It seems Grab Philippines is reliving the old glory days of Pac-Man, the most popular arcade game in the 80’s in which a player gobbles up everything in its path.
Grab is buying yet another ride hailing app to maintain its dominance over the riding public, four years after purchasing the Southeast Asia’s operations of rival Uber.
Grab on August 5, 2022 announced its 100 percent acquisition of Move It’s business operations. Move It claimed it was strengthening its motorcycle taxi position through the sale to Grab with the hopes of onboarding at least 6,000 driver-partners within three months.
But Grab pursued the transaction with little regard to the conduct of a pilot study on the operation of motorcycle taxis in the country, which is on its third year now. The study is under the helm of the Department of Transportation Technical Working Group (DOTr-TWG).
Under the pilot study, the DOTr-TWG granted three motorcycle taxi companies (Angkas, Joyride and Move It) a provisional license to operate in the hopes of drawing up specific rules and regulations needed to better protect the riders and the riding public. Once the pilot study is concluded, a law on motorcycle taxis will be in place that will give more structure, security and order to the whole ecosystem.
Grab’s acquisition of Move It, thus, puts the government’s pilot study in jeopardy because it disregards efforts to further protect the welfare and safety of both the riders and the commuting public for profit. Motorcycles before the conduct of the study were not allowed to ply the trade because of safety issues.
These concerns gave rise to the TWG. Any safety issues that can arise now, however, will negate the years of work of the pilot study and ultimately put the commuting public at a disadvantage. Can’t Grab and Move It wait until the pilot study has been concluded and systems are in place? Why the rush?
Move It’s general manager Wayne Jacinto has said the company informed and received the approval of the Land Transportation and Franchising Regulatory Board (LTFRB), the DOTr and members of the Congress and Senate about the acquisition. Jacinto, though, conceded the company did not inform the DOTr-TWG, claiming that the group was co-terminus with the previous government.
Grab and Move It for all intents and purposes completed the acquisition at the time when the government was in transition phase. The transaction could have waited until a new TWG was formed or the two parties should have at least consulted with the new TWG—the direct regulator of motorcycle taxis.
The Grab acquisition of Move It should not have been rushed. If they are really after the quality of service, safety of commuters and the welfare of the riding public, they should wait for the pilot study to conclude or let the government thoroughly review the acquisition.
The transaction is obviously designed to give Grab a provisional license when it chose to purchase Move It, which earlier received accreditation from the TWG.
Impartiality issue
The controversy over the appointment of Ms. Mona Lisa Dimalanta as the new chief of Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) refuses to die down. A leader of a power consumer advocacy group has challenged the impartiality and objectivity of Ms. Dimalanta in discharging her duties and obligations to the public at large.
Pete Ilagan, president of the National Association of Electricity Consumers for Reforms (NASECORE), has formally requested President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to recall the appointment of Ms. Dimalanta on the basis of the all-encompassing principle of conflict of interest.
Ilagan argued that as government regulator, Ms. Dimalanta cannot be expected to make policy decisions with absolute fairness since she had worked with the Aboitiz Group of Companies that has enormous stakes in the power industry.
Can Mr. Marcos take back the appointment without being ungrateful to Ms. Dimalanta’s patron? This, I believe, is a huge challenge at the moment for our excessively popular President.
Ilagan, in his Sept. 5, 2022 letter to the Chief Executive, stressed that Dimalanta worked with the energy arm of the Aboitiz Group. He feared the Aboitiz Group would ostensibly enjoy a distinct advantage over the competition, thereby defeating the very spirit and intentions of the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA) that seeks to promote competition with a view to keeping the cost of electricity at affordable levels.
“The EPIRA is all about protecting the electricity consumers by ensuring the quality, stable, secured, and affordable supply of electricity thru the establishment of a level playing field and introduction of competition in the open market,” said Ilagan in the letter.
He added the Aboitiz Group should not be allowed to hold sway over the ERC to maintain the checks and balance regulating the energy sector.
E-mail: rayenano@yahoo.com or extrastory2000@gmail.com