PCC slaps new fine vs Grab PH, Grab to comply

The Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) has slapped another multimillion-peso fine against ride-hailing app Grab after the latter failed to comply with its commitments from May to August. A total of Php 16.15 million worth of fines was charged fo Grab Philippines, which includes Php 14.15 million for "extraordinary deviation on its pricing commitment" and a Php 2 million for exceeding driver cancellations at 7.76 percent instead of 5 percent. According to Grab, both  parties them and PCC) "acknowledge that the fare-in-range monitoring scheme is highly technical and does not apply to the current market conditions." "Given the current lack of TNVS supply, worsening traffic conditions, and the ever-growing commuter demand, Grab’s fares remain to be compliant with the LTFRB’s fare matrix," Grab said in its statement. However, Grab Philippines said that they respect the PCC findings, following the antitrust body cited certain deviations from Grab’s voluntary commitments. The company said that such movement is caused by the lack of TNVS supply to service the steadily growing commuter demands, coupled with the worsening traffic situation. TNVS is initially intended to augment the mass transportation system in the country, at the current rate, the TNVS is now carrying the heavy load of serving commuters which the current mass transport system is unable to accommodate. Nicka Hosaka, Grab Philippines Public Affairs manager, in an interview, said that the new formula is "easier to track and measure and that factors are considered." Further, Grab will be disbursing the total computed administrative penalty of PHP Php14.15 million to the GrabPay Wallets of those passengers who took Grab rides from May 11 - August 10, 2019 in compliance to the order of the PCC. The disbursement will happen no later than February 10, 2020, with a corresponding communication to the relevant passengers five (5) days prior to the disbursement. The additional Php 2M admin penalty related to the breach of committed driver cancellation rate will be paid to PCC. "As the new monitoring year begins with the new system-wide average monitoring scheme, Grab is hopeful in fulfilling its commitments to the PCC, however, it highlights that as a platform, pricing will still be influenced by factors such as lack of supply, and the traffic situation," Grab concluded in the statement.