craig aquino,
Competition is healthy for the economy.
It incentivises businesses to progress or innovate in order to convince consumers to support them instead of others. This in turn benefits consumers, who get better services.
In monopolies, wherein one entity has sole control of the market, companies are free to hike up prices while providing low-quality services to consumers.
Recently, Grab, a Transport Network Company (TNC), bought the South-east Asia operations of Uber. Through this, it has effectively monopolised the transport network market in the Philippines.
TNCs are companies which provide transport network vehicle services, more commonly known as ride-sharing services, pairing passengers with drivers via mobile applications or websites. It’s an alternative to the long wait that usually entails commuting through other means.
Fortunately, the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB), along with the Philippine Competition Commission (PCC), took steps to ensure the welfare of consumers.
The PCC, on its part, reviewed the acquisition and sought to protect the interests of consumers while it occurred.
The LTFRB, on the other hand, has authorised more TNCs to operate in the Philippines. These include local start-ups such as GoLag, U-Hop, Hype, and Micab. It has also placed regulations on Grab’s pricing to prevent overcharging of consumers.
These actions by the government are commendable. They act in service of the consumers and of the Filipino people.
Their steps have prevented anti-competitive and anti-consumer practices in the case of TNCs, and allowed local entrepreneurs to get into the Transport Network Vehicle Service (TNVS) market.
The Philippine government is terribly flawed. However, in this case, they have managed to do good.//by Craig Aquino and Cyrille Villanueva
Opinion: Money Grabs
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| Photo Credit: Gail Clemente |
Competition is healthy for the economy.
It incentivises businesses to progress or innovate in order to convince consumers to support them instead of others. This in turn benefits consumers, who get better services.
In monopolies, wherein one entity has sole control of the market, companies are free to hike up prices while providing low-quality services to consumers.
Recently, Grab, a Transport Network Company (TNC), bought the South-east Asia operations of Uber. Through this, it has effectively monopolised the transport network market in the Philippines.
TNCs are companies which provide transport network vehicle services, more commonly known as ride-sharing services, pairing passengers with drivers via mobile applications or websites. It’s an alternative to the long wait that usually entails commuting through other means.
Fortunately, the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB), along with the Philippine Competition Commission (PCC), took steps to ensure the welfare of consumers.
The PCC, on its part, reviewed the acquisition and sought to protect the interests of consumers while it occurred.
The LTFRB, on the other hand, has authorised more TNCs to operate in the Philippines. These include local start-ups such as GoLag, U-Hop, Hype, and Micab. It has also placed regulations on Grab’s pricing to prevent overcharging of consumers.
These actions by the government are commendable. They act in service of the consumers and of the Filipino people.
Their steps have prevented anti-competitive and anti-consumer practices in the case of TNCs, and allowed local entrepreneurs to get into the Transport Network Vehicle Service (TNVS) market.
The Philippine government is terribly flawed. However, in this case, they have managed to do good.//by Craig Aquino and Cyrille Villanueva
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