Drivers, operators protesting the deactivation of 8,000 Grab TNVS accounts

Transportation network vehicle services (TNVS) drivers and operators will hold a protest action against the deactivation of 8,000 TNVS accounts of Grab Philippines.

The transport network company is deactivating 8,000 TNVS accounts for failing to submit requirements to the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB).

The drivers and operators will hold a protest caravan on Tuesday at 5:00 a.m. from Quezon City Memorial Circle to the LTFRB office. They are making an appeal for the board’s to reconsider the deactivation, since Grab is heeding LTFRB’s rules.

Hatchback Community, a group of TNVS drivers, wants LTFRB to give their members and the 8,000 on Grab’s deactivation list another chance to submit the required documents.

They are also calling for a dialogue with LTFRB regarding their grievances about the way the board is processing their papers, said Leonardo de Leon, Hatchback Community chair.

“Napakahirap pong mag-process ng mga documents—napakarami,” De Leon said during a press conference in Quezon City on Monday.

Some TNVS drivers and operators are willing to comply with the requirements, but checking on the status of their applications has been so tedious, Hatchback Community founder Jhun Rico noted, saying LTFRB personnel always tell them to come back.

“Pabalik-balik ang follow up ... Ang palaging sinasabi sa akin ay ‘For signature’,” Rico said.

“Bakit niyo ba pinapatatagal? Gaano ba katagal ang pagpirma?” he said. 

Defend Job Philippines, a cause-oriented labor group, supports the request of affected drivers and operators for the LTFRB to extend the deadline for TNVS drivers and operators to submit their documents.

“Malaking epekto ito sa mga libo-libong driver at kanilang mga pamilya. Ngayon, iniisip nila paano nila iraraos ‘yung kanilang pangaraw-araw,” Defend Job Philippines spokesperson Christian Lloyd Magsoy said.

The deactivation of the 8,000 Grab TNVS accounts will start on Monday, June 10. —VDS, GMA News