(Grab logo)
Manila 2nd district Rep. Rolando Valeriano has expressed grave concern over the reported mass layoff announced by multinational technology company, Grab. This, after Grab confirmed that a number of employees in the Philippines--where the company has a strong presence in the ride-hailing services sector--would be affected by the move. “In a position that Grab submitted to us in Congress and in a letter to the Department of Transportation (DOTr), the company boasted of its commitment to provide livelihood to thousands of Filipinos but a few months thereafter, announce a mass lay off?” asked Valeriano, chairman of the House Committee on Metro Manila Development. Grab--a publicly-listed company in the United States (US) that has operations in Singapore, Malaysia, Cambodia, Indonesia, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, and the Philippines--ought to be slapped with a warning for its alleged “wanton business decisions", according to Valeriano. “The Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) had penalized Grab for a couple of times already. Our congressional committee is already looking into other possible errors Grab may have committed in price-surging as sole TNVS player, as well as in acquiring Move It, a motorcycle taxi fleet,” the Manila solon added. TNVS stands for transport network vehicle service. Valeriano also disclosed that their committee was looking at other possible violations that may have been committed by Grab. This includes creative charging in its digital platform that offers a host of other businesses, such as a form of “banking” by way of the e-wallet, money transfer, and payment through GrabPay. “What is frustrating to us in Congress is the fact that Grab, in many ways snubbed our efforts to clarify details or the reasons behind some of its actions under the cloak of it being a US publicly-listed company,” Valeriano said. “Just imagine, in our past hearings, Grab representatives were reluctant to attend and when they finally sent their legal team, they evaded the the lines of questioning, saying that the lawyers were not privy to Grab operations," he said.