FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQ’S)

URBAN Institute of Real Estate Review Course for EnP Board Exam

What is Environmental Planning (EnP)?

Environmental Planning (aka EnP, urban planning, urban & regional planning, city planning,
town & country planning, human settlements planning, etc.) is the comprehensive and multi-
disciplinary profession relating to the sustainable use & development of land and water
resources.

What is the scope of Environmental Planners?

Those who are licensed and registered EnP’s can prepare plans, render advice, provide
consultancy and formulate strategies in the aspects of sustainable land and water resources
development, including but not limited to the following fields:
• Community Development
• Housing and Settlements
• Township Master Planning
• District Revitalization and Redevelopment
• Environmental Conservation and Management
• Industrial/Agro-industrial Estate Development
• Tourism Estate Development
• PPP and Infrastructure Planning
• Historic Preservation
• Traffic and Transportation Management
• Disaster Risk Reduction and Management
• Urban Design, Policy & Management
• International Development Planning

What are the advantages of having an EnP license?

As of 2017, there are only around 2,500 EnP license holders. Yet with the growing demands of
urban renewal, green building practices, infrastructure development, traffic management, tourism
and sustainability among many others, the demand for EnP practitioners is high. Hence, they are
sought-after.

• For real estate brokers, salespersons, investors and dealers, being educated to having an EnP
license can enable one to know and even influence the future direction of development for a
district or city. This allows one to advise their clients on how to most profitably position their
real estate investments and do so in a way with the most positive impact to their local
communities.

• For real estate appraisers and assessors, an EnP license will help one be sharper in identifying
and applying Highest and Best Use concepts. An appreciation of zoning through the study of EnP
will also help the appraiser or assessor provide context for estimating the value of a piece of
property.
• For architects and engineers, an EnP license will expand one’s scope from just planning for site
developments, to being able to plan for larger physical spaces such as estates and entire cities.
Their signatures would also be more valuable, as site and subdivision dev’t plans are required to
be signed by EnP’s. With the growing trend for green practices, ECC’s and building permits for
green structures may one day also be required to be signed only by EnP’s.

• For real estate developers, the EnP license will broaden one’s appreciation from just
considerations of profit and economics to those of green building practices, collaboration with
the local government and urban responsibility. Having these can be a competitive edge since
these are concerns that are now being more and more demanded by an increasingly-
conscientious market.

• For those already practicing their real estate consultancy license or aspiring to have it, the EnP
license can be seen as complementary and as a stepping stone. The EnP profession would enable
a consultant to evaluate a property development from a broader array of contexts and
perspectives, thereby creating depth and a greater degree of confidence by a client in one’s
consultancy work.

• For those aspiring to work with the government the EnP license enables one to develop and
update the many plans required, such as comprehensive land use plans, comprehensive
development plans, disaster risk reduction & management plans, forest management plans,
tourism plans, etc. One can also conduct capacity-building to enable government agencies with
knowledge and tools to work more effectively and efficiently.

Which law covers the practice of Environmental Planning?

While real estate appraisers, assessors, brokers, consultants and salespersons are covered by
RA9646, environmental planners are covered by RA10587.

What are the qualifications to take the EnP Board Exam?

The basic rules for being qualified to take the EnP exam vary depending on one’s educational
background and work experience. In summary, one is qualified if s/he has:

• a graduate degree in EnP or equivalent, or

• a post-graduate Diploma in EnP or equivalent, plus one (1) year related work experience, or
• a bachelor’s degree in EnP or equivalent, plus two (2) years related work experience, or
• a masters or doctorate degree in either architecture, engineering, ecology, economics,
geography, geology, public administration, business administration, sociology, social science,
law, environmental science, environmental management, development management, natural
resources planning and development, or any related discipline acceptable to the PRC Board of
EnP, plus three (3) years related work experience, or
• a bachelor’s degree in either architecture, engineering, economics, public administration, law,
social work and community development, sociology, or any related discipline acceptable to the
PRC Board of EnP, plus five (5) years related work experience, or
• an incumbent planning position in the government, plus eighty (80) hours of in-service training
or distance learning.
Unlike the board exams for real estate brokers or appraisers where 120 accredited hours of exam
review is needed, the exam for EnP has no requirement for taking exam review seminars.
However, enrolling in exam review or capacity-building seminars is still highly recommended in
order to help one sufficiently prepare for the exam.

My course is not among those listed. Might I still be admitted to take the EnP board exam?
Yes, this is still a possibility. Ultimately, your admission rests with the evaluation by the PRC
Board of Environmental Planning. Based on previous cases where graduates of non-listed
courses (such as B.A. Education, B.A. Tourism, B.S. Business Administration, B.S. Accounting,
etc.) were still admitted to take the EnP exam, it appears that your other credentials like work
experience, supplementary education and affiliated organizations or companies will also be taken
in consideration when you register.

What do I do if my application for the EnP exam does not get approved?
If your application does not get approved, you can inquire with the PRC as to the reasons for the
disapproval. After which, you may prepare a letter of reconsideration addressing the reasons for
the disapproval of your application and providing reasons why you should be admitted to take
the EnP board exam. Several cases can be citied whereby those who were not initially accepted,
proceeded to making an appeal, being allowed to take the exam and eventually passing it and
gaining their licenses.

When does one apply for the EnP board exam at the PRC?
For 2018, the schedule for EnP board exam registration has not yet been officially announced.
However based on the 2017 schedule, applications for the 2018 board exam may likely be open
from late February to late April.

Is the 2018 EnP exam really the last one that I can take without having a degree or diploma
in Environmental Planning?
Yes. According to RA10587 as the law that regulates the EnP profession, 2018 is the last year
that non-holders of EnP degrees or diplomas can take the exam for the first time. After 2018,
first-time exam-takers would already need to obtain an EnP-related degree or diploma, with the
required years of work experience, before being allowed to take the exam.

If just in case I fail the EnP exam for 2018, may I still be allowed to take succeeding exams?
Yes. According to the PRC Board of Environmental Planning, those who would have applied for
the 2018 board exam, are graduates of allied-related courses, been issued the Notice of
Admission (NOA) to take the board exam and subsequently have failed it, would still be eligible
to take the EnP board exams in the succeeding years.

How do I prove my years of related work experience?

An examinee who needs to show the required number of years of related work experience has to
prepare Certificates of Experience (Form 104-D of the Professional Regulation Commission).
One certificate is prepared for each company or project that the examinee has worked, signed by
his/her immediate supervisor, then subject for review and approval by the PRC Board of EnP.
THE IMMEDIATE SUPERVISOR DOES NOT NEED TO BE A LICENSED EnP.
When is the EnP exam held?
The EnP board exam is usually held in June. It lasts two (2) days. Examinees often find that they
can complete the exam by noontime on the first day and by mid-afternoon on the second day.
However for 2018, it may be held earlier in May.

What is the form of the EnP exam?

The EnP board exam is held in three (3) parts, totaling 450 multiple-choice questions, with time
allotted for an average of 1.8 minutes per question. For the 2017 exam, the parts were as follows:

Day 1 Part I: Environmental Planning, Processes, Techniques and 200 items 6.0 hrs
Strategies
Day 2 Part II: History, Concepts, Theories and Principles of 100 items 3.0 hrs
Environmental Planning
Part III: Environmental Plan Implementation, Legal Aspects 150 items 4.5 hrs
and Administration