Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 16) —Transport regulators allowed Uber to file a new appeal on its suspension.
The transport network company was suspended for a month Monday, after the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) said it defied an order to stop accepting applications for the accreditation of transport network vehicle services and their eventual approval or activation.
READ: LTFRB suspends Uber for 1 month
LTFRB Chief Martin Delgra said they allowed Uber to file another appeal on its suspension. This was announced after a meeting with some senators and Uber officials at the Senate on Tuesday. The first appeal filed last Monday was denied Tuesday.
Uber Asia-Pacific head Mike Brown said the new appeal could include a proposal to pay a fine instead of serving the suspension and paying compensation to drivers and operators
“The details still need to be worked out, but we are very willing to work with the LTFRB,” Brown said.
“If we can pay a fine, you know part of rectifying what happened there because our top priority is to get back drivers back on the road and earning and to serve the people of the Philippines,” he added.
Senator Grace Poe, chairperson of the Senate Committee on Public Services, said Uber’s offer was “very generous,” but when pressed for an amount, she said it was definitely bigger than the P5 million it paid in July.
Meanwhile, Sen. Bam Aquino who was with Poe during the informal meeting between LTFRB and Uber, said he had suggested that a fine could be imposed instead of suspending the ride-sharing app’s operation.
“Stopping (Uber’s) operation penalizes the commuting public and the drivers,” Aquino told CNN Philippines’ News Night. “The penalty should have the smallest effect on the people.”
RELATED: LTFRB fines Grab, Uber P5 million each for violations
LTFRB has scheduled the hearing on the new appeal next week, August 23.
Uber apologizes to LTFRB
Brown apologized to Delgra before they met with the senators.
“We’re gonna do everything we possibly can to show that we respect the authority of the LTFRB,” Brown said.
“I’m very sincere in that. Anything you need from us, we’re gonna do it. And if there’s been a misunderstanding in the past, that’s on us and I apologize for that misunderstanding,” he added.
Delgra said government wants to work with Uber.
“This is not a fight,” he told Brown. “We’re trying to work together here to address public transportation issues.”
Uber was suspended on Monday after the LTFRB ruled it defied its July 26 order.
READ: LTFRB: Uber drivers face apprehension following app’s reactivation
Transport authorities on Tuesday warned Uber drivers: Don’t take passengers or face losing your car, adding Uber drivers who get caught will face a P120,000 fine and have their cars impounded for three months.
CNN Philippines’ Makoi Popioco, Chad de Guzman, and VJ Bacungan contributed to this report.
