Grab Philippines said it was already working to implement the remaining P6.66-million reimbursement to users following the issuance of a Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) resolution directing the transport company to complete reimbursements totaling P25.4 million.
In a statement following the PCC resolution on February 2, 2023, Grab Philippines Director for Public Affairs Atty. Sherielysse Bonifacio said that while Grab was studying the matter of the fines that had been levied by the PCC on top of the reimbursements it had originally ordered, the company is “working on the implementation and will be ready to implement as early as Friday,” beginning with the publication requirement of the PCC.
The Grab executive said that the company welcomed the release of the PCC resolution as it had long sought to comply with the agency's directives to refund Grab users for trips they had taken between 2018 and 2019.
Bonifacio stressed that prior to the release of the resolution, Grab had been in constant communication with the PCC and had filed several motions requesting the PCC for guidance as to how to return the remaining P6.66 million to Grab users after it had successfully refunded P18.78 million to riders, representing 73.8 percent of the P25.4 million Grab had been ordered to pay.
She emphasized that Grab never abandoned its obligation to reimburse the P25 million to affected Grab users.
Grab had earlier informed the PCC, however, that it was facing difficulties with regard to reimbursing users that did not have GrabPay wallets, or were no longer in the country using the Grab application.
Bonifacio added that most of the other users they could not reimburse were tourists in the Philippines who visited the country in 2018 and 2019, downloaded the app when they were in the country, but have now discontinued use of the app.
This, emphasized Bonifacio, was why Grab had sought the guidance of the PCC on what to do with the amount that Grab had yet to refund.
She revealed that Grab had provided the commission with seven options, including placing the funds in escrow with the government or donating it to charity.
In its resolution the PCC has directed Grab to take the necessary steps to notify affected riders of their unclaimed refunds by publishing the notice once a week for four consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation and through the Grab App. Affected riders are then given a period of 60 days from the initial publication of the first notice to claim their refunds.
Within 10 days from the lapse of the 60-day period to claim refunds, Grab shall submit a report on the claimed and unclaimed amounts. Should there be remaining unclaimed amounts, Grab shall convey the said amounts to the PCC for remittance to the National Treasury.