Transport Civic Groups Call for Review of Grab Acquisition of Move It!

Four transport civic groups signed a petition asking the government's inter-agency Technical Working Group (TWG), the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB), and President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. to review the sale of Move It Philippines to Grab.

Lawyers for Commuters Safety and Protection, National Public Transportation Coalition, ARANGKADA Riders Alliance, and Digital Pinoys are among the civic groups that have signed the petition.

Attorney Ariel Inton, the founder of Lawyers for Commuters Safety and Protec3on, stated that their primary issue is that the pilot program has been underway for more than three years and it appears that the agreement between Grab and Move has not been terminated. It is intended for Grab to receive immediate accreditation as a result of its acquisition of Move It, which was accredited by the TWG.

Atty. Inton stressed that the acquisition of Move It does not imply that Grab has automatically acquired the TWG accreditation that was granted to Move It.

“It should not mean that when a TWG accredited company withdraws or shows that it is no longer interested in operating a motorcycle taxi service, very much like the planned sale of Move It to Grab, the accreditation is automatically transferred,” explained Atty. Inton.

This statement was supported by the Na3onal Convenor and Chairman of the National Public Transport Coalition, Ariel Lim. “There must be a justification of the sale made to the TWG as Move It is under the jurisdiction of the government inter-agency group so the legality of the sale and the alleged subsequent automa3c granting of the accreditation can be studied.”

The group stated that the Senate, Congress, and newly-elected President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. are aware of the potential implications of a proper motorcycle taxi law and that the welfare of the riding public in the Philippines is at stake.

The ARANGKADA Riders Alliance, led by its National Chairman Rod Cruz, brought to light alleged grievances and unsettled obligations of Grab to its riders and questioned Grab's capacity to look out for the welfare of its drivers.

Recently, Grab Food delivery cyclists staged a strike to protest the reduction of the delivery cost for the first three kilometers from P49 to P26.

“It is quite alarming that Grab will acquire Move It as it still 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 National 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 Competition 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 Gustillo.

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.

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