Grab continues to encounter roadblocks in the Philippines.
The ride-hailing app has been fined PHP6.5 million (US$123,470.92) by the Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) because it allegedly gave incorrect and insufficient data for price monitoring, the anti-trust body said today.
Grab earlier agreed to lower cancellation rates and just charge surge fees, which was to be monitored by auditing firm Smith & Williamson, a third-party body, The Philippine Star reported.
This was the condition Grab agreed to for the PCC to approve its acquisition of former competitor Uber. It was a way for the PCC to ensure fair pricing despite Grab virtually monopolizing the industry.
However, PCC Chairman Arsenio Balisacan said today that Grab submitted “deficient, inconsistent, and incorrect data” from Aug. 10 to Nov. 10, ABS-CBN News reported.
According to PCC Commissioner Johannes Bernabe, Grab submitted historical data but those that have gone through human intervention, GMA News reported.
“For them to provide this data they have had to reverse engineer and essentially come up with data that is subjected to human intervention rather than what is shown in their electronically stored data.
“Because of this, one can surmise that there is a possibility that because the data is subjected to human intervention it is not exactly the way it should be compared to when it was captured electronically,” Bernabe said.
Bernabe said that because the data was insufficient, they and the auditing firm are unable to monitor Grab’s pricing properly, Rappler reported.
The PCC issued the fine on Tuesday, Jan. 22 but Grab only received it on Wednesday, Jan. 23, the same Rappler story states.
Grab has 45 days to settle it, PCC Commissioner Amabelle Asuncion said, according to GMA News. They must also submit the proper data by Monday, Jan. 28, Rappler wrote.
Grab has not released a statement regarding the issue.
This isn’t the first time the PCC fined Grab. In October, it fined Grab PHP12 million (US$227,946.31) and Uber PHP4 million (US$75,955.34) for merger violations.
Grab has been the top ride-hailing app in the Philippines ever since it took over Uber’s operations in Southeast Asia in April last year.
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