Grab Philippines is reportedly in the midst of issuing refunds of PHP 6.7 million (US$ 118,500) to its users following the Philippine Competition Commission’s (PCC) orders to do so, according to the Manilla Bulletin. The e-hailing app needs to disburse refunds totaling PHP 25.4 million (US$ 452, 000).

The PCC has imposed an additional PHP 9 million fine for its failure to fully refund its customers more than three years after it was first ordered to do so.

Grab has already refunded PHP 18.78 million to its users which is 73.8 percent of the PHP 25.4 million that the e-hailing app had been ordered to pay.

The Director for Public Affairs at Grab Philippines, Sherielysse Bonifacio said that the company was looking into the fines imposed by the PCC and is working on the refunds and “will be ready to implement as early as Friday”.

She added that Grab has attempted to comply with the PCC’s orders to issue refunds to Grab users for trips they had taken between 2018 and 2019.

Bonifacio stressed that Grab is not trying to shirk its obligation to reimburse the remaining affected users.

She explained that Grab was unable to make the reimbursements as the users did not have GrabPay wallets or were no longer in the country.

Most of these users were tourists who visited the Philippines in 2018 and 2019 where they had downloaded and used the app when they were in the country, but have now discontinued use of the Grab app.

PCC has directed Grab to notify the affected users of their unclaimed refunds by publishing the notice once a week for four consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation and through its app.

They will be given 60 days to make their claims. Once this passes, Grab will need to send in a report on the claimed and unclaimed amounts within 10 days.

The remaining unclaimed funds will be sent to the PCC for remittance to the National Treasury.