Four transport civic groups signed a joint pe33on calling on the government’s inter-agency technical working group (TWG) in charge of conduc3ng the pilot test of motorcycle taxi services in the Philippines, the Land Transporta3on 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 pe33on were, Lawyers for Commuters Safety and Protec3on, Na3onal Na3onal Public Transport Coali3on, ARANGKADA Riders Alliance and Digital Pinoys.
ASy. Ariel Inton, founder of Lawyers for Commuters Safety and Protec3on 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 accredita3on by virtue of its acquisi3on of Move It which was granted accredita3on by the TWG.
ASy. Inton stressed that the acquisi3on of Move It should not mean that Grab has automa3cally acquired the TWG accredita3on given to Move It.
“It should not mean that when a TWG accredited company withdraws or shows that it is no longer interested in opera3ng a motorcycle taxi service, very much like the planned sale of Move It to Grab, the accredita3on is automa3cally transferred,” explained ASy. Inton.
This statement was supported by the Na3onal Convenor and Chairman of the Na3onal Public Transport Coali3on, Ariel Lim. “There must be a jus3fica3on of the sale made to the TWG as Move It is under the jurisdic3on of the government inter-agency group so the legality of the sale, and the alleged subsequent automa3c gran3ng of the accredita3on can be studied.”
The group jointly stated that the Senate, Congress, and newly-elected President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. know the poten3al 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 Na3onal Chairman Rod Cruz brought to light alleged complaints and unseSled obliga3ons of Grab to its riders and ques3oned 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 s3ll has failed to address the many complaints of riders. The acquisi3on of Move It by Grab will add more complaints received by ARANGKADA that need to be addressed.”
For the Na3onal Campaigner of Digital Pinoy Ronald Gus3lo, 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 Compe33on 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 Gus3lo.
Grab Philippines announced last August 5, 2022, that it has acquired the business opera3ons of Francis Juan’s Move It with special emphasis on the improvement of services given by the motorcycle taxi fleet of Move It.