MANILA (UPDATE 2) -- A group of ride-hailing drivers has asked the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) to order the ride-hailing firm to refund the cost of shouldering the 20 percent discount for senior citizens and persons with disability (PWD).

In a TeleRadyo Serbisyo interview, Laban TNVS National Director Jun de Leon said they used to shoulder 10 percent of the discount given to the elderly and persons with disability, while Grab shouldered the other 10 percent. But since March 2024, they have been shouldering the whole amount, he said.

"Noong Marso po ay nanawagan na tayo sa LTFRB na pakialaman na po itong issue na ito dahil labis-labis na po ang pagkalugi ng mga TNVS drivers," he said.

"Dahil bukod sa 20 percent to 25 percent na ikinakaltas ng Grab sa komisyon, eh ipinatong pa yung 20 percent discount sa ating mga drivers ng mga PWD, senior citizen, at student discounts," he lamented.

De Leon said that if a PWD's fare is P1,000, a Grab driver can only take home P800 because of the 20 percent discount.

But since Grab takes a 20 to 25 percent commission per ride, a driver may only take home about P550.  De Leon stressed that drivers want to serve PWD or senior citizen customers but the present system was painful on their pockets.

"Kahit gustong-gusto po naming serbisyuhan itong mga kababayan natin na PWD, eh talagang napipilitan na lang kami na hindi na lang sila kunin dahil mauuwi talaga sa pagkalugi. Tayo naman po ay naghahanapbuhay at marami rin po tayong binubuhay, kaya paumanhin po," he said.

De Leon said it is clear from the LTFRB guidelines that transport network companies must shoulder the 20 percent discount for senior citizens and PWDs before they are given accreditation. 

"Isa pang kahilingan natin sa LTFRB, ilabas ang full accounting nito para naman tama ang maibayad sa mga drivers na nalamangan at nilamangan ng Grab," he stressed.

A drivers' group said during a Senate hearing on Tuesday that drivers, not the company, shoulder the 20 percent discount given to persons with disability, senior citizens, and students.

GRAB SAYS IT SUBSIDIZES DISCOUNTS

Meanwhile Grab issued a statement on Friday saying it "continues to subsidize these government-mandated discounts for its drivers, through reduced commissions for the discounted fares."

"It does so by subsidizing its drivers-partners for said rides through a reduced commission rate on these discounted fares. This model mitigates the impact of these government-mandated fare discounts on driver earnings," Grab said.

The country's most dominant ride-hailing firm also said it shoulders the total discount cost of unverified and fraudulent senior citizen, PWD and student discounts. 

It said one in three SC/PWD/Student bookings are reported by drivers as either unverified or potentially fraudulent.

The company also said that De Leon is no longer connected with Grab but is with another ride-hailing firm.