the preceding section, or for unprofessional or unethical conduct, malpractice, incompetence, or where fraud, deceit or false statement was employed in obtaining said certificate of registration.

The decision of the Board of Examiners for Geodetic Engineers shall become final after thirty days from the date of its promulgation, unless within said period any interested party has perfected an appeal to the Office of the Commissioner of Civil Service by filing a notice of appeal. The decision of the Commissioner of Civil Service is appealable, within thirty days from receipt of a copy of such decision, to the Office of the President of the Philippines whose decision shall be final.

The Board may, upon application and for reasons of equity and justice, reinstate the validity of a suspended certificate, or issue another certificate in lieu of one previously revoked, upon payment of the required fees, at least two years after such suspension or revocation.

A new certificate of registration to replace any certificate lost, destroyed or mutilated, may be issued subject to the rules of the Board and upon payment of the required fee.

The practice of geodetic engineering is a professional service, admission to which shall be determined upon the basis of individual and personal qualifications. No firm, company, partnership, association or corporation may be registered or licensed as such for the practice of geodetic engineering: Provided, That this section shall not be construed as preventing any combination of geodetic engineers from using the term "Geodetic Engineer"; Provided, further, That majority of the members of the partnership, firm or association are properly registered and licensed geodetic engineers.

Members of the partnership, firm or association are responsible for their own individual acts.

The following shall be punished by a fine of not less than two hundred pesos nor more than five thousand pesos, or by imprisonment for not less than six months nor more than six years, or both, in the discretion of the Court:

It shall be the duty of all duly constituted officers of the law, of the National Government or of any provincial, city or municipal government, to enforce the provisions of this Act and to prosecute any person violating the same. The Secretary of Justice shall act as legal adviser to the Board and shall render such legal assistance as may be necessary in carrying out the provisions of this Act.

No foreigner shall be admitted to examination or registration as geodetic engineer under this Act unless he proves in the manner provided for by the Rules of Court that, by specific provisions of law, the country of which he is a citizen, subject or national, admit Filipino citizens to the practice of geodetic engineering after an examination on terms of strict and absolute equality with the citizens, subjects or nationals of said country, including the unconditional recognition of prerequisite degrees issued by institutions of learning duly recognized by the Government of the Philippines.

All laws, executive orders, rules, regulations or parts thereof in conflict with the provision of this Act, are hereby repealed or amended accordingly.

If any provision of this Act or any portion thereof is declared unconstitutional by any competent court, the other provisions thereof shall not be affected thereby.

This Act shall take effect upon its approval.