PD1096 (1977 NBCP) is a Key National Development Control supported by other national and local development controls (including both laws and industry self-regulation)
- National Development Controls
- Presidential Decree (P.D.) No. 1096, the 1977 National Building Code of the Philippines (NBCP), its 2004 Revised Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) promulgated by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) in 2004, published thrice in April 2005 and effective May 2005, its additional rules and regulations (ARR) duly promulgated by the DPWH, and its various Referral Codes (RCs) in their latest versions, to wit:
- i) Referral Codes (RCs) generically identified under Section 103.3 of the 2004 Revised IRR of P.D. No. 1096, that are valid and subsisting laws:
1) Republic Act (R.A.) No. 9514, the 2008 Fire Code of the Philippines (FCP) and its 2009 IRR promulgated by the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) through the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP);
2) Batas Pambansa (B.P.) Bilang 344, The Law to Enhance the Mobility of Disabled Persons and its IRR/ Annex, as well as the applicable provisions of R.A. No. 7277, otherwise known as The Magna Carta for Disabled Persons;
3) The various professional regulatory laws (PRLs referred to in the true DPWH-published text of Section 304.5.b of the 2004 Revised IRR of P.D. No. 1096), which expressly states:
“b. This permit shall be accompanied by the various applicable ancillary and accessory permits, plans and specifications signed and sealed by the corresponding design professionals who shall be responsible for the comprehensiveness and correctness of the plans in compliance to the Code and its IRR and to all applicable referral codes and professional regulatory laws.” (emphasis and underscoring supplied)
The PRLs encompass R.A. No. 9266 in the case of State-registered and licensed architects/ RLAs, R.A. No. 544, as amended by R.A. No. 1582 for registered and licensed civil engineers, R.A. No. 1364 for Sanitary Engineering, R.A. No. 1378 for Master Plumbing, R.A. No. 8560 for Geodetic Engineering, R.A. No. 4209 for Geology, R.A. No. 7920 for Electrical Engineering, R.A. No. 8495 for Mechanical Engineering, R.A. No. 9292 for Electronics and Communications Engineering, R.A. N. 9053 for Landscape Architecture and R.A. No. 10587 for Environmental Planning (the last 4 only as applicable), etc. and their derivative regulations (DRs) including issuances by the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) and the respective Professional Regulatory Boards (PRBs); the latter specifically includes PRC-PRB-issued resolutions, Codes of Ethical Standards (CoEs), Standards of Professional Practice (SPP), guidelines/ procedural manuals, interpretations, and the like.
4) P.D. No. 1067, The Water Code of the Philippines; and
5) P.D. No. 856, the Sanitation Code of the Philippines;
- ii) Referral Codes (RCs) generically identified under Section 103.3 of the 2004 Revised IRR of P.D. No. 1096, that are considered private sector industry standards (that must be duly approved by the DPWH Secretary) or are Government-issued standards or guidelines, procedural manuals or general references, but are not in the form of valid and subsisting laws:
1) DPWH Design Guidelines, Criteria and Standards (DGCS) Volume 6 – Building Design, released 2015;
2) DPWH Philippine Green Building Code (PGBC), 2015;
3) Department of Energy (DoE) Guidelines on Energy Conserving Design on Buildings, 2008;
4) National Structural Code of the Philippines (NSCP), 2010 or latest edition;
5) Philippine Electrical Code (PEC), latest edition; and
PH Electronics Code, latest edition;
6) Mechanical Code of the Philippines, latest edition;
7) Plumbing Code of the Philippines, latest edition;
8) Architectural Code of the Philippines (ACP), 2000 or later edition;
9) rules of the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP), particularly on building height limit (BHL) near operating airports/active aerodromes;
10) hazard maps such as seismic maps (showing fault line/trace locations), flood maps, etc. duly issued by the pertinent National Government agencies, etc.;
11) CIAP Document 102 on private construction;
12) issuances and interpretations by the Department of Health (DoH) pertaining to P.D. No. 856 (the Sanitation Code of the Philippines);
13) issuances and interpretations by the DPWH pertaining to P.D. No. 1096, including Memoranda Circulars, published building design and rainwater collector standards, and related/ derivative regulations (DRs);
14) applicable standards by other infrastructure agencies such as the Department of Transportation (DoTr) and its attached agencies e.g. Philippine National Railways (PNR), Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP), etc.; and
15) NBCP : llustrated data CD, released 2016 by the DPWH (for public recipients) and by the NCCA and AAIF (for both private and other public recipients), for use only as a general technical reference (GTR) i.e. a guide in the graphical interpretation of the 2004 Revised IRR of the NBCP.
iii) Referral Codes (RCs) not specifically identified under Section 103.3 of the 2004 Revised IRR of P.D. No. 1096, but which are valid and subsisting laws to be obeyed, implemented and enforced by the concerned national and local government officials:
1) R.A. No. 4566, the 1965 Contractor’s License Law and its 1981 or later rules and regulations;
2) R.A. No. 8293, The 1997 Intellectual Property Code of the Philippines and its IRR; and R.A. No. 10372;
3) R.A. No. 9285, The Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Act of 2004 and its IRR and Executive Order (E.O.) No. 1008, the law on construction arbitration;
4) the various applicable environmental laws, including the applicable physical planning and building design provisions under R.A. No. 9729, otherwise known as the Climate Change Act of 2009 and R.A. No. 10121, otherwise known as the Philippine Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Act of 2010 and their respective IRRs;
5) R.A. No. 10066 (The National Cultural Heritage Act of 2009) and its IRR;
6) R.A. No. 6957, as amended by R.A. No. 7718, the Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) Law and the new Public-Private Partnership (PPP) law, and their respective IRRs;
7) R.A. No. 9184, the 2003 Government Procurement Reform Act (GPRA);
8) R.A. No. 7160, the 1991 Local Government Code of the Philippines;
9) governance laws such as R.A. No. 3019 (Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act), R.A. 6713 (Code of Conduct of Government Officials), R.A. No. 9485, the Anti-Red Tape Act, E.O. 292, the 1987 Administrative Code of the Philippines, etc.;
10) laws relating to housing and urban development such as P.D. No. 957 (condominiums and subdivisions); R.A. No. 7279 (urban development and housing); P.D. No. 1219 on open spaces; P.D. No. 296 on waterways;
11) R.A. No. 6716 on rainwater collection; and
12) R.A. No. 386, the 1949 New Civil Code of the Philippines.
- iv) Other General References and industry standards not specifically identified under Section 103.3 of the 2004 Revised IRR
1) applicable international references pertaining to standards on materials and construction, ACI, AASHTO, ASHRAE, UL, DIN, etc.;
2) applicable international references pertaining to safety (construction and occupancy/ building use), e.g. NFPA, etc.;
3) ICAO & IATA for airport planning and terminal design, respectively;
4) VNR Metric Handbook;
5) Building Types;
6) Graphic and drafting standards;
7) UN space planning standards, 2008 or later edition; and
8) NIHR Carbon Reduction Guidelines, latest edition, DoH, USA.
- Local Development Controls
- i) Local government unit (LGU) Laws that are valid and subsisting:
1) Zoning Ordinances (ZOs) and their IRRs, including official zoning maps (OZMs) and/or Annexes;
2) other development-related and/or construction-related LGU ordinances, particularly those levying local taxes and mandating the hiring of local labor;
- ii) LGU Policy Guidance (not laws but are the bases for LGU laws):
1) Local Comprehensive Land, Water and Air Use Plans (CLWAUP), duly approved by the LGU council; and
2) Provincial Physical Framework Plan (PPFP), as applicable. Nothing follows.