GRAB Philippines said on Friday that it will file a motion for reconsideration after it was fined P12 million by the Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) for alleged compliance failures in connection with its acquisition of the Southeast Asian business of Uber.
In a statement, Grab Philippines lead legal counsel Miguel G. Aguila said: “We respectfully disagree with PCC’s decision. Grab completed the transaction legally, and did not violate the interim measures order.”
The PCC earlier said that both companies — Grab and Uber — were fined P4 million for proceeding with the merger during the PCC’s review period, while an additional P8 million was levied on Grab for its failure to maintain pre-merger business conditions for pricing, rider promotions, driver incentives and service quality, among other alleged violations.
Mr. Aguila said the fares of Grab Philippines remained the same until the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board ordered the suspension of the P2 per minute charge of the transport network company (TNC).
“The supposed increase in price was affected by the higher incidence of surge, which was driven by the low supply of vehicles and high concentration of demand. Fare and surge rates remained within the LTFRB-approved range. Promos and incentives were also maintained but pivoted towards Grab reward platform to address the issues related to considerable imbalance between supply and demand,” Mr. Aguila said.
“In terms of Uber’s equity stake and board seat, we maintain that the deal was already consummated before the issuance of the interim measures order. The interim measures, as worded, should be interpreted to apply prospectively and should not cover acts already consummated before its issuance,” Mr. Aguila added.
“Grab and Uber operations in the Philippines remained separate and without any integration nor was there automatic transfer of passenger and drivers data. Grab did not take over Uber operations and did not do anything to violate the interim measures after they were put into effect,” according to Mr. Aguila.
PCC Chairman Arsenio M. Balisacan said that the parties have until Oct. 29 to file the motion for reconsideration.
“To date we have not yet received a copy of Grab’s motion for reconsideration. The parties have until Oct. 29 within which to file their MR,” Mr. Balisacan said. — Reicelene Joy N. Ignacio

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