SPP DOC.

200
Code of Ethical Conduct
For Registered and Licensed Architects
By: Arch Jefsie M. Antonio, UAP
 Traits of Architects
The profession of Architecture calls for men and
women of the highest integrity, responsiveness,
business acumen, sensibility, as well as artistic
and technical ability.
 Duties and
Responsibilities
 The Architect’s honesty of purpose must be
beyond reproach.
 The Architect acts as professional adviser to
his Client and his advice must be unprejudiced.
 Duties and
Responsibilities
 The Architect is charged with the exercise of
mediation and conciliation functions between
Client and Contractor and must act with entire
impartiality.
 Duties and
Responsibilities
He has moral responsibilities to his
professional associates and subordinates
He is engaged in profession which carries
with grave responsibilities to the public.
 responsibility to the

1. The Public
Code of Ethical Conduct
Environment/ Heritage
 He shall respect and conserve the systems of
values and heritage of the community in
which he creates architecture.
Environment/ Heritage
 He shall strive to improve the environment in
a sustainable manner, mindful of the effect of
his work on the interests of all those who use
the production of his work.
 The professional
organization
 He shall promote the interest of his
professional organization and do his full part
of the work to enhance the objectives of the
organization.
 The professional
organization
 He should share in the interchange of
technical information with the other design
professions and construction industry.
 Laws
 He shall abide by the laws of the government
and comply with the Code of Ethical Conduct
and the Standards of Professional Practice.
 Laws
 He shall endeavor to properly observe the
laws on the practice of architecture and on
the planning of buildings.
 Paid Advertisement
 He shall not used paid advertisement, nor
use self-laudatory, exaggerated, or
misleading publicity.
 Paid Advertisement
 However, he may, in the context of advancing
public knowledge of the Architect’s function in
society, opt to write books/ columns/ literature
or actively participate in forums/seminars.
 Paid Advertisement
 In the process, he will show his own true
worth as a professional, in which case he
may receive remuneration or honorarium for
such undertakings.
 Paid Advertisement
 Shall not solicit, nor permit to solicit in his
name, advertisements or other support
towards the cost of any publication
presenting his work.
 Paid Advertisement
 He shall refrain from taking part in paid
advertisements endorsing any materials of
construction or building equipment.
 Claiming of
specializations
Shall not deceive the public as to his
professional competence, nor claim any
professional specialization unless supported
by academic qualification, track record or
relevant expertise.
 Business signages
 May exhibit his professional shingle outside
his office, or display a project billboard
indication relevant information, which may
include pictorial reproduction thereof, in a
modest manner.
 responsibility to the

2.The Client
Code of Ethical Conduct
 Public before client
 The Architect shall always endeavor to
protect the Client's interests but never at the
expense of higher public interest and public
welfare.
 No free services
 Shall introduce to a prospective client the
professional services she is able to perform,
provided that is limited to the presentation of
examples of her professional experience.
 No free services
 She shall not offer preliminary sketches or
other services without a service agreement.
 Setting expectations
 Shall ascertain from the client, at the very
inception of their business relationship, the
exact nature and scope of her services and
properly inform the client of the
corresponding professional fees.
 Project feasibility
Shall advise a client against proceeding with
any project whose practicability may be
questionable due to financial or legal
conditions, even if it may mean the loss of a
commission to the Architect.
 Estimates
 Shall explain the conditional character of
estimated and shall never guarantee any
estimates in order to secure a commission,
unless provided for by law, as in certain
government projects.
 Client’s need vs.
budget
Shall consider the needs of her client and the
effects of her work on the public as a whole.
Shall endeavor to meet the aesthetic and
functional requirements of the project
commensurate with the client’s budget.
 Charging of services
 Shall bill her client for services rendered a
professional fee commensurate with the work
involved and with her professional
standing/experience based upon the basic
Minimum Fee prescribed in the SPP.
 Design-build
• Shall undertake the construction of a project
even when the plans were prepared by her
when it conforms with pertinent sections of the
“Standards of Professional Practice”
 Professional feel only
 Shall be compensated for her services solely
through her professional fee billed directly
to the client:
 She shall not ask for any other returns, in
whatever form, from any interested source
other than the client.
 Conflicting interests
 Shall be free from any financial or personal
interest which ten to weaken her standing as
an unprejudiced and honest adviser, free to
act in her client’s bet interests.
 Conflicting interests
 If the Architect has any other business
interests which affect the interest of the client,
she should inform the client of such a
condition or situation.
 Alternative dispute
resolution
 Shall include in her agreement with the client
a clause providing for negotiation, mediation /
conciliation and /or arbitration as alternative
methods for the settlement of disputes.
 Timeliness and
schedule
Shall carry out her professional work without
undue delay and within an agreed reasonable
time limit.
 Updating the client
 Shall keep the client informed at all times of
the progress of the work and of any issue
that may affect project quality and cost.
 responsibility to the

