G.R. No. 158793.

June 8, 2006
James Mirasol, Richard Santiago, and Luzon Motorcyclists Federation,
Inc., petitioners, vs.Department of Public Works and Highways and Toll Regulatory
Board, respondents.
Facts:
On January 10, 2001, petitioners filed before the trial court a Petition for Declaratory
Judgment with Application for Temporary Restraining Order and Injunction to nullity of
the following administrative issuances for being inconsistent with the provisions of
Republic Act 2000, entitled "Limited Access Highway Act" enacted in 1957: (a) DPWH
Administrative Order No. 1, Series of 1968; (b) DPWH Department Order No. 74, Series
of 1993; and (c) Art. II, Sec. 3 (a) of the Revised Rules on Limited Access Facilities
promulgated in 199[8] by the DPWH thru the Toll Regulatory Board (TRB).
Issue:
Whether or not Administrative Order No. 1 introduces an unreasonable classification by
singling-out motorcycles from other motorized modes of transport and violates the right
to travel.
Ruling:
No. Petitioners are not being deprived of their right to use the limited access facility.
They are merely being required, just like the rest of the public, to adhere to the rules on
how to use the facility. AO 1 does not infringe upon petitioners right to travel but merely
bars motorcycles, bicycles, tricycles, pedicabs, and any non-motorized vehicles as the
mode of traveling along limited access highways. There exists real and substantial
differences exist between a motorcycle and other forms of transport sufficient to justify
its classification among those prohibited from plying the toll ways. A classification based
on practical convenience and common knowledge is not unconstitutional simply
because it may lack purely theoretical or scientific uniformity.