Unadaptable government deters tech-driven sectors

If there's one challenge innovationdriven companies are facing in the Philippines, it's the stringent government regulation, which is not adaptable to technological advancement.

According to Senen Perlada, export marketing bureau chief at Department of Trade and Industry, innovation is moving so fast than how the government adjusts its policies intended to specifically regulate technology-driven businesses.

One very concrete example is the recent hurdle that Transport Network Vehicle Services (TNVS) Grab and Uber have faced with Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) in terms of regulations.

Perlada said innovation is moving so fast but it doesn't mean that it should stop just because the government says that policies must be met.

"Innovation is moving so fast, much faster than policies," he said recently in a forum in Cebu City.

He pointed out that the problem lies on the dysfunctional bureaucracies and hierarchies in the government.

He emphasized the government must be supportive to innovation.

The country's transport regulator had fined Uber and Grab P5 million each for allegedly taking in new drivers even after it suspended applications for new permits in 2016.

The Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI) had expressed its support to the operation of ride-sharing services Grab and Uber.

CCCI President Melanie Ng said that the operationalization of Grab and Uber are among the advocacies the business sector lobbies to the government.

"[We support] the operationalization [of] Transport Network Vehicle Services (TNVS) particularly the services of Uber and Grab except those unauthorized drivers or colorum and those who violate franchise agreements," Ng had said.

Earlier, Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña said he wrote the CCCI asking the business sector’s support to the operation of Grab and Uber which have been patronized by the commuting public.

Osmeña had said the LTFRB was insensitive to the plight of the commuters. Earlier, Sen. Grace Poe, Senate Committee on Public Services chair, said Uber and Grab's popularity should push franchise holders in public transportation to improve their services. Poe said the "government must be forward-looking."

"Many of our commuters now rely on ride-sharing services such as Uber, Grab and U-Hop to travel around the city. TNVS companies provide services that taxi operators have inadequately provided in the past decade — point-topoint pick-up and delivery, standardized fare, safe and comfortable rides," she said in a statement.

"We want to improve accountability and promote safer standards for the protection and welfare of our commuters," she said.

The country’s transport regulator had decided to suspend its planned apprehension of colorum ride-hailing services supposedly last July 26 after the two TNVS companies reached a compromise with the agency.