For not submitting correct, sufficient, and timely data required to monitor compliance with its price monitoring commitments, the ride-hailing company ‘Grab’ is set to pay the penalty worth P6.5 million.
The government watchdog, Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) imposed the said citing certain inconsistencies and inaccuracies with the data it has provided about the company’s commitment of adhering to a set of price and service-quality through quarterly monitoring by an independent monitoring trustee.
Commitment to fair price and service quality
In making such offer, Grab committed to bring back market average rates for accepting and canceling a booking and to set a response time to rider complaints.
Grab made the said commitment after acquiring Uber, another ride-hailing service, last year.
The PCC tapped auditing firm, Smith and Williamson, as the third-party firm that will track and audit Grab’s compliance with the said commitment.
However, Grab has been criticized for slapping high prices to its riders after becoming the biggest Transport Network Company. The company attributed the increase in the service rates as a result of a government regulation that limits the supply of drivers on the road. The said regulation made it difficult for the company to meet high booking demand from passengers.
As to the supposed failure to submit complete data required for the periodic post-merger monitoring, Grab said that it did not have enough time to prepare a full set and had recommended other ways to present it.
A motion for consideration
On its part, Grab said that it would file a motion for consideration and prove that its prices are still within the government-allowed range.
PCC Commissioner Johannes Bernabe said that Grab could make up for the incomplete data. However, he also warned that continued violations and refusal to provide information could cause them the cancellation of the company’s acquisition of Uber’s license in the country.
Grab remains the biggest transport network in the Philippines after the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board has rejected Indonesia’s Go-Jek’s proposal to operate in the country due to restrictions on foreign ownership.
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