Taxi drivers' group storms LTFRB to protest vs. Grab, Uber

Transport group Drivers Unite for Mass Progress and Equal Rights (DUMPER) stormed to the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) on Monday to protest the operations of Transport Network Vehicle Service (TNVS) in the country.

According to DUMPER Vice President Gerry Donesa, they are protesting the operations of both Grab and Uber in the Philippines as they are causing the decline in the profit of regular taxi drivers in the country, a report on GMA's "24 Oras" said.

Aside from this, Donesa said that both services also cause the worsening of the traffic situation in Metro Manila.

"Ito lang po ang simple naming kahilingan: alisin 'yang Grab at Uber na 'yan. Bakit? Wala pong ginagawa ang gobyerno diyan. Hindi nagbabayad ng tax ang mga 'yan," he said.

Sought for comment, Grab belied such claims, saying that they have paid proper taxes to the government.

"Ang Grab ay nagbabayad ng wastong buwis po. If you ask po all the members of the GrabTaxi service, all our partners there, masasabi naman po nila na may kinabuti na po ang kabuhayan nila noong sumali sila sa platform ng Grab," Grab Country Manager Brian Cu said.

GMA News has reached out to Uber, but has yet to receive any response.

For its part, the LTFRB said it has actively regulated the sector, after it suspended the acceptance of new applications to become TNVS providers.

It also in December ordered a cap on the surge prices of both companies, setting the limit at twice the fare, excluding the base fare.

It clarified, however, that it is still waiting for Congress to sharpen its teeth for it to be able to regulate the industry properly.

"'Yun ang hinihintay namin, na lumabas na hopefully ang Congress ng kanilang version on how to regulate this new kind of technology. So 'yung ginagawa ng LTFRB is we are putting in measures para hindi lumobo 'yung number ng Grab and Uber," LTFRB Board Member Aileen Lizada said. —Jon Viktor D. Cabuenas/JST, GMA News