UAP ALABANG CHAPTER

Question 1. What is the legal basis of the IAPOA fees and barrier to sign permit forms?

The legal basis for the IAPOA fees can be found in the Implementing Rules and Regulations of RA 9266
Rule V., Section 40, 1.a. which reads:

1.a. An architect duly registered with the PRC shall automatically become a member of the UAP and shall
receive the benefits and privileges provided for and described in its by-laws upon payment of required fees
and dues. The UAP shall keep an updated official registry of its bonafide members indicating membership
and annual dues official receipt number.
For the succeeding question about the barrier to sign permit forms it is contained in the succeeding entry

1.b. Bona fide members of the UAP practicing the architectural profession shall be required to provide their
official IAPOA membership number and receipt number together with their PRC registration number and
professional tax receipt (PTR) on official documents prepared by them for purposes of obtaining
governmental regulatory permits and licenses.

Question 2. Second, what constitutional support does the IAPOA have in mandating compulsory payments from us on a yearly basis? Does this now assume the form of a tax regime that only the state has the privilege of exercising? If it is not a form of tax, why is it then compulsory?

The governing and enabling law for the IAPOA is again the Republic Act 9266 and its Implementing Rules and Regulations. This states that the one Integrated Accredited Professional Organization of Architects
which in this case is the United Architects of the Philippines (UAP) shall be registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission as a non-profit organization and shall be governed by its by-laws. This can be
found in Rule V Section 40: Pursuant to Board Resolution No. 3, Series of 2004, the United Architects of the Philippines, Inc. is the
existing integrated and accredited professional organization of registered architects, duly accredited by the Board subject to approval by the Commission and registered with the Securities and Exchange
Commission (SEC) as a non-profit, non-stock corporation governed by Bylaws providing for a democratic election of its officials
These mentioned by-laws that are part of Securities and Exchange Commission’s requirements mandate UAP national annual membership dues and other dues and required fees, found in Section 5., 3. Basic
Duties & Responsibilities: To Pay UAP National Annual Membership dues & other required fees; IAPOA is not a tax as seen above, it is as mentioned above is an annual due. Only the state has the power to tax. It is deemed compulsory by its enabling law and the by-laws that IAPOA is collected as an annual due. A Tax is collected by governments, an annual due is an amount paid by a member to a corporation.
The due is compulsory because of the membership*.

Question 3: Does the money collected from us go to the National Treasury, if this is a legislated form of tax? If it does not, how and when is it accounted and audited for public scrutiny?

 

As can be seen since it is not a tax, it does not go to the National Treasury but rather to the Integrated
Accredited Professional Organization, which in Architecture profession’s case is UAP, its accountability
would fall with the organization, in this case financial reports filed with the SEC filed annually.

References:
https://united-architects.org/assets/files/media-files/2009%20UAP%20Bylaws%20-
%20certified%20true%20copy.pdf
https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/2004/03/17/implementing-rules-and-regulations-irr-of-republic-act-no-
9266/
* https://www.lawinsider.com/dictionary/annual-dues

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