By Alexandria San Juan
Two of the four passengers who mauled a Grab driver in Quezon City for refusing to board five people for a GrabCar service are now under police custody.
Personnel of Quezon City Police District's Masambong Police Station (PS-2) identified the suspects as Jan Mercado, 25, and Rhea Sangil, 23. They were nabbed for physical injury and malicious mischief.
Authorities said two other companions of the suspects are now being located.
Prior to their arrest, police said the suspects and three others, including a child, booked a Grab Car driven by 47-year-old Reynaldo Tugade at Apollo Street in Barangay Del Monte last Monday morning.
While the passengers were about to board the car, the complainant explained that Grab Car can only accommodate up to four passengers or it will be considered as overloading.
The passengers told Tugade to just cancel the booking which he did but one of them slammed the vehicle's door and started shouting expletives at him.
According to Tugade, he alighted from the car to explain to the passengers the policies of Grab regarding the number of passengers but one of them suddenly punched his face resulting in a commotion.
During the confrontation, the victim said at least four people mauled him before a concerned citizen pacified them.
However, Mercado, still upset, started kicking and punching the victim's vehicle causing an undetermined amount of damages on the door, trunk, and bumper of the car, probers added.
The incident was recorded by Tugade through his mobile phone and went viral online reaching Grab Philippines management.
In a statement on Wednesday, the ride-sharing app urged its riders to respect its standard policies and to observe responsible use of the Grab platform.
"We wish to reiterate to our Grab community to be mindful and respectful of our standard policies, and to observe responsible use of the Grab platform to ensure safety and security to each and everyone," Grab stated.
The ride-hailing service also explained that Grab Cars can only accommodate up to four passengers following safety standards of car manufacturers having a maximum capacity of five passengers for cars including the driver.
'Children, regardless of age, shall be counted as one passenger. In case of accidents, the mandated insurance policy of PAMI and Grab’s third-party insurer only covers the allowable number of passengers in a car," it stated.
Meanwhile, Grab Philippines said that it already extended full assistance, both medical and legal, to its aggrieved partner-driver and encourage the public to report similar incidents to them.