Grab Philippines to appeal P6.5 M fine imposed by PCC

MANILA, Philippines  – Grab Philippines on Friday said it would appeal the P6.5  million fine imposed by the Philippine Competition Commission (PCC).

“We have received the notice of fine from the Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) last Wednesday, January 25 amounting to Php 6.5 million,” Grab Philippines President Brian Cu said in a statement.

“While we fully respect the PCC and its mandate, Grab will file a motion for reconsideration.”

PCC Chairman Arsenio Balisacan said the fine was imposed because Grab submitted “deficient, inconsistent, and incorrect data for the monitoring of its compliance with its voluntary commitments.”

READ:PCC says Grab gave incorrect data about its pricing
Grab, however, said it was working with limited timelines to meet PCC’s deadline on submitting post transaction data.

“PCC required us to submit our post-transaction data and given the nature and the huge volume of data that we need to extract and prepare, Grab was working under very limited timelines to meet PCC’s deadline,” Cu said.

“During the voluntary commitment negotiations, Grab recommended various ways to present the requested data based on how the system can best provide them. Given enough time, we can reconcile our data structure with theirs,” Cu added.

Grab also assured that their fares complied with the range mandated by the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB).

“We assure our passengers that we are charging fares within the range as allowed by the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB),” Cu said.

Grab added that it extended “its usual cooperation with the PCC, LTFRB, and other government agencies and we value our deep relationship with honesty, transparency, and consistency.”

Grab also reiterated that its “commitment remains to provide safe and reliable services to the Filipino people.” / gsg