[ PRC BOARD OF INTERIOR DESIGN RESOLUTION NO. 03, S. 1999, June 22, 1999 ]

RULES AND REGULATIONS IMPLEMENTING REPUBLIC ACT NO. 8534 (THE PHILIPPINE INTERIOR DESIGN ACT OF 1998)



Pursuant to Section No. 10, Article III of Republic Act No. 8534, known as the "Philippine Interior Design Act of 1998", the following Rules and Regulations are hereby adopted and promulgated to effectively carry out the provisions of the said Act.

Article I
Title and Definition of Terms

RULE 1. Title. - This Resolution shall be known as "THE RULES AND REGULATIONS IMPLEMENTING THE PHILIPPINE INTERIOR DESIGN ACT OF 1998" (RRIPID).

RULE 2. Definition of Terms. - Unless the contrary is expressly provided, the following terms shall be understood to mean:

a. Commission - shall refer to the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) created under P.D. 223.

b. Commission Chairman - shall refer to the Chairman of the Professional Regulation Commission.

c. Board - shall refer to the Board of Interior Design created under the Act.

d. Board Chairman - shall refer to the Chairman of the Board of Interior Design.

e. CHED - shall refer to the Commission on Higher Education.

f. CPE - shall mean Continuing Professional Education.

g. CPEC - shall mean Continuing Professional Education Council.

h. Interior Design - shall refer to the functional, orderly and aesthetic arrangement and development of interiors of buildings and residences that shall contribute to the enhancement and safeguard of life, health and property and the promotion and enrichment of the quality of life.

i. Interior Designer - shall refer to a natural person who has been issued a certificate of registration and a valid professional license by the Board of Interior Design.

j. Practice of Interior Design - is the act of planning, designing, specifying, supervising and giving general administration and responsible direction to the functional, orderly and aesthetic arrangement and development of interiors of buildings and residences that shall contribute to the enhancement and safeguard of life, health and property and the promotion and enrichment of the quality of life. It shall embrace the following activities relative thereto:
(1) Consultation, advice, direction, evaluation, estimates appraisals, adjustments and operational programming;

(2) Schematic designs and development, professional contract documents and construction phases;

(3) Preparation of preliminary, technical, economic and financial feasibility studies including preparation of specialized studies;

(4) Preparation of plans, specifications, bill of materials, project cost estimates, general conditions and their contract documents;

(5) Interior construction and project management: administration, supervision, coordination and direction to the planning, designing, construction, renovation, demolition, alteration, preservation or restoration of building interiors;

(6) The practice of interior design shall also include all works, projects and activities which require the professional competence of the Interior Designer, including teaching of interior design subjects and computer-aided design.

Article II
Official Seal of the Board

RULE 3. Official Seal of the Board. - The official seal of the Board shall be circular in form with a stylized human figure wearing a hat, arms outstretched upward; between his parted legs is a "bahay-kubo"; to his right are three stars and rays of the sun; to his left are sampaguita flowers and laurel leaves; and the words "interior design" written in a circular manner, the letter being equally spaced and the word "interior" written on top, and the word "design" written below.

Article III
Composition, Qualifications, Appointment, Terms of Office of Members and Filing of Vacancies of the Board

RULE 4. Composition of the Board. - The Board of Interior Design shall be composed of a Chairman and two (2) Members. The Chairman and Members of the Board shall be appointed by the President of the Philippines from a list of three (3) recommendees for each vacant position submitted by the Professional Regulation Commission selected from a list of five (5) nominees for each vacant position nominated by the duly accredited and integrated association of Interior Designers in the Philippines.

