Bill on building code subject in engineering, architecture courses hurdles House

Batasang Pambansa plenary. —MALACAÑANG FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines — A bill that seeks to create a national building code subject for college students taking engineering and architecture courses has been approved on third reading at the House of Representatives.

During Monday’s session, 276 lawmakers voted in favor of House Bill (HB) No. 5087, or the proposed Integration of the National Building Code to the Engineering and Architecture Curriculum and Professional Licensure Examination Act, with no negative votes and abstention.

If the said bill is signed into law, the Commission on Higher Education (CHed) will be required to develop and include in the curriculum of Bachelor of Science degree programs in Civil Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Sanitary Engineering, Electronics Engineering, and Architecture the study of the National Building Code of the Philippines.

This would be considered a major subject in the engineering and architecture courses.

Likewise, licensure examinations, if the bill is enacted, would now include questions on the National Building Code of the Philippines.

“It is the policy of the State to promote the principles of sound environmental management and control consistent with its Constitutional mandate to safeguard life, health, property and public welfare,” the bill read.

“To this end, the State shall ensure that those who are authorized to practice the engineering and architecture professions receive the necessary formal instructions on building design, construction, occupancy and maintenance, are sufficiently trained in ensuring the safety and integrity of building and non-building structures, and given adequate instruction and training on the latest regulations, know-how, and building technologies,” it added.

HB No. 5087 is the substituted bill of HB No. 1693, which was proposed by Pampanga 3rd District Rep. Aurelio Gonzales.

In the explanatory note of the original bill, Gonzales said that the intentions of the National Building Code are not properly taught to students despite the topic’s importance not only to structural integrity but also to nation building for the future.

“It is sad to note however, that the noble intentions of the Building Code and the valuable technical information embodied in the law and its Implementing Rules and Regulations […] are not properly conveyed and inculcated in the minds of the students in the academe in whose hands the future of the country on matters concerning the design and construction of buildings […] depend,” Gonzales said.

“It is therefore absolutely necessary that the State in the exercise of its police power enact a law through the legislature to make mandatory the integration of the National Building Code of the Philippines as one of the subjects in the course of civil engineering, electrical engineering, sanitary engineering, mechanical engineering, and architecture,” he added.

With the bill approved at the House, the measure would now be forwarded to the Senate, which will deliberate its own version of the bill.

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