1|Page
CIVIL ENGINEERING c) Shall inform clients or employers of possible
ETHICS
Poor ethics can sap business productivity, so follow my Ten
Commandments of Ethical Business Behavior:
1. Be honest, truthful, forthright, candid and sincere.
2. Have integrity: Strive to be scrupulous.
3. Keep your word and abide by the spirit as well as the
letter of the law.
4. Maintain fidelity: Be faithful and never disclose
confidential information.
5. Always be fair: Demonstrate a commitment to justice,
with equal treatment of all.
6. Care for others: Be kind.
7. Respect others in every way.
8. Be a responsible citizen. Obey just laws and protest
unjust ones.
9. Rigorously pursue excellence. Never be content with
mediocrity.
10. Always be accountable: good leaders lead by example.
The consequences of lost ethics are summed up well in an
ancient Chinese proverb, "He who sacrifices his conscience
to ambition burns a picture to obtain the ashes."
Code of Ethics
Fundamental Principles
Civil engineers uphold and advance the integrity, honor and
dignity of the civil engineering profession by:
1. using their knowledge and skill for the enhancement of
human welfare and the environment;
2. being honest and impartial and serving with fidelity the
public, their employers/employees and clients;
3. striving to increase the competence and prestige of the
civil engineering profession; and
4. supporting the professional and technical societies of
their disciplines.
 
Fundamental Canons
 
1. Civil Engineers shall hold paramount the safety, health
and welfare of the public and shall strive to comply with the
principles of sustainable development in the performance of
their duties.
a) Recognize that the lives, safety, health and
welfare of the general public are dependent upon
engineering judgments, decisions and practices
incorporated into structures, machines, products,
processes and devices.
b) Shall approve or seal only those design reviewed
or prepared by them.
consequences in cases where their better
judgment has been overruled.
d) Shall inform proper authority when they have
knowledge or reason to believe that violation of
standard civil engineering practices has been
done.
e) Shall seek opportunities to be of constructive
service.
f) Shall be committed to the environmental
preservation.
2. Civil Engineers shall perform services only in areas
of their competence.
a) Shall undertake, sign, approve only works
wherein they are competent either by study or
experience.
b) Shall not use specialty engineer titles such as
structural engineer, transportation engineer,
water engineer, geotechnical engineer and
construction engineer without the PICE specialist
accreditation.
3. Civil Engineers shall issue public statements only in
an objective and truthful manner.
a) shall express only honest opinion supported by
first hand knowledge and without bias or any exaggeration
b) Shall be objective especially when called upon
to render expert testimony.
c) when issuing statements inspired or paid for by
interested parties they should indicate whose behalf the
statements are made.
d) shall be dignified and modest in explaining their
work and merit, and will avoid any act tending to promote
their own interests at the expense of the integrity, honor
and dignity of the civil engineering profession and/or related
professions.
4. Civil Engineers shall act in professional matters for
each employer or client as faithful agents or trustees,
and shall avoid conflicts of interest.
a) Avoid conflicts of interest
b) Shall not accept double compensation for same
work
c) Shall not solicit gratuities from contractors,
subcontractors, suppliers or agents.
d) When in government service, he shall not
participate in consideration or actions with
respect to services provided by the agency.
2|Page
e) Give honest opinion when they believe that a
project will not be successful with basis for such
an opinion. Intuition does not count here.
f) Shall always respect confidentiality especially
between client and professional relationship.
g) Shall not accept professional employment outside
of their regular work or interest without knowledge
and expressed approval of their employers.
5. Civil Engineers shall build their professional reputation on
the merit of their services and shall not compete unfairly
with others.
a) no solicitation in order to secure work,
b) Shall negotiate contract for professional services
fairly
c) May accept professional commissions only
under circumstances in which their professional judgments
would not be compromised.
d) Shall not falsify or permit misrepresentation of
their academic or professional qualifications or experience
e) Shall give credit where credit is due
f) May advertise as long as it is not misleading or
derogatory. Such as business card, name card or signboard
g) No criticizing of somebody else work
h) Shall not use employer’s equipment or other
property for other outside work.
6. Civil Engineers shall act in such a manner as to uphold
and enhance the honor, integrity, and dignity of the civil
engineering profession.
7. Civil Engineers shall continue their professional
development throughout their careers, and shall provide
opportunities for the professional development of those civil
engineers under their supervision.
a) Participate in continuing education
b) Encourage engineering employees to become
registered engineers
c) Encourage employees to attend and present
technical papers at professional and technical society
meetings
OBLIGATIONS OF THE CIVIL ENGINEER
Perform services of a civil engineer in accordance
to RA 544 and areas where he has ample competence
Shall exercise reasonable skill, care and diligence
in the performance of his obligations
Act independently in cases of conflict between a
client and a third party with whom the client has a contract
Authorized to act as the client’s faithful agent when
required but
When aware of matters which will change or has
changed the scope of the services, write the client
regarding this change and its effect
For specified staged services, the engineer shall
not proceed beyond the approved stage
Shall direct or cooperate with other professionals in
a project but not be liable professionally for their work
May recommend specialist support for special kind
of work
Shall notify client immediately of any conflict of
interest
OBLIGATIONS OF A CLIENT
Shall pay the civil engineer his professional fee as
stipulated and on time
Shall provide the civil engineer any information
required in his performance of his duties
Shall not interfere with the proper performance of
his services
Always make the site available for inspection and
also its facilities
Shall arrange for the provision of services of other
professionals as required
When required to administer the work of other
professionals, then all instructions by the owner shall be
coursed through the engineer to avoid misunderstanding
When aware of any change in the scope of plan,
the engineer must be notified as soon as possible
LIABILITY OF A CIVIL ENGINEER
Engineer shall be liable to pay damages only when breach
of duty of care is established against the civil engineer
Same thing with the client
LIMITATIONS OF CIVIL ENGINEERS RESPONSIBILITY
He is not responsible for damages due to errors in plans not
prepared by him and work done by other professionals
hired by the client
Not responsible for damage caused by any third party
notwithstanding whether with his recommendation or none.
Not responsible for any damage caused by any contractor
unless the engineer is part of the contractor group
3|Page