3.The Contractor
Code of Ethical Conduct
 Fair to both
contractor/ client
The contractor depends upon the Architect to
safeguard fairly the Contractor’s interest as
well as those of the Client
 Clarity of contract
documents
 Shall give the contractor every reasonable
assistance to enable the contractor to fully
understand the contents of the Contract
Documents
 Clarity of contract
documents
 Shall furnish clear, definite, and consistent
information in all contract documents to avoid
mistakes that may involve extra costs to
either the contractor or the client.
 Remedy for errors
in drawings
 Shall not Knowingly call upon the contractor
to correct or remedy oversights or errors in
the Contract Document to the contractor’s or
the client financial disadvantage.
 Rejecting /
condemning work
 Shall, immediately upon his personal knowledge
and inspection, reject or condemn any material,
equipment, or workmanship which is not in
conformity with the Contract Documents in order
not to cause unnecessary delay and additional
expense to the contractor.
 Accepting favors/ gifts
 Shall reject any offer of free professional
engineering or allied design service, or receive
any substantial aid, gifts, commissions, or favors
from any contractor of subcontractor which will
tend to place him under any kind of obligation to
return such favors.
 Payments due
to the contractor
 Shall promptly inspect each phase of the completed
work and, if found to be in accordance to the terms
of Contract Documents, issue the corresponding
Certificates of Payment and Final Certificate of
Completion to the Contractor.
 responsibility to the

4. Manufacturers,
Dealers, Agents
Code of Ethical Conduct
 Solicitation of free
services
 Shall not solicit free professional engineering/allied
design or other technical services form manufacturers
or suppliers of building materials or equipment when
these are accompanied by an obligation detrimental to
the best interest of the client, or which may adversely
affect the Architect’s professional opinion.
 Commissions, gifts,
discounts
 Shall not seek commissions, discounts, fees, gifts,
or favors from agents or firms handling building
materials or equipment which may place him/her
in a reciprocal frame of mind.
 All market discounts shall be credited to the
client.
 responsibility to the

