Latest news with #RichardGomez
Malay Mail
2 days ago
- Business
- Malay Mail
Philippines to sue AirAsia Move for ‘economic sabotage' over inflated airfares in typhoon-hit region
MANILA, June 4 — The Philippine government will be filing an economic sabotage case against AirAsia Move. This is after the online travel booking platform was found selling its flight tickets at a much higher rate than they should be. In a statement, Transportation Secretary Vince Dizon said AirAsia Move has taken advantage of the dire transport situation that was caused by the partial closure of the San Juanico Bridge which was implemented to prevent structural deterioration. As the 2.16km bridge is the primary link between Samar and Leyte islands, the restriction has a major effect on the economy in the region. Vince has highlighted the experience of Richard Gomez, the Leyte 4th District Representative, who has to pay almost PHP40,000 (~RM3,053) for a 1-way ticket from Tacloban to Manila. As a comparison, the actual air fare for the 1 hour 25 minutes is said to be around PHP12,000 (~RM916). The case will be filed by the country's Department of Transport (DOTr) and Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB), while the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines will also look into the pricing issue. At the same time, Vince has instructed the Philippine National Police's Anti-Cybercrime Group to shut down access to the AirAsia Move app for the time being. AirAsia Move: We didn't set the price manually Meanwhile, AirAsia Move has provided its side of the story through a statement by its CEO, Nadia Omer. The company said that the discrepancies in the airfare for certain routes, including domestic flights operated by the national carrier Philippine Airlines, were caused by a temporary data synchronisation issue with flight pricing partners. AirAsia Move also pointed out that the pricing discrepancy has also affected other booking platforms such as Agoda, and Traveloka. The company further insists it does not set or manipulate the airfares manually. The statement also highlighted that AirAsia Move has taken immediate action once it noticed the discrepancy by highlighting it to the 3rd party pricing provider. In addition to that, the platform has implemented several measures to prevent such incidents in the near future. — SoyaCincau
_2025_02_13_09_48_34.jpg&w=3840&q=100)
GMA Network
4 days ago
- GMA Network
DOTr eyes raps, shutdown of site charging up to P40k for one-way air fare
The Department of Transportation (DOTr) is seeking the filing of charges and closure of an online booking site that charges almost P40,000 for one-way plane tickets. 'I've asked the [Philippine National Police] to take it down, PNP Cybercrime to take down this website today,' Dizon said in a press briefing. 'I have also asked, apart from the cease and desist order issued by the [Civil Aeronautics Board] last May 26, the CAB and the DOTr Aviation Group… to immediately file… a criminal economic sabotage case,' he added. According to Dizon, Leyte Representative Richard Gomez informed the DOTr that he and his wife bought two one-way tickets from Tacloban to Manila for P77,704 through AirAsia Move, an alleged Malaysian-based travel platform. In another incident, two one-way tickets were bought for P50,000. Dizon said that a one-way ticket bought from the site of another airline only cost around P12,000. 'So, clearly, this is just absurd, no? And really bordering— well, not bordering, this is actually criminal. Criminal na itong ginagawa ng AirAsia Move na ito (this action of AirAsia Move is really criminal),' he said. The DOTr chief said that AirAsia Move asserted its independence in response to the cease and desist order previously issued by CAB. 'Sumagot po si AirAsia Move. Ang sinabi nila, okay, we will try our best… to comply pero hindi naman kami under sa inyo, eh. 'Yun ang last paragraph nila,' Dizon said. (AirAsia Move responded and said, 'Okay, we will try our best… to comply, but we're not under your jurisdiction.' That was their last paragraph.) 'We respectfully submit [that] the CAB's jurisdiction under RA 776 applies to air carriers, not foreign-based [online travel agencies],' he added, citing the response of AirAsia Move. Dizon said this was 'unacceptable,' calling on the public to avoid buying tickets from the online platform. Meanwhile, he said that airline AirAsia does not have anything to do with the platform. 