GENERAL PROVISIONS FOR NATIONAL BUILDING CODE OF THE PHILIPPINES

In the Philippines, we have the National Building Code of the Philippines as the governing standard when it
comes to building design. It was formerly signed as a Presidential Decree 1096 by the former president
Ferdinand E. Marcos in February 19, 1977 which decrees and act to adopt a national building code in the
Philippines as implemented by the Republic Act 6541.
The National Building Code of the Philippines is the policy of the Philippines to safeguard life, health, property,
and public welfare, that is consistent with the principles of sound environmental management and control. The
purpose of this Code is to provide for all buildings and structures, a framework of minimum standards and
requirements to regulate and control their location, site, design, quality of materials, construction, use,
occupancy, and maintenance.
Scope and Application
The provisions of this Code shall apply to the design, location, sitting, construction, alteration, repair, conversion,
use, occupancy, maintenance, moving, demolition of, and addition to public and private buildings and structures,
except traditional indigenous family dwellings as defined in the Code.
Building and/or structures constructed before the approval of this Code shall not be affected thereby except when
alterations, additions, conversions or repairs are to be made therein in which case, this Code shall apply only to
portions to be altered, added, converted or repaired.
General Building Requirements
As stated by the National Building Code of the Philippines:

o All buildings or structures as well as accessory facilities shall conform in all respects
to the principles of safe construction and must be suited to the purpose for which they
are designed
o Buildings or structures intended to be used for the manufacture and/or production of
any kind of product shall observe adequate environmental safeguards
o Buildings or structures and all its parts as well as all facilities found within it shall be
maintained in safe, sanitary and good working condition

Site Requirements
Aside from the building itself, the site in which the building stands should conform with the National Building
Code of the Philippines. This land or site upon which will be constructed with any building or structure, or any
ancillary or auxiliary facility, should be sanitary, hygienic or safe. In the case of sites or buildings intended for
human habitation, the land or site should also be sanitary, hygienic or safe within a safe distance, as determined
by competent authorities, from streams or bodies of water and/or sources considered to be polluted; from a
volcano or volcanic site and/or any other building that is considered to be a potential source of fire or explosion.

GENERAL DESIGN PROVISIONS FOR NATIONAL STRUCTURAL CODE OF THE PHILIPPINES

National Building Code of the Philippines is applied for the over-all design of a building including its key functional
areas, site location, inclusion for provisions in water, sanitation, etc. On the other hand, National Structural Code
of the Philippines focuses on the specific aspects of the structural design of a building. This provides standards in
properly designing a safe, sturdy, and long-lasting structure.
The National Structural Code of the Philippines has gone many versions, from its first release in 1972 as National
Structural Code for Buildings (NSCB) then on its third edition in 1987 as the National Structural Code of the
Philippines (NSCP), up to the current 7th edition of NSCP 2015.
 The purpose of this code is to provide minimum requirements for the design of buildings, towers, and other
vertical structures, and minimum standards and guidelines to safeguard life or limb, property and public welfare
by regulating and controlling the design, construction, quality of materials pertaining to the structural aspects of
all buildings and structures within its jurisdiction.
Scope of NSCP
The provisions of the code applies to the construction, alteration, moving, demolition, repair, maintenance, and
use of buildings, towers, and other vertical structures within its jurisdiction.
Special structures such as, but not limited to single family dwellings, storage silos, liquid product tanks, and
hydraulic flood control structures, should be referred to special state of practice literature but shall refer to
provisions of this code as a minimum whenever applicable since these structures requires special design
provisions due to various design aspects i.e. hydraulic forces, etc.

