Move It remains as one of country's three motorcycle operators and its accreditation will not be transferred to Grab, the company clarified in a statement issued Thursday, September 8.
"Move It is a legitimate and law-abiding participant in the motorcycle (MC) taxi pilot, and we stand for democratizing MC taxi service to serve more Filipinos," says the company in its statement.
"Regardless of its ownership, Move It maintains its own corporate identity and branding under the leadership of its Chairman, Francis Juan."
"Given the transition of government, we prudently and proactively informed all relevant government agencies - based on our rigorous legal due diligence."
Move It likened its situation with Angkas, one of the two other MC taxi operators, which got investments from a foreign company, Creador.
Creador did not acquire the accreditation of Angkas.
The allegations against Grab and Move It are obviously "an attempt to keep Move It so small that it would not pose any competition to the two other operators", the latter maintained.
Competition will make the MC taxi business vibrant and its service better to the benefit of the riding public.
For this reason, Move It "welcomes the entry of more operators for the public good". This will force all operators to compete and offer the best services and benefits to both drivers and riders.
Competition is vital in motorcycle taxis, Terry Ridon, Infrawatch PH convenor and former House transportation committee member, acknowledged.
"In the emerging motorcycle taxi (MC sector, increasing competition is vital to break the dominant position of its leading player, Angkas," he stressed.
The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board opened the sector to other players, such as Joyride and Move It because it is vital to the public interest that no monopoly over specific transport sector persists.
The public has seen the impact of monopoly pricing in various segments of the economy, and in the land transport sector, no less than the Philippine Competition Commission has imposed penalties on the merger of transport firms that have lessened competition in their specific sectors.
"The situation is not the same today in the MC taxi sector, despite the protests of certain commuter groups relating to the Grab acquisition of Move It," according to Ridon.
At the moment, even if Grab is the dominant player in the four-wheel ridesharing sector, it has no presence in the MC taxi space, and Move It’s market share is firmly behind Angkas and Joyride.
"As such, any talk of Grab’s monopolistic tendencies in the MC taxi space is premature because it is clearly not the dominant market player in the sector," he underscored.
In fact, the entry of Grab through Move It will "most certainly challenge the dominant position of both Angkas and Joyride", Ridon argued.
Move It can make strategic plays on pricing and rider recruitment in order to challenge the sector incumbents.
Ultimately, these strategic plays will foster competition within the sector, and the pubic can expect better prices and customer experiences, he concluded.