CEBU, Philippines - The Philippine Society of Mechanical Engineers (PSME) has created a paralegal group to strictly implement the RA. 8495 otherwise known as the Philippine Engineering Act of 1998.
PSME vice president for internal affairs Antonio Tompar said the paralegal group composed of lawyer mechanical engineers, experienced and licensed MEs, will work closely with concerned government agencies, to actively pursue the strict compliance of hiring only licensed mechanical engineer in every operation.
Aside from working closely with the Professional Regulatory Commission (PRC), the group will also touch base with the Philippine National Police (PNP), Insurance Commission (IC), the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Local Government Units (LGUs) and other key government agencies.
“Just like lawyers, doctors, and even drivers, one can not practice without license. There are a lot of companies now that are hiring and employing unlicensed MEs. This is dangerous to their operations,” Tompar said.
Insurance companies are also urged not to pay claimants of fire insurance and other products, if found out that they have employed unlicensed MEs.
R.A. 8495 also states that companies which maintain any mechanical devices, like elevator, escalator, airconditioning system, among others should employ licensed and professional mechanical engineers to avoid mechanical glitches.
This means, that every entity or company needs to employ at least one in-house license ME, which unluckily is not being practiced by most firms, Tompar said.
Based on a study, Tompar said only 10 percent of the total number of establishment nationwide is religiously implementing the law.
“We are now going into legal premise in strongly pursuing violators. The only way to protect our industries and our profession is to implement the law,” Tompar said.
Significantly, the newly formed PSME paralegal group will also call the attention of all ISO auditors to strictly require companies to implement R.A. 8495.
Under the law, violators are subject to a P200,000 fine and/or six months of imprisonment, said Tompar.
He said the group will also actively partner with the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), and the Department of Health (DOH) to ensure the competency of Philippine mechanical engineers.