DAMAGES Traffic engineering

Damages payable shall be limited to the amount of Forensic engineering for structural and other
reasonably foreseeable loss and damage suffered as a failures
direct result of such breach
Operational assistance
Maximum amount of damages payable
Materials process design
Shall be limited to the amount stated in the
contract under specific provision Pilot studies

Or when not mentioned, then it shall be limited to Computer modeling

300,000 or Safety engineering

10% of the total amount of damages of the portion Topographic, sounding and boundary survey
of work attributable to the civil engineer’s breach of duty or engineering

25% of the total fees payable to the civil engineer Toxic and hazardous waste evaluation
under the agreement
Permit and application services
WHICHEVER IS LESSER
Sales and marketing services
OWNERSHIP of design, drawings, specifications and
Expert witness
reproductions belongs to the professional civil engineer
Representation of municipal or private entities in
TERMINATION OF CIVIL ENGINEER SERVICES
projects proposed for privatization
Project has been suspended
Circumstances arises when it is no longer practical to
Design services for construction projects
continue supervision

Change in scope of work rendering his services no longer
applicable
Non payment of fee to the civil engineer or delay hereof
Acts of god like war or natural calamities
Study and report phase
Preliminary design phase - preliminary design and
outline specifications and other drafts
Final design phase - design calculations, construction
drawings, specifications, estimated construction costs and other
contract documents

Biding or negotiating phase

CLASSIFICATION OF CIVIL ENGINEERING SERVICES
Construction phase - change in plans, modifications,
Consultations, research, investigations and reports
methodology in construction and as-built plans upon completion
Design services for construction projects
Operation phase - start up operations and periodic
Construction services inspections
Special services for construction projects

Engineering support services

Academic services

Services as employee
Special services

Value engineering
Appraisal and valuation

Load testing
Environmental evaluations
4|Page

Qualifications for selection of a civil engineer

Professional and ethical reputation of the civil

engineer

He must be duly registered with PRC (updated)

He must have the qualifications and expertise

(experience) to do the work

He must be able to assign qualified personnel to

be in charge of the project or to inspect the project

He must have the financial and business resources

to fulfill the work

Charging for civil engineering services

Salary cost times multiplier plus direct non-salary

expense (reimbursable)

Hourly billing rates plus reimbursables

Per diem

Cost plus fixed fee (“CPFF”)

Fixed price

Percentage of construction cost (“percentage”)