Grab’s entry into the motorcycle (MC) ride-hailing sector is one issue that confuses me daily. It seems like there is a power play going on and Grab’s situation is being seesawed between the highest officials of the land and a plain bureaucrat in the LTFRB chair, who with minimal support from a few congressmen, insists on blocking its entry to MC taxis.
o say the least it makes observers like me ponder hard if the current President and Speaker of the House– in throwing support to Grab’s ventures– would hold sway over the pontification of LTFRB chair Guadiz Atty. Teofilo Guadiz III and a few congressmen against Grab in social and mainstream media would prevail in the end.
From what I know of daily politics, the President’s decision (verbal or in body language) is expected to be the order of the day, along with the Speaker of the House’s pronouncement of giving the law in support of Grab highest priority.
It’s just funny that on the very same day, February 21, the government sent out conflicting views and perceptions about Grab Philippines, whose entry into the MC taxi business through its acquisition of ride-hailing Move It, is being barred by all means by land transportation officials.
That same day Grab officials officially called on the President– which was reported by the Presidential Communications Office– even that the previous day LTFRB’s Guadiz announced it would not allow the company to join the pilot study on MC taxis– hence preventing its formal entry into the subsector of land transport systems. The LTFRB announcement came out on the same day the Grab call was made.
The President lauded Grab Holdings Inc. co-founder/CEO Anthony Tan for contributing to local employment, as the government pursues its efforts to create more jobs for Filipinos.
“Your impact on unemployment numbers is about 1.1%, or 300,000, of the increase in employment in the past year and half. which has a significant effect,” the President said, citing the upstream and downstream impact of the company not just for actual operators.
Tan explained to the President that when they bought “Move It” the company was doing 8,000 rides a day, which has now increased to over 300,000 every day.
He said that a former habal-habal driver operating for 10 years now makes three times the income with Grab, earning between P1,500 and P2,500 daily, from just P500 to P700 previously.
“So, it’s not just about the number of jobs, Mr. President, but the quality and increasing livelihood,” Tan said.
Grab, a super-app developer, is seeking the President’s support to back its plans for the Philippines, saying it targets to increase its ridership to half a million rides a day from the current 300,000 each day.
With the President’s support, Grab can attain such ridership in six months, according to Tan.
Grab wants the government to deregulate the supply of transport network vehicle service (TNVS) and to legalize motorcycle (MC) taxis.
The Department of Transportation (DOTr) said the removal of the supply cap will need further evaluation, which will be based on the consultation and data provided by the transportation network companies and other relevant data.
In 2023, Grab created more than 100,000 driver and operator jobs and digitalized more than 15,000 small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), which contributed to easing the national unemployment rates by 1.1 percent to 1.6 percent from 2019 to 2021.
GrabCar is operating in 25 cities while GrabFood provides services to more than 100 cities nationwide.
Meantime, LTFRB Chair Teofilo Guadiz III, said Grab is not authorized to participate in the pilot study of MC taxis and would not be allowed to operate such a service in the country.
LTFRB, through a technical working group (TWG) which Guadiz heads, is conducting the study on MC Taxis, to include only Joy Ride, Angkas and Move It. Guadiz responded to a complaint filed by Atty. Noel Valerio, who was contesting the operations of Grab in Metro Manila and Cebu.
Another group, Lawyers for Commuter Safety and Protection led by Atty. Antonio Inton, welcomed this move by LTFRB saying: “this has been a long time coming for the TWG to finally acknowledge clearly that Grab has no right nor legal mandate to operate any form of motorcycle taxi service anywhere in the Philippines.”
Several consumer groups and organizations expressed their concerns over Grab’s acquisition of Move It MC service calling it a “monopolistic practice” for Grab to be dipping into both MC operations and TNVS as this could lead to an “unwarranted surge pricing “ or fares being illegally adjusted during peak hours and other potential abuses.
Inton said even the Philippine Competitive Commission and some of our esteemed Senators and members of Congress have spoken out against Grab, which seeks to dominate the TNVS and MC Taxi business in the Philippines.
What is the government’s stand really?
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