There are five general design requirements based on the NSCP, these are: strength requirement, serviceability
requirement, structural analysis, foundation investigation, and design review.
1. Based on the strength requirement, buildings, towers, and other vertical structures and all portions of it
shall be designed and constructed to sustain, within the limitations of the code, all loads imposed in it
i.e. dead loads, live loads.
2. Serviceability defines how good the structure could be of use based on its purpose such that the
structure maintains its usability once it is operational. The general serviceability requirement of the code
provides that structural systems and its structural members shall be designed to have
adequate stiffness to limit deflections, lateral drifts, vibrations, or any other deformations that adversely
affect the intended use and performance of buildings, towers, and other vertical structures.
3. In designing structures, proper analysis should be strictly undergone to ensure that certain factors
affecting the structures i.e. imposed loads are considered in the calculation of the analysis with tolerable
allowance for uncertainties that would possible affect the structure throughout its lifespan. The structural
analysis applied for the structure, system or method of construction, shall be based on a rational
analysis in accordance with well-established principles of mechanics that take into
account equilibrium, general stability, geometric compatibility, and both short-term and long-term
material properties.

4. Soil explorations shall be required or buildings, towers, and other vertical structures as required by the
Building Official to properly conduct foundation investigation in order to effectively design the foundation
that these structures would be built in.
5. Lastly, design calculations, drawings, specifications, and other design-related documents for buildings,
towers, and other vertical structures shall be subject to a design review by an independent recognized
structural engineer or engineers to be employed by the owner. This design review shall, as a minimum,
verify the general compliance with the NSCP which shall include, but not be limited to, the review of the
design load criteria, the design concept, mathematical model and techniques. 

Chapters in NSCP
CHAPTER 1 – General Requirements
Section 102 – Definition of Failure
Section 103 – Classification of Structures
Section 104 – Design Requirements
Section 105 – Posting and Instrumentation
Section 106 – Specifications, Drawings, and Calculation
Section 107 – Structural Inspections, Test, and Structural Observations
CHAPTER 2 – Minimum Design Loads
Section 203 – Combination of Loads
Section 205 – Live Loads
Section 207 – Wind Loads
Section 208 – Earthquake Loads
CHAPTER 3 – Earthworks and Foundation
CHAPTER 4 – Structural Concrete
CHAPTER 5 – Structural Steel
CHAPTER 6 – Wood
CHAPTER 7 - Masonry

Section 103 – Classification of Structures

Section 205 – Live Loads
Plan Enforcement

The National Building Code of the Philippines is enforced and implemented by the Building Official  governing a
specific area of jurisdiction. These building officials are responsible in carrying out the provisions of the code in
the field and the enforcement of orders and decisions made in implementing this code. These building officials
are the following: Public Works District Engineer  (from the Department of Public Works and Highways,
DPWH), City Engineer (from a city local government), and Municipal Engineer  (from a municipal local
government).
 
QUALIFICATIONS OF BUILDING OFFICIALS
As stated in the National Building Code of the Philippines, no person shall be appointed as a Building Official
unless he/she possesses the following qualifications:

1. A Filipino citizen and of good moral character

2. A duly registered architect or civil engineer
3. A member of good standing of a duly accredited organization of his profession for not
less than two years
4. Has at least five years of diversified and professional experience in building design
and construction

 
Duties of a Building Official
Within their respective territorial jurisdiction (under DPWH, city local government, or municipal local government),
the Building Official shall be primarily responsible for the enforcement of the provisions of the National Building
Code of the Philippines including its implementing rules and regulations.
The Building Official is the official charged with the duties of issuing building permits. In the performance of
his/her duties, a Building Official may enter any building or its premises  at all reasonable times to inspect
and determine compliance with the requirements of this Code, and the terms and conditions provided for in the
building permit when it was issued. When any building work is found to be contrary to the provisions of this Code,
the Building Official may order the work to be stopped  and prescribe the terms and/or conditions when the work
will be allowed to resume. The Building Official is authorized to order the discontinuance of the occupancy or use
of any building or structure or portion  found to be occupied or used contrary to the provisions of this Code.
 

