A Quezon City court has ordered a 20-day suspension of the implementation of a Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) order permitting the app-based ride-sharing companies Uber and GrabCar to operate in Metro Manila.
Judge Santiago Arenas of the Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 217 issued the 20-day temporary restraining order (TRO) in connection with the petition filed by Stop and Go, a coalition of taxi operators and drivers.
The court blocked the DOTC from accepting further applications of app-enabled transport services, pending its decision after it hears on Dec. 8 the Stop and Go petition to ban them in the capital.
“There is extreme urgency to issue a temporary restraining order to the petitioner to prevent grave and irreparable injury and damages because of their claim that they suffer less or low incomes and earnings is found to be persuasive,” said the court.
Judge Arenas clarified that the TRO does not apply to the existing operations of Uber and GrabCar.
The TRO applies only to future applications and not the current operations of Uber and GrabCar, Arenas said.
“How can I include Uber and Grab, they are not impleaded as a party,” Arenas told the Inquirer as he lamented the negative comments he received on social media.
“The TRO only seeks to restrain the government offices not to accept applications in the meantime,” Arenas said.
“No further implementation of the order and circulars because their legality is being taken up in court,” he said.
The court order also does not affect Uber and GrabCar operations in Cebu, the country’s second largest city, where the government has allowed Uber to operate 10 vehicles to help meet public transport demand during the Christmas season.
The TRO covers the DOTC order which created the categories transportation network company (TNC) for the technology provider and transportation network vehicle service (TNVS) for the unit operators.
The court order also suspended the related guidelines issued by the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB).
The court order, dated Nov. 27, also suspended the accepting, processing and approval of TNVS applications.
Stop and Go president Jun Magno, who received the court order on Thursday, hailed the TRO as an “initial victory.”
“We just want the process to be equal,” Magno said. He questioned the “unlimited” applications for TNVS while there is a moratorium on issuance of franchises for other public utility vehicles.
The Stop and Go petition claimed that Uber and GrabCar were given special treatment to operate without a franchise.
“The income of taxi drivers was slashed by up to 50 percent because of the app-based transport, which does not follow tariffs imposed by the government,” Magno said.
About 660,000 taxis ply their trade in Metro Manila, the Asian Development Bank estimated in 2010.
Magno said Stop and Go was only questioning the operations of Uber and GrabCar. “If there are complications in the department order, the DOTC or the solicitor general can clarify it with the court,” he said.
Transport Secretary Joseph Abaya said he had first to see a copy of the TRO and its contents before he could comment.
LTFRB Chair Winston Ginez yesterday said the board had not yet received the court order.
“The subject of the case, as far as I know, is TNVS. It has to be clarified with the court which aspects of the [department order] are being restrained. As you said, there are other denominations included in the [order],” Ginez said.
The department order also covers the transport denominations of rapid bus transit, airport bus and premium taxi.
Ginez said the LTFRB would comply with the court order and would request the Office of the Solicitor General to study the available legal remedies.
On the issue of “unlimited” TNVS, Ginez said it was a policy issue as the moratorium was limited to existing transport denominations while the TNCs and TNVS were a new innovation.
As of Nov. 9, the LTFRB has received 7,304 TNVS applications. Of the total, 5,660 are with Uber while 1,644 are with GrabCar.
In a statement, Uber said the company was aware of the court decision and would study its implications on their partner vehicles.
“Uber was not a party to the proceedings that resulted in the court’s decision and plans to coordinate closely with the DOTC and LTFRB,” it said.
The Philippines was the first country to regulate these types of app-based services, to help make up for inadequate mass transport in Manila, Southeast Asia’s second most congested city after Jakarta, according to research firm Numbeo. -Erika Sauler, with a report from Krizia Jamille Yap
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