'They're affiliated but I don't think AirAsia, in fairness to AirAsia Philippines, no, the airline… I don't think they have anything to do with this,' Dizon. He said he has also instructed CAB to investigate other online platforms that may be doing the same thing. San Juanico rehab In a statement Monday, the Office of Civil Defense said it has asked CAB and Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines, through a letter to Transportation Secretary Dizon, to probe the reported increases in passenger and cargo air fares in Eastern Visayas amid the restrictions on San Juanico Bridge. "We respectfully appeal to the CAB and the CAAP to immediately look into this matter and implement appropriate legal measures to thwart or regulate these purported air fare and cargo fare increases," OCD administrator Undersecretary Ariel Nepomuceno said. Among the trips with reported higher air fares are those heading to Tacloban and Ormoc City in Leyte as well as to Catarman in Northern Samar. The OCD suggested increasing the number of flights in Ormoc, Calbayog, Catarman, and Tacloban while the San Juanico Bridge is being rehabilitated. To complement the proposed increase in flights, the OCD also suggested issuing provisional permits and certificates of public convenience for public transport and movement of goods. The OCD hopes that these measures can be quickly facilitated by the Philippine Ports Authority, Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board, and Maritime Industry Authority. A three-ton load limit has been imposed on San Juanico Bridge since May 15 after an assessment showed that there are significant structural compromises to the bridge. Only the middle portion of the bridge is open for motorists. Completed in 1972, San Juanico Bridge is the only permanent land link between the islands of Samar and Leyte. It is a vital artery of the Maharlika Highway that connects Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said the restriction halted the passage of heavy cargo vehicles. This severely disrupted the transport of food, medicine, agricultural products, construction materials, and other essential commodities across the region. According to the NDRRMC, the restrictions on San Juanico Bridge could result in up to P600 million monthly economic losses as 14,000 vehicles cross the infrastructure daily. Around P7 billion is needed for the repair and rehabilitation of San Juanico Bridge amid concerns on its structural integrity, the NDRRMC said. The NDRRMC has recommended to President Ferdinand 'Bongbong' Marcos Jr. to declare a state of calamity in the entire region of Eastern Visayas. Currently, Tacloban City and Samar Province are under a state of emergency. —AOL, GMA Integrated News
The Star
4 days ago
- Business
- The Star
AirAsia MOVE faces economic sabotage case for alleged overcharging in the Philippines
MANILA: The Department of Transportation (DOTr) is preparing an economic sabotage case against the online travel agent platform of aviation group AirAsia for allegedly selling plane tickets to Tacloban at 'unreasonably' high prices. In a press briefing on Monday (June 2), Transportation Secretary Vince Dizon (pic) said they were finalising the complaints against AirAsia MOVE with the target of filing the case this week. Prior to this, the government agency issued a cease and desist order against the company headquartered in Malaysia on May 26. Dizon said the case stemmed from the complaint by Leyte 4th District Rep. Richard Gomez and Ormoc Mayor Lucy Torres-Gomez, who booked Philippine Airlines (PAL) flights from Tacloban to Manila via AirAsia MOVE that cost them about P77,704 (US$1392) – or almost P40,000 each. Had they booked through the PAL website, the plane tickets would have only cost them P49,507, Dizon noted. 'I have asked them (Philippine National Police – Anti-Cybercrime Group) to take this website down today, so this AirAsia MOVE can no longer scam others. I'm sure Congressman Richard Gomez is not the only victim here,' Dizon announced in a press conference on Monday. 'I also asked the CAB (Civil Aeronautics Board) and DOTr aviation group to immediately file a criminal economic sabotage case against AirAsia MOVE because this is really economic sabotage,' Dizon added. Dizon stressed that AirAsia MOVE's one-way plane tickets are three times higher compared to the tickets sold by other airlines at around P12,000. Aside from Gomez, Dizon said he had also received a letter from the Office of the Civil Defence executive director, Undersecretary Ariel Nepomuceno, detailing similar complaints about the selling of unreasonably high-priced plane tickets to Tacloban. Dizon also said that the overcharging might have stemmed from the limited access to the 53-year-old San Juanico Bridge, whose load limit has been limited to three tonnes starting May 15, barring trucks and buses from crossing the 2.16-km. bridge. 'Clearly there is a crisis there because the movements of goods and people were affected by the partial closure of the San Juanico Bridge to heavy vehicles, such as buses and trucks. They are taking advantage of the situation,' he lamented. The DOTr chief also instructed CAB to investigate other online platforms suspected of overcharging plane tickets not only in Tacloban but also in other destinations. Asked if Dizon had already asked AirAsia about this, he said that the multinational airline 'has nothing to do with' the issue surrounding the online travel booking platform and is only 'affiliated' with it. - Philippine Daily Inquirer/ANN
