Grab to appeal PCC’s P12M penalty over merger violations

Grab Philippines is planning to file a motion to ask the Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) to reconsider its decision to slap the ride-hailing company a P12-million fine over the company’s merger violations.

Earlier, the PCC, the country’s anti-trust body, penalized Grab with an P8 million fine for its failure to maintain the pre-merger conditions such as pricing policies, rider promotions, driver incentives and service quality. Uber, Grab’s acquired party, was also fined P4 million for the same set of violations.

READ: Gov’t fines Grab, Uber P16M for ‘causing undue difficulties’ on merger review

In a statement on Friday, the ride-hailing firm said it disagrees with the PCC’s decision, saying they had completed the transaction and complied with the interim measures order.

“We respectfully disagree with PCC’s decision. Grab completed the transaction legally, and did not violate the interim measures order,” Grab legal counsel Miguel Aguila said in a statement on Friday.

Grab also argued that its “price algorithm” has remained the same after the Land Transportation and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) suspended its time component in fares.

READ: LTFRB orders Grab to pay P10M for overcharging customers

Aguila added that Grab’s price hike was affected by the “higher incidence of surge” which means there is a low supply of vehicles with high demand of passengers.

“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,” he said.

Grab added that their promos and incentives were also maintained but instead used “ka-Grab” rewards program to address issues on the “imbalance between supply and demand.”

Meanwhile, Grab reiterated that their operations remains separate and that they neither managed Uber’s operations nor have violated PCC’s interim measures.

“Grab and Uber operations in the Philippines remained separate and without any integration nor was there automatic transfer of passenger and driver data. Grab did not take over Uber operations and did not do anything to violate the interim measures after it was put into effect,” Aguila said.  /muf