3 million Grab passengers to receive rebates

MANILA, Philippines — Around three million passengers who booked rides through the Grab Philippines application from February to May will soon receive an average of P1.50 rebate as part of the P23.45 million fine for the breach of pricing commitments with the Philippine Competition Commission (PCC).

In a press conference yesterday, Grab Philippines president Brian Cu said it will refund a total of P5.05 million, a fine imposed by the PCC for the third quarter of the year.

PCC chairman Arsenio Balisacan earlier said the antitrust body has imposed a total fine of P23.45 million on Grab for breach of pricing commitments during the first to third quarters of the monitoring period, which started in August last year.

This is composed of a P11.3-million fine for the first quarter, P7.1 million for the second quarter and P5.05 million for the third quarter.

“So you take P5 million over three million (passengers) the average a passenger can get is P1.50. There are some who will get below a peso while some will get over P100 depending on how much and the number of trips,” Cu said.

Grab legal counsel Miguel Aguila said the deadline for the refund of the P5 million is 60 days from when the PCC issued the order, which was on Nov. 16.

He added that the firm is still preparing how this will be executed and will continue to consult with the PCC on the matter.

“Expect relevant riders to receive an in-app message from Grab and we will also post on our social media how this is done,” Aguila said.

While Grab will comply with the PCC’s order to pay the imposed fines, Cu stressed that the company did not overcharge passengers.

He said “there was just a deviation in the fare range” but the fares were still in accordance with the fare matrix set by the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board, which is composed of the base fare, per minute rate and the allowed surge component.

Cu said there are current market conditions – such as the supply of transport network vehicle service units, booking demand and traffic – that have hindered the firm from maintaining the fare range levels set by the PCC.