RULE 5. Qualifications of Members of the Board. - Nominees for appointment as Chairman and Members of the Board shall, at the time of their appointment, possess the following qualifications:

(a) Must be a citizen and resident of the Philippines;

(b) Must be at least thirty-five (35) years of age, of proven integrity as evidenced by his past professional conduct;

(c) Must be a holder of a Bachelor's Degree in Interior Design conferred by a school, academy, college or university in the Philippines or abroad that is recognized and/or accredited by the Philippine Government;

(d) Must be registered Interior Designer with a valid certificate of registration and professional license and an active practitioner of Interior Design for not less than ten (10) years prior to the appointment;

(e) Must not be a member of the faculty of any school, where a regular course in Interior Design is being taught, nor have pecuniary interest in, or administrative supervision over any such institution of learning;

(f) Must not be connected with a review center or with any group giving review classes or lectures in preparation for the licensure examination;

(g) Must be a member of good standing of the duly accredited and integrated association of Interior Designers in the Philippines; and

(h) Has never been convicted of any offense involving moral turpitude.

RULE 6. Term of Office. - The Members of the Board shall hold office for a term of three (3) years and until their successors shall have been appointed and qualified. They may be re-appointed for a second term. Of the members appointed for the first Board, one shall hold office as Chairman for three (3) years, one member for two (2) years and one (1) member for one year. Each member of the Board shall take the proper oath prior to assumption of duty.

RULE 7. Filling of Vacancy in the Board. - Any vacancy occurring in the Board within the term of the members shall be filled for the unexpired portion of the term only.

Article IV
Action and Meetings of the Board; Duties and Responsibilities of Chairman and Members of the Board

RULE 8. Board as a Collegial Body. - The Chairman and Members of the Board shall act as a collegial body on all matters involving the exercise of its powers and duties as well as the implementation of policies laid down in RA No. 8534. Action on such matters by the Board shall be effective only when approved by the Commission.

RULE 9. Meetings of the Board. - The Board shall hold regular meetings to transact official business at least once a month within the premises of the Commission or in such other places as determined by the Board and authorized by the Chairman of the Commission.

Special Meetings may be called by the Chairman or the two (2) Members of the Board.

The Chairman shall preside over the meetings of the Board and in his absence the senior member, if any, or the member designated by the Chairman.

RULE 10. Duties and Functions of the Chairman. - The Chairman shall be the head of the Board. As such head, he shall equitably assign all subjects for examination to all the members of the Board; designate the member who shall preside during the hearing or investigation of administrative cases where the issue involved strictly the practice of the profession or occupation; assign members who shall undertake the visitorial powers of the Board. He shall be responsible for the assignment of other duties and responsibilities to the members and for the supervision and management of their work. The Chairman shall be the official spokesperson of the Board in the Commission and in his absence, the senior member, if any, or the member designated by him.

RULE 11. Decisions, Orders or Resolutions and Other Issuances of the Board. - In the promulgation of decisions and orders in administrative cases which are not interlocutory, or in the adoption of a rule, regulation or policy or in the implementation of the other provisions of RA No. 8534 which are not self-executing, the Board shall meet en banc, deliberate on the matters before it and, thereafter, vote personally on the matter. The presence of a quorum shall be sufficient to deliberate and act upon the matters above-mentioned and a majority vote shall be required for the validity of the act. The presence of two (2) members shall constitute a quorum and the vote of two (2) members shall constitute a majority vote.

Any action of the Board meeting en banc other than a decision or order which is dispositive in an administrative case shall be valid and enforceable only after it shall have been approved by the Commission. Resolutions or issuances of the Board whose purpose is to enforce or implement RA No. 8534 or which regulates the public shall be published in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation.

RULE 12. Enforcement and Implementation of RA No. 8534. - The Board, in the enforcement and implementation of the provisions of RA No. 8534 and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder and in the execution and implementation of its functions and performance of its duties and responsibilities shall be assisted and supported by the Commission through its offices, divisions, sections and units.

RULE 13. Meetings and Official Business with the Commission. - Unless the presence of the entire Board is required, the Board Chairman shall be the representative of the Board in meetings with the Commission Chairman or the Commission and in official transactions with the Commission. In the absence of the Board Chairman, the senior member, if any, or the member designated by him shall represent him in such meetings with the Commission Chairman or Commission and in official business transactions with the Commission.

