LTFRB's Delgra: We could have canceled Uber's accreditation, but we did not

Land Transportation and Franchising Regulatory Board Chairman Martin Delgra on Wednesday said the agency could have canceled Uber System Inc.'s accreditation for defying an order to stop activating new units.

Delgra told radio dzBB in an interview that the LTFRB has proof that Uber had activated new units despite the agency's July 26 order.

"Apat na sasakyan ang naipasok namin. Kahit wala kang makikita na mga tao sa opisina nila ay nakaka-apply pala online eh," the LTFRB said.

"If we would have been so plain and straight. On the terms of accreditation, rules set by the previous Board [the punishment] is cancellation. But we did not do that," Delgra said.

He said that the Board only issued a one-month suspension against Uber because they recognize the contributions of the online car hailing industry to the country's transportation system.

"We have to strike a balance between innovation and technology. But innovation should not be pushed too far na mawawalan ng bisa ang batas otherwise we will have anarchy on the road," Delgra said.

He added that Uber's failure to abide by the July 26 order shows that it does not want to submit to the regulations of the LTFRB.

"Para bang pinipilit nilang magnegosyo sila to a point na they are openly defying. they need to submit themselves to the regulations of the LTFRB," he added.

A few minutes after filing their motion for reconsideration on the Board's one-month suspension order on Tuesday, Uber reactivated its online hailing app and made an announcement on its social media accounts.

The Uber app was again deactivate after the LTFRB junked the appeal.

"If I may say it was easy for the Board to resolve the MR," Delgra said.

He said that based on information received by the LTFRB, the actual number of activated Uber cars is more than what the company had declared.

He said Uber had declared that it has at least 66,000 activated units while Grab has at least 55,000 units.

"We got a report na it's even more than that (number of Uber cars). We are still verifying it," Delgra said.

He hinted that the one-month suspension against Uber may be extended if this number is confirmed by the LTFRB. —ALG, GMA News