“The Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering Law”
The practice of naval architecture and marine engineering within the meaning and intent of this Act shall embrace services in the form of plans, specifications, estimates, or supervision of the construction, alteration, or structural survey of any floating vessel or equipment, self-propelled or otherwise; plans or layouts, specifications, estimates or supervision of the installation of marine power plants and associated equipment including screw propeller, paddle wheel and Voith- Schneider propeller, or any other means of transmitting power from the main propulsion engine(s) to the buoyant fluid, marine auxiliaries, including refrigeration, air conditioning, ventilation, and heating plants and equipment and hull machineries; management, maintenance or operation of any shipyard, graving dock marine slipways, and any facility for the salvage, repair or maintenance of floating vessels or equipments. The enumeration of any work in this section shall not be construed as excluding any other work requiring naval architecture and marine engineering knowledge and application.
Qualification of Board Members
Each member of the Board shall at the time of his appointment:
- Be a citizen and resident of the Philippines;
- Be at least thirty years of age and of good moral character;
- Be a graduate of naval architecture and marine engineering, with a bachelor of science degree, from a recognized and legally constituted school, college, institute or university;
- Be a registered naval architecture and marine engineer duly qualified to practice naval architecture and marine engineering in the Philippines: Provided, That this requirement shall not apply to the first appointees to the Board;
- Have practiced naval architecture and marine engineering with a certificate as such for a period of not less than ten (10) years prior to his appointment: Provided, further, That the practice of naval architecture and marine engineering with a certificate shall not apply to the first appointees to the Board;
- Neither be a faculty member of any school, college, institute or university where naval architecture and marine engineering is taught; not have a pecuniary interest in any such institution; and
- Not be a former member of the faculty of any school, college, institute or university where naval architecture and marine engineering is taught; unless he had stopped teaching therein for at least three consecutive years prior to his appointment.
Republic Act No. 4565
An Act to Regulate the Practice of Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering in the Philippines
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress assembled:
Article I
TITLE OF THE ACT AND DEFINITION OF TERMS
This Act shall be known as. - The Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering Law
Definition of Terms. - The practice of naval architecture and marine engineering within the meaning and intent of this Act shall embrace services in the form of plans, specifications, estimates, or supervision of the construction, alteration, or structural survey of any floating vessel or equipment, self-propelled or otherwise; plans or layouts, specifications, estimates or supervision of the installation of marine power plants and associated equipment including screw propeller, paddle wheel and Voith- Schneider propeller, or any other means of transmitting power from the main propulsion engine(s) to the buoyant fluid, marine auxiliaries, including refrigeration, air conditioning, ventilation, and heating plants and equipment and hull machineries; management, maintenance or operation of any shipyard, graving dock marine slipways, and any facility for the salvage, repair or maintenance of floating vessels or equipments. The enumeration of any work in this section shall not be construed as excluding any other work requiring naval architecture and marine engineering knowledge and application.
The practice of Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering started to flourish in the country in 1942 when Rufino J. Martinez introduced boat-building and ship repair in Navotas, Rizal.
Five years later, the National Shipyard and Steel Corporation, the biggest and most modern shipyard at the time, built the 10,000-ton Graving Dock in Mariveles, Bataan for ship repair and 2,300- ton slipway for ship building. Several other vessels were constructed and repaired by Filipino practitioners, including oil tankers, tugboats, barges, aluminum alloy and steel patrol boats, and other multi-purpose naval vessels.
During this time, the Philippines ranked second in the Asian shipbuilding industry, next to Japan. The Filipino Naval Architects and Marine Engineers were also the first to design and built the two inter-island cargo passenger vessels of 1,750 tons.
Seeing the need to regulate the growing practice of naval architecture and marine engineering in the country, the Philippine Association of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers (PANAME) lobbied in Congress for the passage of the bill for the regulation of the practice of the profession. On June 19, 1965, Republic Act No. 4565, otherwise known as “The Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering Law,” was enacted. The law created the Board of Examiners for Naval Architects and Marine Engineers, initially composed of: Jesus J. Battad as Chairman, with Cipriano C. Bautista and Brigido R. Mungcal as Members.
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