RULE 14. Interpretation of the Provisions of RA 8534 and the Rules and Regulations and Code of Ethics for Professional Interior Designers Issued by the Board. - The Board may, at first instance, resolve issue or issues arising from the implementation of the provisions of RA No. 8534 in the form of opinions issued by the Board through its Chairman. It may also issue opinions on questions arising from the implementation of its Rules and Regulations and the Code of Ethics for Professional Interior Designers.

RULE 15. Written Authority of Commission Chairman to Bring Out Papers, Records and Documents Outside Commission Premises. - The Board shall act on all papers, communications, certificates, cases or other documents within the premises of the Commission. Action on such papers, records, certificates or other documents outside the premises of the Commission shall be with the written authority of the Commission Chairman.

RULE 16. Action on Ministerial Matters. - Matters requiring action which are ministerial in nature shall be done/made by the Board Chairman.

RULE 17. Records of the Board; Removal of Such Papers, Etc. - All records of the Board including applications for examination, examination papers and results, minutes of deliberation and administrative cases shall be kept by the Commission. No papers, communications, certificates, records of cases and other documents shall be removed from the premises of the Commission unless expressly authorized in writing by the Chairman of the Commission.

RULE 18. Annual Report. - The Board shall, at the close of each calendar year, submit an annual report for the President of the Philippines, through the Professional Regulation Commission, giving a detailed account of its proceedings and accomplishments during the year and making recommendations for the adoption of measures that will upgrade and inform the condition affecting the practice of Interior Design in the Philippines.

Article V
Licensure Examination for Interior Designers

RULE 19. Examination Required. - Unless expressly exempted by the provisions of RA No. 8534, all persons desiring to register as Interior Designers and practice the profession must pass the licensure examination for the practice of Interior Design.

RULE 20. Application. - The applicant for examination shall file a computerized application form duly accomplished in the Application Division of the Commission or in any of its Regional Offices which are also test centers for the profession, accompanied by authentic or authenticated copies of the required documents.

A Filipino citizen who graduated from a foreign educational institution shall be required, before his application is accepted, to present an endorsement from the Commission on Higher Education.

RULE 21. Qualifications of Applicant for Examination. - An applicant for examination shall, prior to admission to the examination, establish to the satisfaction of the Board that:

a. He is a citizen of the Philippines;

b. He has not been convicted by a final judgment of any crime involving moral turpitude; and

c. He is a Bachelor of Interior Design or Master of Interior Design degree holder in a school, academy, institution, or college duly recognized by the government.

RULE 22. Venues and Dates of Examination. - The Interior Designers Licensure Examination shall be held at least once a year in the City of Manila and in such other places as may be determined by the Board and approved by the Commission. The venues and dates of examinations of Interior Designers for each year shall be included in the Schedule of Professional Licensure Examinations issued yearly by the Commission.

RULE 23. Examination Program. - The Board shall issue a program for every scheduled examination not later than twenty (20) days before the first day of the scheduled examination which shall contain the following:

(a) Name of licensure examination;

(b) Subjects for examination with their corresponding percentage weights, time, dates and places of examination;

(c) Instructions to examinees;

(d) Names and signatures of the Chairman and Members of the Board.

RULE 24. Publication of Examination. - The dates, time and venue or venues of the Interior Designers Licensure Examination shall, as far as practicable, be published in a newspaper of general circulation or in broadcast media. The program of examination shall, upon its issuance, be disseminated to prospective examinees through the schools, colleges and universities offering the course of Interior Design for the information of their graduates.

RULE 25. Scope of Examination. - The examination for interior design shall basically cover the following subjects:

1) Interior Design
2) Furniture Design and Construction
3) Materials of Decoration
4) History of Arts and Interior Design
5) Building Construction
6) Professional Practice and Ethics

The said subjects and their syllabi may be amended by the Board so as to conform with the technological changes brought about by continuing trends in the profession.