BUILDING PERMIT

No entity shall erect, construct, alter, repair, move, convert, or demolish any building or structure without first
obtaining a building permit from the Building Official in the place where the subject building is located or the
building work is done. 
A building permit, specifically its application form which can be acquired from the Office of the Building Official
(OBO), contains at least the following information:

o description of the work to be covered by the permit applied for

o description and ownership of the lot on which the proposed work is to be done
o use or occupancy for which the proposed work is intended
o estimated cost of the proposed work

Aside from filling up the building permit application form, sufficient documents substantiating your building or
project construction work should be presented as attachments to your application form. These documents
include, but are not limited to, the following:

o Barangay Clearance; Association Certificate; Consent of Owner/SPA

o Transfer Certificate of Title (TCT); Tax Declaration; Deed of Absolute Sale
o Contract/Agreement with the General Contractor (contract price included);
Contract/Agreement with the Subcontractors (contract price included)
o Fire Safety Certificate Checklist
o Location Clearance
o DENR Environmental Compliance Certificate
o Laguna Lake Development Authority (LLDA) Certificate
o Fully accomplished application forms for:

 Building Permit
 Sanitary/Plumbing Permit
 Electrical Permit
 Mechanical Permit
o sets of technical plans:

 Architectural/Building Plans
 Structural Plans
 Plumbing/Sanitary Plans
 Electrical Plans
 Mechanical Plans
 o Structural Design Computations (structural analysis)
o Bill of Materials
o Project Specifications

Processing of Building Permits

The processing of building permits shall be under the overall administrative control and supervision of the
Building Official and his technical staff of qualified professionals. In processing an application for a building
permit, the Building Official shall see to it that the applicant satisfies and conforms with at least the following, but
not limited to:

o approved standard requirements on zonings and land use

o lines and grades
o structural design
o sanitary and sewerage
o environmental, health, electrical and mechanical safety 

OCCUPANCY PERMIT

As previously stated based on the National Building Code of the Philippines, the licensed architect or civil
engineering in-charge with the inspection and supervision of the project shall prepare and submit a Certificate of
Completion of the project stating that the construction of building conforms to the provisions of this Code and its
approved plans and specifications.
After submitting the Certificate of Completion to the Building Official along with various documents supporting this
document, the Building Official shall conduct its final inspection  prior to an issuance of a Certificate of
Occupancy. This Certificate of Occupancy  (or Occupancy Permit) certifies that the finished building or structure
or its portion, after its inspection by an inspector or enforcer from the Office of the Building Official, has been
successfully completed in compliance with the standards set by the National Building Code of the Philippines.

TYPES OF CONSTRUCTION

The National Building Code of the Philippines provides the classification of buildings according to their
corresponding type of construction to properly determine various facets affecting the building i.e. fire
susceptibility, structural integrity.

Type I buildings shall be a wood construction. The structural elements

Type I
may be any of the materials permitted by this Code.

Type II buildings shall be of wood construction with protective fire-

resistant materials  and one-hour fire-resistive throughout:
Type II
Except, that permanent non-bearing partitions may use fire-retardant
treated wood within the framing assembly.

Type III buildings shall be of masonry and wood construction. Structural

elements may be any of the materials permitted by this Code: Provided,
Type III that the building shall be one-hour fire-resistive throughout.
Exterior walls shall be of incombustible fire-resistive construction.
 Type IV buildings shall be of steel, iron, concrete, or masonry
construction. Walls, ceiling, and permanent partitions shall be of
incombustible fire-resistive construction:
Type IV
Except, that permanent non-bearing partitions of one-hour fire-resistive
construction may use fire-retardant treated wood within the framing
assembly.

