Just recently, the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) ordered ride-hailing app Move It PH to pay a staggering P555.75-million fine for onboarding motorcycle riders beyond the government-authorized cap.
Across areas of operation in Metro Manila, Cebu and Cagayan de Oro, the total number of Move It active riders as of May reached 73,321 compared to its authorized allocation of only 17,746 under the Motorcycle Taxi Pilot Program.
The LTFRB imposed a P10,000 administrative fine for each of the 55,575 rider-partner maintained in excess of the authorized allocation.
It also flagged Move It PH for its disregard of the one-year temporary moratorium on new riders’ onboarding.
According to the company, it adopted an internal classification on its rider-partners, such as full-time and part-time, online and offline riders, and riders operating for more or few than eight hours a day.
But the LTFRB maintained that the number of rider-partners that Move It is authorized to maintain and to adopt the latter’s interpretation would effectively permit every regulated entity to redefine the scope of its regulatory obligations through unilateral operational policies.
Last April 21, Move It general manager Wayne Jacinto submitted a letter to House Rep. Miro Quimbo, who chairs the ad hoc committee on legislative energy action and development, to provide information concerning rider commissions and the company’s rider population.
It also expressly indicated that the rider classifications would assist the committee and relevant government agencies in determining recipients of fuel subsidies.
This is where things become particularly interesting.
Move It reported approximately 44,000 active riders working more than eight hours daily and another 103,000 working fewer than eight hours.
Its accompanying annex listed 147,214 active riders in Metro Manila alone, with a total of 243,692 riders across various classifications in the metropolis.
Compare these figures with the LTFRB’s authorized allocation of 14,662 riders in Metro Manila.
The company’s figures and the regulator’s findings may reflect different reporting periods and classifications. The annex also includes inactive, suspended and zero-booking riders in its overall totals. But that is precisely why the discrepancies require a detailed government reconciliation.
Were these riders all properly registered? Which were authorized to operate? And which, if any, were subsequently included in government fuel-subsidy distributions?
If any subsidy payments were made on the basis of inaccurate or ineligible rider records, the appropriate agencies should determine the amounts involved and pursue recovery or other remedies where legally justified.
The LTFRB decision specifically rejected Move It’s argument that its allocation should be measured only by riders simultaneously providing transportation services and maintained that the restriction applied to riders onboarded, accredited, registered, activated and maintained on the platform.
There is, however, an important consideration that regulators should not overlook.
The thousands of riders who depend on these platforms for their livelihoods should not automatically bear the consequences of corporate decisions beyond their control.
Many may have been onboarded in good faith.
Some may not even have known that the platform had exceeded its authorized allocation.
This concern was reflected in a joint statement by commuter and transport organizations, including the National Confederation of Tricycle Operators and Drivers Associations of the Philippines, the National Public Transport Coalition, Digital Pinoys and several motorcycle taxi and commuter groups.
Their position was clear: the company responsible for regulatory violations should be held accountable, while ordinary riders and commuters should be protected.
For years, Philippine regulators have emphasized the importance of compliance, consumer protection and fair competition.
The Move It controversy offers an opportunity to demonstrate what those commitments mean in practice.
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