Four transport civic groups signed a joint petition calling on the government’s inter-agency technical working group (TWG) in charge of conducting the pilot test of motorcycle taxi services in the Philippines, the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB), and President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. to review the sale of Move It Philippines to Grab.
The civic groups who signed the petition were Lawyers for Commuters Safety and Protection, National National Public Transport Coalition, ARANGKADA Riders Alliance, and Digital Pinoys.
Atty. Ariel Inton, founder of Lawyers for Commuters Safety and Protection said that the root cause of their concern is that the pilot study has been ongoing for more than three years and it seems that the deal between Grab and Move It is designed for Grab to have instant accreditation by virtue of its acquisition of Move It which was granted accreditation by the TWG.
Atty. Inton stressed that the acquisition of Move It should not mean that Grab has automatically acquired the TWG accreditation given to Move It.
“It should not mean that when a TWG accredited company withdraws or shows that it is no longer interested in operating a motorcycle taxi service, very much like the planned sale of Move It to Grab, the accreditation is automatically transferred,” explained ASy. Inton.
This statement was supported by the National Convenor and Chairman of the National Public Transport Coalition, Ariel Lim. “There must be a justification of the sale made to the TWG as Move It is under the jurisdiction of the government inter-agency group so the legality of the sale and the alleged subsequent automatic granting of the accreditation can be studied.”
The group jointly stated that the Senate, Congress, and newly-elected President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. know the potential impact of having a proper motorcycle taxi law and that in the end, it is truly the welfare of the Filipino riding public that is at risk.
The ARANGKADA Riders Alliance headed by its National Chairman Rod Cruz brought to light alleged complaints and unsettled obligations of Grab to its riders and questioned the ability of Grab to take care of the welfare of its riders.
Recently, Grab Food delivery bikers held a strike denouncing the decrease in delivery fee for the first three kilometers from P49 pesos to P26 pesos. “It is quite alarming that Grab will acquire Move It as it still has failed to address the many complaints of riders. The acquisition of Move It by Grab will add more complaints received by ARANGKADA that need to be addressed.”
For the National Campaigner of Digital Pinoy Ronald Gustilo, his primary concern is the welfare of the riding public. He said that the biggest fear of their group is that the riding public will face rising fare prices with this move. “The reason why two-wheeled ride-hailing services are patronized by the consumer is that it is by far much more affordable than using Grab, and then now Grab will acquire Move It,” he stressed. “In fact, the Philippine Competition Commission has ordered Grab to refund commuters for over-pricing. They were asked to refund P25.45M million but they’re only able to refund P6.15 million. Kung nagawa nila yan sa TNVS, hindi ba nila gagawin yan sa motorcycle taxis?,” ended Gustilo.
Grab Philippines announced last August 5, 2022, that it has acquired the business operations of Francis Juan’s Move It with special emphasis on the improvement of services given by the motorcycle taxi fleet of Move It.
