Grab PH submits voluntary commitments to address PCC concerns

FILE PHOTO / AP

Grab Philippines promised to make some changes in its current operations, stopping the government’s review of Grab’s Uber takeover, at least until authorities see if such changes are acceptable or not.

Grab submitted its voluntary commitments to the Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) on June 1, which is supposed to address the issues flagged by PCC, such as worsening conditions of the company’s ride fares and services.

This is according to Commissioner Stella Alabastro Quimbo, who told the Inquirer in a chance interview that PCC would now have to see whether or not such commitments are acceptable.

She said the commitments are based on “their interpretation of what they think is a response” to PCC’s statement of concerns, which was published only recently. She deferred from disclosing what those commitments are.

“We have to make a determination that indeed there would be a meaningful change in behavior, meaning a change of behavior that would be enough to really at least return the competitive conditions before Uber exited,” she said.

This develops months after Grab pursued a regional takeover of Uber’s business here in Southeast Asia last March, which raised a lot of concerns in the Philippine commuting public.

READ: Grab buys Uber; PCC sets review

Despite a temporary delay that kept its operations going for some time, Uber has effectively left the Philippine market on April 16.

Quimbo said that PCC has at most 60 days to decide on the voluntary commitments. Until such decision is made, the ongoing review of the deal “stops.”

What happens next is a discussion wherein PCC and Grab will try to find a way in making the terms mutually agreeable.

This includes additional measures that PCC could impose, if ever it finds Grab’s commitments “insufficient,” she said. Grab would then have to see if these are also acceptable.

However, if there would be a “breakdown in the talks,” then the review would have to continue — which could end with a block, an approval, or an approval with conditions.

“Supposed those additional things are not acceptable to any party, [then] there [will be] no more voluntary commitments. In which case, we revert back to the review track. There is a deadline to that,” she said.

The closest glimpse PCC gave to the now stalled review is the statement of concerns that was released recently.

The statement is part of PCC’s review of the deal. In it, PCC essentially said that the price and quality of Grab’s services have worsened after it acquired its only rival in the market, that not even the entry of new players could challenge the company’s influence.

Even in the absence of a verdict, the statement of concerns issued by PCC’s Mergers and Acquisitions Office (MAO) hinted that the market has already become problematic after the deal. /jpv