Ride-hailing giant Grab Philippines has agreed to extend the regulatory review of its driver incentive program, as part of the government’s continued scrutiny of the company’s acquisition of Uber’s Southeast Asia operations in 2018.

In a statement on Tuesday, Sept. 16, Grab said it signed the so-called 2025 Undertaking with the Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) to extend the regulatory review of its drivers’ perks.

The company said that while its voluntary commitments ended in November 2023, the PCC has not yet concluded its review of quarterly reports covering driver incentives.

Based on the agreement, the review period will be extended for one year to allow the commission to complete its assessment.

Grab Chief Corporate Affairs Officer Sherielysse Bonifacio said the company has always been committed to complying with government regulations, especially that of PCC.

Bonifacio said this is part of Grab’s responsibility to commuters and the transportation sector.

“We believe that working closely with the government helps strengthen the industry and allows us to better serve our kababayan who rely on our platform every day,” she said.

The 2025 Undertaking will allow the PCC to review Grab’s driver incentives within the 15th monitoring quarter (May to July 2023) and 16th monitoring quarter (August to October 2023).

The agreement will mandate the appointment of a third-party monitoring trustee to assess Grab’s compliance with incentives monitoring under its non-exclusivity commitments.

It likewise provides remedies in case of breaches, including the option for Grab to remedy violations and to pay fines, if necessary.

The 2025 extension will be the third in a series of agreements between Grab and the PCC.

To recall, the Singapore-based Grab merged with Uber in Southeast Asia in March 2018 to acquire the latter’s ride-hailing and food delivery operations across the region in exchange for Uber obtaining a 27.5-percent stake in Grab.

As part of the deal, Grab took over Uber’s operations and assets in the Philippines, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

The PCC, which has the power to review a merger to ensure their transaction does not restrict competition in the market, has imposed a number of fines against Grab over several violations.

In May 2023, the PCC issued a ₱9-million fine on Grab amid its failure to fully refund customers more than three years after the initial reimbursement order.

This is on top of the ₱63.7 million in penalties the PCC had imposed on the company since its acquisition of Uber in 2018.