5. Colleagues and
Subordinates
Code of Ethical Conduct
 No free service
 Shall not render professional services without a
professional service agreement.
 Shall neither offer nor provide preliminary
services on a conditional basis prior to definite
agreement with the client for the commission of
the project.
 Minimum Fees
 Shall abide by the Basic Minimum Fee prescribed
by the SPP. She shall not use donation of
professional services as a device for obtaining
competitive advantage except for worthy civic
or religious projects.
 Competition Entries
Neither shall she submit solicited or unsolicited
drawings in competition with other Architects
unless such competitive arrangements are
conducted under the terms of the Architectural
Competition Code.
 Competitions
Shall not, in any case enter as competitor in any
Architectural Competition when she has direct
involvement in the formulation of the competition
program or when she has been engaged to act as
Professional Adviser or Juror for such
competition.
 Poaching projects
from others
Shall not solicit any project already known to
her as previously committed to another
Architect, whether such a commitment is still
in the process of negotiation or has already
been definitely agreed upon.
 Taking over a project
 Shall not undertake a commission for which she
knows another Architect has been previously
employed unless he notifies the other Architect in
writing and has conclusively determined that the
original employment has been terminated and duly
compensated for.
 Renovations /
rehabilitations
 Shall not undertake a commission for additions,
rehabilitation, or remodeling of any erected
structure undertaken previously by another
Architect without duly notifying him of the
contemplated project even when the owner is no
longer the same.
 Renovations /
rehabilitations
 When the greater mass, area, or design of
the original structure is substantially
maintained, the new Architect should limit her
advertisement or claim only to the extent of
the specific work she has done to the
structure.
 Renovations /
rehabilitations
 Whenever the nature of work involves
examples of our architectural heritage, the
Architect must look at all possibilities of
restoration.
 Badmouthing
other architects
 Shall not maliciously, or unfairly criticize, or
discredit another Architect or the latter’s
work.
 Unflattering
associations
Shall refrain from associating herself with, or
allowing the use of her name by any
enterprise that may negatively affect herself or
the architectural profession.
 Signing and
sealing plans
• Shall not affix her signature and seal to any
plans or professional documents prepared by
other persons or entities and not done under
her direct personal supervision.
 Employees and
subordinated
 Shall provide employees and subordinates
with a suitable work environment,
compensate them fairly, and facilitate their
professional advancement.
 Employees and
subordinated
 She shall tutor and mentor the your aspirants
towards the ideals, functions, duties, and
responsibilities leading to the ethical practice
of the architectural profession.
 Unselfishness
 Shall unselfishly give her share in the
transfer of technical knowledge and
experience to her colleagues and young
aspirants and do her part in fostering
unity in the furtherance of the
profession.
 Supporting the IAPOA
 Shall unselfishly give her time and effort
to the advancement of the profession thru
her active and personal commitment and
involvement with the Integrated and
Accredited Professional Organization of
Architects (IAPOA)
 Quality of work
 Shall insure that the conduct of her professional
practice abides by appropriate and effective
internal procedures, including monitoring and
review processes, as well as sufficient qualified
and supervised staff to enable the firm to function
efficiently.
 Intellectual property
 Shall neither appropriate the intellectual
property of, nor unduly take advantage of the
ideas of another architect, without express
authority from the originating architect.
 Reputation
Shall build her professional reputation on the
merits of her own service and performance and
shall strive to continuously update her
professional know-how. She shall recognize and
give credit to others for professional work
performed.
 Quoting fees
 Shall not, when offering services as an
independent consultant, quote a fee without
first receiving an official invitation.
 Quoting fees
 The Architect must have sufficient information on the
nature and scope of the project to enable her to
prepare a fee proposal clearly indicating the services
include in order to protect the Client and the public
from under-resourcing or underpricing by some
unscrupulous parties.
 Service agreement
• Shall not undertake professional work unless
the parties shall have clearly agreed on the
following:.
1. Scope of Work
2. Delineation of responsibilities
3. Any limitation of responsibilities
4. Fee or method of calculating it
5. Mode of alternative dispute resolution
6. Any provision for termination.
 Raising the standards
Shall continue to raise the standards of
aesthetic excellence, functional logic,
architectural education, research, training, and
practice.
 Promotion
of the allied arts
Shall, as appropriate, promote the allied arts
and contribute to the knowledge and
capability of the construction industry.
 Reporting Violations
 If she possessed substantial information
which leads to a reasonable belief that
another Architect has committed a violation of
this Code, shall file a formal complaint.
 Copies of drawings
 If she is leaving her architect-employer, she shall
not, without the permission of the latter, take with
her designs, drawings, data or other relevant
materials even if personally performed by her.
 Copies of drawings
 On the other hand, the architect-employer shall
not unreasonably withhold such permission,
except when some confidentiality of any such
documents must be reasonably protected.
 Discrimination
Shall not discriminate on grounds of race, national
origin, age, gender, marital status, religion, or any
disability which would hinder the performance of
his/her professional work.
 memorize the

Architect’s Credo
Code of Ethical Conduct
 Architect's Credo
Any registered and licensed architect shall recite
the Architect’s Credo during special or important
occasions, e.g., mass oath-taking, IAPOA
affairs, PRBOA Events.
Miscellaneous
Code of Ethical Conduct
 Liabilities/Penalties
 Any registered and licensed architect or a
grantee of a temporary/special permit who
violates any provisions of this Code shall be
penalized with:
• Suspension or revocation of the validity of
certificate of registration, or cancellation of a
special /temporary permit.
• And/ or fine of not less than P100,00 but
not more than P5,000,000/
• Or to suffer imprisonment for period of not
less than six months or not exceeding six
years, or both at the discretion of the court,
respectively.
End of Module
Thank you!