MANILA, Philippines – Senator Raffy Tulfo is urging ride-hailing company Grab to review its policy mandating its drivers to shoulder the 20% discounts for students, senior citizens, and persons with disabilities (PWDs).

During a hearing of the Senate committee on public services on Tuesday, December 10, Tulfo cited Grab for charging the discount on drivers on top of the 20% to 30% commission they receive from each booking. The panel was investigating complaints against transport network vehicle services (TNVS).

“With this setup, drivers only take home 50-60 percent of their earnings,” Tulfo said. “Kaya ang ginagawa ng ibang tao, dalawa ang cellphone nila. More often than not, yung sa hindi student may tumatanggap.”

(So, other people often book using two cellphones, and drivers often accept the booking from the non-students.)

According to TNVS Community Philippines chair Saturnino Mopas, Grab’s partner-drivers have been shouldering the costs of the discounts for around six months.

Franchise at risk?

Grab’s head of public affairs Gregorio Tingson cited a 2018 memorandum circular tied to the Act Expanding Benefits and Privileges of Persons with Disability as the basis of the policy.

But Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) chair Teofilo Guadiz III told senators that Grab’s policy violates the memorandum circular. 

According to Guadiz, the document requires transport network companies such as Grab to shoulder the discount, not the drivers. “And they are bound by that law because, before they are given the franchise, nandiyan na po yung memorandum circular,” he said.

(They are bound by that law because that memorandum circular was already in effect before they were given the franchise.)

Guadiz also warned Grab it could lose its franchise due to the policy.

This is not the first time Grab’s pricing policies have been put into question. A Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ) probe found that Grab always charged passengers surge fees regardless of what time of day the bookings were made.

In 2022, a group of lawyers questioned Grab’s surge fees before the LTFRB to determine how surge fees were calculated. The agency has yet to release its findings. – Rappler.com