Applicants to the Transportation Network Vehicle Services (TNVS) Grab Philippines line up for application to the ride-sharing service at a branch in Quezon City on August 15, 2019. ABS-CBN News/File

MANILA — The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) on Monday said it has issued a show cause order to ride-hailing firm Grab Philippines over its supposed violation of the rule on special fare discounts.

During a Senate hearing last week, Senator Raffy Tulfo criticized Grab for making drivers shoulder the cost of the government-mandated 20 percent discount for senior citizens, Persons With Disabilities (PWD), and students.

That’s supposedly on top of the 20 to 30 percent commission rate the TNVS firm deducts from its drivers’ earnings.

Senate probes ride hailing apps, hits Grab for high fares, cancellations

Speaking with ABS-CBN News, Chairperson Teofilo Guadiz III pointed out that based on LTFRB Memorandum Circular No. 2015-016-A, which was amended in 2017, Transport Network Companies (TNC) like Grab should absorb these costs.

“One of the conditions for the approval of your franchise is that the 20 percent discount should be shouldered by the TNC, and not by the driver,” said Guadiz.

He said Grab may be made to pay back its drivers or even have its franchise suspended “to give the message to everybody that you cannot go around the law.”

“Normally, on the first offense, we just impose a very hefty fine which is probably equivalent or double the amount noong kinuha nila na pera. On the second offense, that would now require a suspension of their franchise for 3 to 6 months,” explained Guadiz.

PETITION FOR A REFUND

Laban TNVS has also filed a petition before the LTFRB seeking a full accounting and refund of all the discounts, which it said, were illegally charged to Grab drivers.

“Dapat i-refund ito ng Grab bago mag-Pasko para naman kahit papano, yung pahirap na ginawa ng Grab sa mga TNVS driver ay masuklian,” said Laban TNVS President Jun De Leon.

One Laban TNVS member shared that he was kicked off Grab’s platform just a month before Christmas for cancelling on too many student, elderly and PWD passengers.

But he reasoned that he was only avoiding further losses.

“Lalo kung napunta ka sa Manila, U-Belt, automatic maraming estudyante. Sa P100, 25% to 30% kay Grab, plus 20% discount ng passenger. P50 matitira sa’yo sa isang oras (na biyahe). Kunwari naipit ka sa traffic, magkano ang isang litro ng gasolina? P60. Abonado ka pa!” he said.

Guadiz said the LTFRB will conduct backtracking to determine how much Grab should possibly need to refund.

“We admit that we do not have the adequate IT equipment to monitor (the discounts). But upon issuance of a report, meron naman kaming way of finding out because we will now require them to submit to us a summary of their transactions from June— when it was claimed that they started passing on the burden to the driver, hanggang sa ngayon,” he said.

In its defense, Grab earlier said in a statement that it subsidizes its partner-drivers for the discounted rides through a reduced commission rate.

Drivers ask LTFRB to refund Grab cuts on senior, PWD discounts

FURTHER INVESTIGATION

After Grab, the LTFRB also plans to issue show cause orders to the rest of the TNCs in the country amid reports of similar violations.

On the part of InDrive, while passengers cannot yet register for a discount on its app, it said they can ask the in-app tech support for a refund form.

After the ride, the company will send back the due amount to them at no cost to the driver.

But Guadiz said this is also not allowed.

“It should be upon payment kasi yung refund may take days. There is nothing in the law that says na ire-refund yan,” he said.

Meanwhile, motorcycle taxi firm Angkas insisted that it has always abided by the LTFRB’s rules on fare discounts.

“If you are recognized after your registration that you’ve completed the registration process and that you are a PWD, senior, and student, we apply the necessary discounts automatically… The company shoulders this and has been shouldering this from day one,” said Angkas CEO and co-founder George Royeca.

In light of the various mechanisms employed by TNCs or lack thereof, the Coalition of Filipino Commuters is urging the LTFRB to come up with a uniform application policy on fare discounts for vulnerable sectors to ensure easy access and proper verification of discount claims.