RULE 26. Rating in the Board Examination. - To pass the Board Examination for Interior Designers, an examinee must obtain a weighted general average of seventy-five percent (75%) with no grades lower than sixty percent (60%) in any subject.

RULE 27. Removal Examination of Examinees with Grade/s Below Sixty Percent (60%) in Any Subject But Obtains a General Weighted Average of Seventy-Five Percent (75%) or Higher. - An examinee who obtains the required general average rating of seventy-five percent (75%) or higher but obtains rating below sixty percent (60%) in any given subject, must take a removal examination only in the subject or subjects where he obtained a grade below sixty percent (60%) within two (2) years from the date of his last examination; Provided, That if the examinee fails in the removal examination, he/she shall, thereafter, take the examination in all subjects; Provided, further, That the removal examination shall be taken only once within the two-year period; and Provided, furthermore, That the examination, where the examinee obtained a general weighted average of seventy-five percent (75%) or higher but obtained a grade below sixty percent (60%) in any subject or subjects, the removal examination shall be considered as one examination for purposes of the re-examination, provided in the succeeding Rule.

RULE 28. Re-Examination. - An examinee who fails to pass the examination for the third time shall be allowed to take another examination only after the lapse of one (1) year from the last examination taken which examination shall be the third failure of the examinee.

Article VI
Formulation of Syllabi and Full Computerization of Examination

RULE 29. Formulation of Syllabi. - The Board, after consultations with the academe, formulate and adopt a syllabus or term of specifications for each of the subjects for licensure examinations. It shall amend the syllabus to incorporate changes made in the curriculum for the course of Interior Design only when the examinees have already taken those changes in school, college or university where they are enrolled. Test Questions that will be prepared and inputted in the test question bank shall be within the scope of the syllabus of the subject.

RULE 30. Full Computerization of Examination. - The Licensure Examination for Interior Design shall be fully computerized. New members of the Board assigned a particular subject shall prepare at least five hundred (500) test questions to be encoded in the test questions data bank from which the questions to be given in a particular licensure examination shall be extracted at random from the computer. The test questions data bank of the Board Member shall be replenished within sixty (60) days from the release of the results of the examination with at least three (300) hundred test questions every after examination until the bank has reached a total of two thousand (2,000) questions. Thereafter; the replenishment shall be equal to the number of questions extracted. The computers shall do the correction of the answer sheets of the examinees.

Article VII
Registration and Issuance of Certificates and Licenses

RULE 31. Automatic Registration. - All practicing Interior Designers who are registered in accordance with Board of Architecture Resolution No. 21, s. 1982, creating the Specialty Board of Interior Design issued on July 20, 1982 duly approved by the Chairman of the Professional Regulation Commission and other resolutions issued by the Board of Architecture and approved by the Commission, with current licenses are hereby automatically registered as Interior Designers under RA No. 8534 without need of filing application for registration. However, they shall pay the registration fee for the issuance of their registration certificates by the Board created under RA 8534. They shall renew their licenses upon expiration to continue with the practice of their profession.

Those Interior Designers who are registered but who are not practicing their profession or who are shown to be delinquent in the payment of their licenses fees at the time RA No. 8534 took effect must register by filing an application. There shall be no deadline for the filing of such application. They shall also be registered upon payment of the prescribed fees, including penalties, if any, and shall be issued new certificates of registration and professional licenses.

RULE 32. Registration of Successful Examinees. - All those who passed the licensure examination for Interior Designers shall, unless specifically deferred for cause by the Board, be registered after taking the oath of a professional before the members of the Board or any person authorized by law to administer oaths and upon payment of the prescribed fees.

