LTFRB questions PCC order on Uber operations
THE Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) has raised questions over the order of the Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) for Uber Systems, Inc. (Uber Philippines) to continue operations.
Board member Aileen Lourdes A. Lizada said Uber Philippines cannot continue operating without any staff or funding, especially in case of accidents or customer complaints.
During a public hearing conducted by the PCC last week, Uber Philippines representatives said the company no longer receives any funds for local operations.
“With the disclosure now of Uber, during the hearing of the PCC that they no longer have grants to fund operations, that they no longer have employees to man their office? Who will now address concerns of the riding public for public crashes,” Ms. Lizada said in a mobile message to reporters.
The PCC on April 7 ordered Uber to continue its operations, independent of Grab Philippines (MyTaxi.PH, Inc.), while the competition watchdog is conducting its motu proprio review of the Grab-Uber deal.
“The PCC believes that Uber is capable of operating its ride-hailing app in the country, despite claims that it has already exited the Southeast Asian market… The deal makes Uber a partowner of Grab,” PCC Chairman Arsenio M. Balisacan said in a statement.
He further noted the “virtual monopolization of the market by Grab can harm the riding public.”
The PCC also directed Uber and Grab to maintain the independence of their business operations, such as ride- hailing and delivery platforms, and their customer database.
Uber announced the deal to sell its Southeast Asian business to Grab last month. Uber Philippines is scheduled to stop operating its app in the Philippines on April 9.
“Their apps might be up, but is the back system in place, is the whole support system in place? That is another question we have to consider. Otherwise, we will be requiring Uber to close down. Because how can the riding public be assured of their safety and convenience if the order is that their app is up but there is no back up to support the system?” Ms. Lizada said.
However, the LTFRB official said they “respect the mandate” of the PCC, and will work with the agencies involved in examining the deal, which are the PCC and the National Privacy Commission.
The PCC has not indicated on how it will enforce its order.
Grab Philippines has yet to release a statement as of reporting. —