A Contractor’s Responsibility: The Importance of the Philippine Contractors Accreditation Board and the PCAB License

The Philippines is slowly becoming an industrialization hub where skyscrapers and buildings have made cities more urbanized than they were before. Excellent architects and skilled engineers of all sorts are working hand in hand to build more and more infrastructures for economic growth. However, the road to ‘Build, Build, Build’ is not a come in and come out process. Builders must go through tedious processes and stacks of paperwork to be able to start piling brick over brick. Furthermore, there are a series of application processes, registration, legalese talks, and even licensing to have the right to work on a building for an establishment, whether for personal or business purposes. Nevertheless, a contractor should be able to accomplish these things to give assurance on qualified and quality services.

In line with this, the Philippine Contractor’s Accreditation Board (PCAB) ensures lawful and safe activities on building infrastructures in the country. Construction Industry Authority in the Philippines (CIAP), an attached agency of the Department of Trade and Industry named PCAB as one of the implementing boards. PCAB mainly intends to provide state of the art ways to make infrastructural services efficiently; one of its major strategies is Contractors Licensing.  Also, they implement a registration system with an online interface, this is where contractors are able to fill out registration and application forms and process license. As what was mentioned, contractors must understand that conducting operations for building infrastructures should be ready to go through a meticulous, exact process to secure a spot on this field.

From this standpoint, construction professionals such as contractors, builders, architects, civil engineers, construction business owners should be knowledgeable with the ins and outs of the construction business. Here are the following important things a construction professional should take a look at before proceeding with any construction operations:

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Republic Act 4566 or the Contractors’ License Law

RA 4566 or the Contractors License Law maintains that there will be no contractors that will be allowed to conduct the business of contracting if they haven’t secured first a PCAB License. There is an increasing number of unlicensed construction professionals in the country who get away with their shady operations. The biggest concern of the presence of unlicensed contractors is that uncertainty of the quality of their services. Moreover, this republic act requires engineers and architect to stipulate a bidder’s PCAB license before they will consider the implementation of their designs, plans, and specification of their work. More importantly, Contractors License Law aims filter construction services to only reliable and competent contractors. This will ultimately lead to the safety of the public.

The law also promotes accountability of the contractors should unlawful, or unexpected events occur in operation or their services in many forms. Articles VI, VII, and VIII comprehensively detail the Disciplinary actions, Disciplinary proceedings, and enforcement and penalties in the event of provision violations. Instances of negligence, abandonment, or fraudulent activities are punished under this provision. Since accountability is clear, this will create a sense of security towards the clients. Furthermore, the contractors are pressured to do their jobs in the most efficient and effective way. Otherwise, they will lose their license and reputation. This may also bring their business to financial ruin. Therefore, this law only promotes maximum professionalism and high-quality services in construction operations.

The Importance of  PCAB License

The Philippine Contractors Accreditation Board (PCAB) license aims to form its holders in excellence and competence towards contracting operations. In addition to that, PCAB license ensures that all contractors have qualified and masterful set of skills in order to conduct constructions of infrastructures. This helps to ensure public safety because it only permits reliable professional to undertake construction in the country. The PCAB license is also in response to the activities conducted by unlicensed contractors that are deemed to be too hazardous to the clients and to the public. This lack of compliance from contractors without license brings numerous perils and imbalance in the construction industry that gives a negative blow the credibility of this industry; it also affects the competitiveness of the sector locally and globally. Thus, PCAB license maintains the legitimacy of the construction industry in the country.

Moreover, PCAB is doing its best to make countermeasures to the existence of unlicensed contractors. Mayors are only allowed to give business permits to those contractors, subcontractors, and specialist contractors that have a license. Also, the Local Building Officials are permitted to grant building permits to licensed construction professionals. Significant companies like PLDT understood that it’s against the law to hire unlicensed contractors; that is why they require all contractors to process their license first before negotiating with them duly. It is important to note that the Contract License Law is not only isolated in contractors, architects, and engineers but also to those services under the specialty category such as companies who provide plumbing and sanitary work, electrical work, and communication facilities. Therefore, it is essential to acquire a PCAB license. Here are the following ways to process a PCAB license as per the Construction Industry Authority of the Philippines website:

1. Download an application form.
2. Accomplish the form correctly and attached similar supporting documents.
3. Submit an application for checklisting/prescreening.
4. Pay the required upfront fee.
5. Wait for license release. The approved license will be mailed directly to the owner/firm via courier.

There are forms ready to download on the website. Also, you will be able to read the step by step procedures for the license application at the website’s Citizen Charter page. Construction professionals today are intensely adamant about keeping pace with the booming industrialization in the Philippines. Different infrastructures are practically sprouting from anywhere because the spirit of industrialization says so. The opportunities of contractors seem to be relentless as time passes by. In addition to that, engineers and architects are receiving various projects that delve into the construction business. However, contractors should understand legal procedures to get them to work. It’s in this way that unlicensed contractors are avoided. In addition to that, the Philippines gets to show a construction industry that is competent and globally competitive.