RULE 33. Issuance of Certificate of Registration and Professional License. - Upon compliance with all the requirements for registration, the Interior Designer shall sign the roll of Interior Designers after his name is entered therein. He shall be issued the certificate of registration and the corresponding professional license upon payment of the prescribed fees.

RULE 34. Renewal of Professional License. - The professional license issued to an Interior Designer shall be valid for a period of three (3) years from its issuance and shall be renewed every three (3) years on the birth month of the Interior Designer upon payment of fees.

RULE 35. Temporary Removal from the Roll of Interior Designers. - An Interior Designer who has been delinquent in the payment of his license fees for five (5) consecutive years from the year it was suspended and his name shall be dropped from the Roll of Interior Designers for not having been in good standing and may be reinstated only upon application and payment of the delinquent license fees and surcharges and the fee for registration without examination.

RULE 36. Lifting of Deferment of Registration. - If the cause for the deferment of the registration of the successful examinee has been complied with, the examinee shall be allowed to register as Interior Designer.

RULE 37. Registration Without Examination. - The following may also register as Interior Designers without examination:

(a) Persons who, before the effectivity of RA No. 8534, have taken and earned at least sixty (60) units of interior design in a school, college or university recognized by the government and has practiced interior design for at least ten (10) years prior to the effectivity of RA No. 8534.

(b) Registered and duly licensed architects who had been practicing interior design for at least ten (10) years before the effectivity of RA No. 8534.

Persons who fall under Sub-paragraph (a) above shall file application accompanied by authentic or authenticated copies of the following documents:
(1) Transcript of records issued by a school, college or university established or recognized by the Government showing that the applicant has taken and earned at least sixty (60) units of Interior Design ten (10) years before the effectivity of RA No. 8534, and

(2) If the applicant has been employed as interior designer, certification under oath of owner or manager of firm, company or entity attesting to the fact that the applicant has performed the duties and functions of an Interior Designer for a period of at least ten (10) years before the effectivity of RA No. 8534 or if the applicant has practiced Interior Design, at least one (1) copy of plan of Interior Design of building/s duly signed and sealed by him or at least one (1) copy of contract entered into by the applicant with owner of the building for every year of practice of Interior Design for at least ten (10) years before the effectivity of RA No. 8534.
Persons who fall under Sub-paragraph (b) shall file application accompanied by authentic or authenticated copies of the following documents:
(1) Copy of certificate of registration as architect and copy of current professional license as architect, and

(2) Any of the documents adverted to in Sub-paragraph [2] of the immediately preceding paragraph.
RULE 38. Reinstatement of Certificate of Registration. - The Board may, upon application or petition and or reasons of equity and justice, may reinstate the validity of a revoked certificate of registration and professional license, upon payment of the required fees after at least two (2) years from date of revocation.

RULE 39. Replacement of Certificates. - Upon payment of the required fee, a new certificate of registration may be issued to replace any lost, destroyed or mutilated certificate.

Article VIII
Administrative Proceedings

RULE 40. Grounds for the Suspension and Revocation of Certificates. - The Board, after due notice and hearing, may suspend or revoke the certificate of registration and license of an Interior Designer or cancel temporary or special permit issued to foreign Interior Designers allowed by law to practice Interior Design in the Philippines upon any of the following grounds:

(1) Conviction by a final judgment of a court of competent jurisdiction of any crime involving moral turpitude.

(2) Having been found guilty of immoral or dishonorable conduct.

(3) Having been judicially declared of unsound mind.

(4) Use or perpetration of any fraud or deceit in obtaining a certificate of registration.

(5) Gross negligence.

(6) Unprofessional, unethical or dishonorable conduct.

(7) Chronic inebriety.

(8) Habitual use of drugs.

(9) Abatement of the illegal practice of interior design.

(10) Violation of the provisions of RA No. 8534, the Rules and Regulations thereunder and the Code of Ethics for Interior Designers.

