Practice question
An ordinance punishes a specified safety violation only when committed by five named shops operating on the enactment date. Future shops committing precisely the same violation under identical conditions are permanently exempt. The record establishes no material difference or purpose-based reason for that closed class. The city argues that treating the five named shops uniformly is sufficient. Which is best?
- Uniformity within the named group necessarily cures every defect.
- The classification raises no issue because future shops do not yet exist.
- Uniform treatment of the five does not cure the stipulated arbitrary closed classification or its restriction to existing conditions.
- Named legislation is always exempt from equal protection.
- The ordinance must be accepted solely because it contains a penalty.
Legal references
- https://lawphil.net/consti/cons1987.html — 1987 Constitution, ArticleIII Section1, equal protection.
- https://elibrary.judiciary.gov.ph/thebookshelf/showdocs/1/69106 — Albano v. COMELEC, G.R.257610 and UDK17230, January24 2023, main opinion on reasonable classification.
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