Facts:

The National Traffic Commission, in its resolution of July 17, 1940, resolved to recommend to
the Director of the Public or!s and to the "ecretary of Public or!s and Communications
that animal#dra$n vehicles be %rohibited from %assin& alon& the follo$in& for a %eriod of one
year from the date of the o%enin& of the Col&ante 'rid&e to traffic(
1) *osario "treet e+tendin& from Pla,a Calderon de la 'arca to Dasmari-as
"treet from 7(.0/m to 10(.0 %m and from 1(.0 %m to 1.0 %m2 and
0) alon& *i,al /venue e+tendin& from the railroad crossin& at /nti%olo "treet to
3cha&ue "treet from 7 am to 11%m
The Chairman of the National Traffic Commission on July 14, 1940 recommended to the
Director of Public or!s $ith the a%%roval of the "ecretary of Public or!s the ado%tion of
thethemeasure %ro%osed in the resolution aforementioned in %ursuance of the %rovisions of theCo
mmon$ealth /ct No5 144 $hich authori,es said Director $ith the a%%roval from the
"ecretary of the Public or!s and Communication to %romul&ate rules and re&ulations to
re&ulate and control the use of and traffic on national roads5
6n /u&ust 0, 1940, the Director recommended to the "ecretary the a%%roval of the
recommendations made by the Chairman of the National Traffic Commission $ith
modifications5 The "ecretary of Public or!s a%%roved the recommendations on /u&ust
10,19405 The 7ayor of 7anila and the /ctin& Chief of Police of 7anila have enforced and
caused to be enforced the rules and re&ulation5 /s a conse8uence, all animal#dra$n vehicles are
not allo$ed to %ass and %ic! u% %assen&ers in the %laces above mentioned to the detriment not
only of their o$ners but of the ridin& %ublic as $ell5
Issues(
1) hether the rules and re&ulations %romul&ated by the res%ondents %ursuant to the %rovisions
of Common$ealth /ct N65 144 constitute an unla$ful inference $ith le&itimate business or
trade and abrid&ed the ri&ht to %ersonal liberty and freedom of locomotion9
0) hether the rules and re&ulations com%lained of infrin&e u%on the constitutional
%rece%t re&ardin& the %romotion of social :ustice to insure the $ell#bein& and economic security
of all the %eo%le9
Held:
1) No5 The %romul&ation of the /ct aims to %romote safe transit u%on and avoid obstructions on
national roads in the interest and convenience of the %ublic5 ;n enactin& said la$, the National
/ssembly $as %rom%ted by considerations of %ublic convenience and $elfare5 ;t $as ins%ired by
the desire to relieve con&estion of traffic, $hich is a menace to the %ublic safety5 Public $elfare
lies at the bottom of the %romul&ation of the said la$ and the state in order to %romote the
&eneral $elfare may interfere $ith %ersonal liberty, $ith %ro%erty, and $ith business and
occu%ations5 Persons and %ro%erty may be sub:ect to all !inds of restraints and burdens in order
to secure the &eneral comfort, health, and %ros%erity of the "tate5 To this fundamental aims of the
&overnment, the ri&hts of the individual are subordinated5 <iberty is a blessin& $hich should not
be made to %revail over authority because society $ill fall into anarchy5 Neither should authority
be made to %revail over liberty because then the individual $ill fall into slavery5 The %arado+ lies
in the fact that the a%%arent curtailment of liberty is %recisely the very means of insurin& its
%reservin&5
0) No5 "ocial :ustice is =neither communism, nor des%otism, nor atomism, nor anarchy,> but the
humani,ation of la$s and the e8uali,ation of social and economic forces by the "tate so that
:ustice in its rational and ob:ectively secular conce%tion may at least be a%%ro+imated5 "ocial
:ustice means the %romotion of the $elfare of all the %eo%le, the ado%tion by the ?overnment of
measures calculated to insure economic stability of all the com%etent elements of society,
throu&h the maintenance of a %ro%er economic and social e8uilibrium in the interrelations of the
members of the community, constitutionally, throu&h the ado%tion of measures le&ally
:ustifiable, or e+tra#constitutionally, throu&h the e+ercise of %o$ers underlyin& the e+istence of
all &overnments on the time#honored %rinci%les of salus %o%uli estsu%rema le+5
"ocial :ustice must be founded on the reco&nition of the necessity of interde%endence amon&
divers and diverse units of a society and of the %rotection that should be e8ually and evenly
e+tended to all &rou%s as a combined force in our social and economic life, consistent $ith the
fundamental and %aramount ob:ective of the state of %romotin& health, comfort and 8uiet of all
%ersons, and of brin&in& about =the &reatest &ood to the &reatest number5>