RULE 41. Administrative Investigation. - The Board shall be assisted by the legal or hearing officers of the Commission in the investigation of administrative cases filed before it. The Board may delegate the hearing or investigation of administrative cases except when technical matters or where the issue involved strictly concerns the practice of the profession in which case the hearing or investigation shall be presided by at least one member of the Board assisted by a hearing or legal officer of the Commission.

The conduct of and the procedures in an investigation initiated by or filed before the Board against an examinee or a registered Interior Designer shall be governed by the pertinent provisions of the "Rules and Regulations Governing the Regulation and Practice of Professionals" issued by the Commission. The pertinent provisions of the Revised Rules of Court shall be suppletory to the said Rules.

Article IX
Report on the Performance of Candidates in Licensure Examinations

RULE 42. Report of the Board. - The Board shall, with the assistance of the Public Information and Statistics Section of the Professional Regulation Commission, prepare a report on the performance of the examinees of schools, colleges or universities in the licensure examinations. The Board, thru the Commission, may recommend to the Commission on Higher Education the following:

(1) The monitoring of schools, colleges and universities, whether public or private, whose successful examinees in three (3) consecutive licensure examinations in a particular profession is less than five percent (5%) of the total number of its candidates who took the said licensure examinations;

(2) The publication of the names of schools, colleges or universities whose successful examinees in five (5) successive licensure examinations in a particular profession is less than five percent (5%) of the total number of examinees by said schools, colleges or universities in each of the said Licensure Examination taken; and

(3) The closure of the course/program.

Article X
Licensure Examination and Practice of Interior Design by Foreigners

RULE 43. Taking of Licensure Examination in Interior Design by Foreigners Through Reciprocity. - A foreigner may be allowed to take the licensure examination for Interior Designer if the country or state of which he is a citizen or subject allows/permits Filipino citizens to take the Licensure Examination for Interior Designers within its territorial limits on the same basis as the citizens or subjects of such foreign state or country.

RULE 44. Practice of Interior Design by Foreigners Through Reciprocity. - A foreign Interior Designer may be issued a license to practice Interior Design or consultancy thereof in the Philippines, of the country or the state of which he is a citizen or subject allows/permits Filipino Interior Designers to practice Interior Design within its territorial limits on the same basis as the citizens or the subjects of such foreign state or country.

The Board shall issue Rules and Regulations providing for the procedure for the taking by foreigners of the licensure examination for Interior Design and for the registration of foreign Interior Designers with or without examination and issuance of licenses through reciprocity as well as the issuance of temporary/special permits to foreign Interior Designers allowed by other laws to practice Interior Design in the Philippines.

Article XI
Code of Ethics for Interior Designers and Continuing Professional Education

RULE 45. Code of Ethics. - The Board, in consultation with the accredited integrated association of Interior Designers and other association of Interior Designers, shall adopt and promulgate a Code of Ethics for Interior Designers.

The Board, in consultation with the accredited and integrated association of Interior Designers as well as other association of Interior Designers, shall likewise prescribe and adopt a Code of Ethical and Professional Standards for the practice of the interior design profession.

RULE 46. Continuing Professional Education. - The Board shall implement the policies of the Commission on Continuing Professional Education (CPE).

The Board shall, in coordination with the accredited integrated association of professional interior designers, prescribe the standards, requirements, procedures and other guidelines for CPE programs in accordance with the existing issuances of the Commission.

Article XII
Adoption and Use of Seal of Interior Designers

RULE 47. Seal of Interior Designers. - Every Interior Designer shall obtain a seal whose design shall be adopted and approved by the Board.

A duly registered Interior Designer shall affix his seal on all plans and specifications prepared by or under his direct supervision.

The Interior Designer shall likewise indicate his professional license number, place and date of issue on documents he signs, affixes his seal and issues in connection with the practice of his profession.

Article XIII
Prohibitions, Enforcement and Penalties

RULE 48. Prohibitions. - (1) No person shall stamp or seal any document with the seal of an Interior Designer after his professional license has expired or lost its validity unless he has been reinstated to practice and/or unless his license has been renewed.

