The Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) has ordered Grab Philippines to pay another ₱9 million penalty due to its failure to complete the refund of its customers for more than three years.
In a statement issued on Monday, PCC said this latest penalty is in addition to the ₱63.7 million it had imposed against the ride-hailing company after acquiring the operations of its lone rival Uber in 2018.
"To recall, the PCC cleared the acquisition at the time after Grab committed to addressing several competition concerns raised by the Commission," it added.
Citing a resolution dated February 2, 2023, PCC said it also earlier imposed ₱6 million fine after Grab PH violated three Commission orders to return the ₱25.45 million disbursement to its customers.
"The earliest Commission order was issued in November 2019, followed by a second order a month later, and a third in October 2020. On each occasion, Grab was given a 60-day deadline to complete the refund from receipt of each order," it said.
"Under Section 29 (b) of the Philippine Competition Act, an entity which fails or refuses to comply with a ruling, order, or decision issued by the PCC shall pay a penalty of not less than P50,000 up to two million pesos for each violation," PCC added.
Meanwhile, in a separate statement, Grab PH said it was "surprised" by the PCC's decision.
"Grab Philippines has been always 100% committed to fully depleting the unclaimed admin fees, and have made every effort to do so," it said.
The ride-hailing company said it will "evaluate" its "legal option" regarding the ₱9 million penalty.
