G.R. No. 46602 ; September 22, 1939
YAP TAK WING & CO., INC., ET AL., petitioners-appellants, vs. THE MUNICIPAL BOARD, JUAN POSADAS, JR., as Mayor of the City of Manila, and VICTOR ALFONSO, as City Treasurer, respondents-appellees.

FACTS

Petitioners, operators of restaurants and panciterias in Manila, paid the required license fees under the existing city ordinances. The City of Manila enacted Ordinance No. 2375, amending the previous provisions by reclassifying panciterias, restaurants, and similar public eating places and imposing increased license fees. Petitioners refused to pay the new fees and filed a petition to nullify the ordinance, arguing it was an invalid exercise of police power and that the increased fees were oppressive, discriminatory, and in restraint of trade.

ISSUE

Whether City Ordinance No. 2375, which increased the license fees for panciterias and restaurants, is valid.

RULING

Yes, the ordinance is valid. The Court held that the ordinance was enacted pursuant to the City of Manila’s delegated power of taxation under Section 2444(m) of the Administrative Code, as amended, which expressly authorizes the city to tax, fix license fees, and regulate businesses including hotels and restaurants. The term “restaurants” under the law includes panciterias. The ordinance’s reclassification based on business volume and seating capacity is a permissible mode of classification and is not discriminatory, as it applies uniformly to all persons within each class regardless of nationality. The power to tax includes the authority to alter rates, and the ordinance does not contravene the charter, Constitution, or general law. The lower court’s judgment upholding the ordinance was affirmed.

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