(2) No officer or employee of the government, chartered cities, provinces and municipalities charged with the enforcement of laws, ordinances or regulation relative to the construction or alteration of the interiors of buildings shall accept or endorse any interior plans or specifications which have not been prepared and submitted in full record with the provisions of RA 8534; nor shall any payment be approved by any officer for such work, the plans and specifications of which have not been so prepared, signed and sealed by a duly licensed Interior Designer.

(3) No Interior Designer shall sign his name, affix his seal or use any other method of signature on plans, specifications or other documents made by or under another Interior Designer's supervision unless the same is made in such a manner as to clearly indicate the part of such work actually performed by him.

(4) No person except the Interior Designer in charge shall sign for any branch of work or any function of interior design practice not actually performed by him.

(5) No person, without the written consent of the Interior Designer or author of said documents, shall duplicate or make copies of said documents for use in the repetition of and for other projects or buildings, whether executed partly or in whole.

RULE 49. Enforcement. - The Commission through its legal and hearing officers, shall conduct investigation of complaints on any violation of the provisions of RA No. 8534 including violations of the rules and regulations issued thereunder and the Code of Ethics for Interior Designers and, if the acts complained of constitutes a criminal offense and the evidence so warrant, to forward the records of the case to the appropriate offices of city or provincial prosecutors for the prosecution of the violators. If the acts complained of would warrant the imposition of administrative sanctions, the respondent shall be proceeded against administratively before the Board in accordance with the pertinent provisions of the Rules and Regulations Governing the Regulation and Practice of Professionals, as amended.

RULE 50. Penalties. - Aside from the administrative sanctions imposed under RA No. 8534, any person who violates any of the provisions of the said Act shall, upon conviction, be penalized by a fine of not less than Fifty Thousand (P50,000.00) Pesos nor more than Two Hundred Thousand (P200,000.00) Pesos or imprisonment of not less than three (3) months or both fine and imprisonment at the direction of the Court.

Article XIV
Integration of Interior Designers

RULE 51. Integration of Interior Designers. - All Interior Designers shall be integrated into one (1) national organization which shall be recognized by the Board and accredited by the Commission as the one and only accredited integrated association to which all Interior Designers must be members without prejudice to their membership in other associations of Interior Designers. An Interior Designer duly registered with the Board shall automatically become a member of the accredited integrated national organization of Interior Designers. Membership in the accredited integrated organization shall not be a bar to membership in other associations of Interior Designers.

Article XV
Miscellaneous Provisions

RULE 52. Teaching of Interior Design. - All educational institutions of the tertiary level offering the course of Interior Design, whether public or private, are required to engage the services of a duly registered Interior Designer to teach the subjects of the course for licensure examination.

Teaching of Interior Design subjects constitutes practice of Interior Design as defined by RA No. 8534, hence, only duly registered Interior Designers should be allowed to teach Interior Design subjects. Provided, however, That persons who specialize in any of the subjects for licensure examination in Interior Design and are holders of master's and/or doctorate degrees in said subject/s shall be allowed to teach the subjects of their specialization without being registered and licensed as Interior Designers.

Article XVI
Effectivity

RULE 53. Effectivity. - These Rules and Regulations shall take effect after thirty (30) days following the completion of its publication in a newspaper of general circulation or in the Official Gazette, whichever comes earlier.

Adopted: June 22, 1999

(SGD.) JOSE MA. G. HUBILLA
Chairman

(SGD.) MARILIN F. ARELLANO
(SGD.) SONIA P. ONGKIKO
Members

Attested:

(SGD.) CARLOS G. ALMELOR
Secretary, Professional Regulatory Boards

Approved:

(SGD.) HERMOGENES P. POBRE
Commissioner

(SGD.) ALFONSO G. ABAD
(SGD.) AVELINA DE LA REA-TAN
Associate Commissioners