(UPDATED) The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board, the government agency that regulates public transportation, on Monday suspended the accreditation and operations of Uber System Inc. (Uber) for one month.
READ: Philippine regulators slap Grab, Uber with PHP5 million fine
In its advisory, the LTFRB said the board meted out the penalty of one month suspension “on the accreditation of Uber System, inc. (Uber) and was ordered to cease and desist its operations of their online booking application during the period of suspension.”
The suspension order comes after it was found Uber continued to accept new applications for drivers even after the LTFRB had ordered Uber and Grab to stop accepting new drivers after July 26.
The memo highlighted that the operators “would not have suffered the current predicament were it not for the predatory actions of respondent user.”
LTFRB also recommended that Uber extend financial assistance to affected peer-operators during the one-month suspension “as an
expression of good faith.”
The suspension takes effect immediately.
READ: Philippine transport regulators ‘lost’ accreditation papers of Uber, Grab
Copies of the suspension were furnished to enforcers of the LTFRB, Land Transportation Office, Metro Manila Development Authority and the Philippine National Police Highway Patrol Group.
READ: OPINION: Dear commuters, Stop holding Metro Manila commuters hostage
Uber and rival Grab have been locked in dispute with the LTFRB over the scope of regulation on ride-sharing services, sparking separate investigations by the Senate and the House of Representatives.
The LTFRB earlier fined Uber and Grab PHP5 million (USD 100,000) each, accusing the companies of operating some 50,000 vehicles without proper permits.
According to CNN Philippines, Uber received a copy of the suspension order yesterday at around 6 pm.
Uber issued a statement on their Facebook page this morning that they would comply with the suspension order this morning.
“We understand that this will impact thousands of riders and drivers, and we apologize for the inconvenience this will cause,” Uber said in the statement early Tuesday morning.
Uber previously said that while they did register new applicants in their system, those applicants were not activated as drivers.