Type V buildings shall be fire-resistive. The structural elements shall be

of steel, iron, concrete, or masonry construction.
Type V
Walls, ceilings, and permanent partitions shall be of incombustible fire-
resistive construction

CLASSIFICATION OF OCCUPANCY

o  Group A: Residential Dwellings

 This includes residential houses i.e. bungalow, two-storey house
o Group B: Residentials, Hotels, and Apartments
 Group B Occupancies shall be multiple dwelling units including boarding or
lodging houses, hotels, apartment buildings, row houses, convents, monasteries,
and other similar building each of which accommodates more than ten persons
o Group C: Education and Recreation
 Group C Occupancies shall be buildings used for school or day-care purposes,
involving assemblage for instruction, education, or recreation
 This also includes those not classified in Group I or in Division 1 and 2 or Group
H Occupancies
o Group D: Institutional
 Division 1
 Mental hospitals, mental sanitaria, jails, prisons, reformatories, and
buildings where personal liberties of inmates are similarly restrained
 Division 2
 Nurseries for full-time care of children under kindergarten age,
hospitals, sanitaria, nursing homes with nonambulatory patients,
and similar buildings each accommodating more than five persons
 Division 3
 Nursing homes for ambulatory patients, homes for children of
kindergarten age or over, each accommodating more than five
persons
 Provided, that Group D Occupancies shall not include buildings
used only for private or family group dwelling purposes
o Group E: Business and Mercantile
 Division 1
 Gasoline filling and service stations, storage garages and boot
storage structures where no work is done except exchange of parts
and maintenance requiring no open flame, welding, or the use of
highly flammable liquids
 Division 2
 Wholesale and retail stores, office buildings, drinking and dining
establishments having an occupant load of less than one hundred
persons, printing plants, police and fire stations, factories and
 workshops using not highly flammable or combustible materials and
paint stores without bulk handlings
 Division 3
 Aircraft hangers and open parking garage with no repair work is
done except exchange of parts and maintenance requiring no open
flame, welding or the use of highly flammable liquids
o Group F: Industrial
 Occupancies shall include: ice plants, power plants, pumping plants, cold
storage, and creameries, factories and workshops using incombustible and non-
explosive materials, and storage and sale rooms for incombustible and
nonexplosive materials
o Group G: Storage and Hazardous
 Division 1
 Storage and handling of hazardous and highly flammable material
 Division 2
 Storage and handling of flammable materials, dry cleaning plants
using flammable liquids; paint stores with bulk handling, paint shops
and spray painting rooms
 Division 3
 Wood working establishments, planning mills and box factories,
shops, factories where loose combustible fibers or dust are
manufactured, processed or generated; warehouses where highly
combustible material is store
 Division 4
 Repair garages
 Division 5
 Aircraft repair hangers
o Group H: Assembly other than Group I
 Division 1
 Any assembly building with a stage and an occupant load of less
than 1000 in the building
 Division 2
 Any assembly building without stage and having an occupant load
of 300 or more in the building
 Division 3
 Any assembly building without a stage and having an occupant load
of less than 300 in the building
 Division 4
 Stadia, reviewing stands, amusement park structures not included
within Group I or in Division 1, 2, and 3 of this Group
o Group I: Assembly with Occupant Load of 1000 or more
 Occupancies shall be any assembly building with an age and an occupant load
of 1000 or more in the building
o Group J: Accessory
 Division 1
 Private garage, carports, sheds and agriculture buildings
 Division 2
 Fences over 1.80 meters high, tanks, and towers

Change in Use
As previously discussed in the previous modules, the National Building Code of the Philippines strictly mandates
that no change shall be made in the character of occupancy or use of any building  which would place the
building in a different division of the same group of occupancy or in a different group of occupancies, unless such
building is made to comply with the requirements of this code  for such division or group of occupancy. The
character of occupancy of existing buildings may be changed subject to the approval of the Building Official and
the building may be occupied or purposes in other Groups: Provided the new or proposed use is less hazardous,
based on life and fire risk, than the existing use.
 
Mixed Occupancy
When a building is of mixed occupancy or used for more than one occupancy, the whole building shall be subject
to the most restrictive requirement  pertaining to any of the type of occupancy found in the building except in the
following:

o When a one-storey building houses more than one occupancy, each portion of the
building shall conform to the requirement of the particular occupancy
o Where minor accessory uses do not occupy more than ten percent of the area of any
floor or a building, nor more than ten percent of the basic area permitted in the
occupancy requirements, in which case, the major use of the building determine the
occupancy classification.