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MANILA - Ride-hailing firms Grab and Uber have reached out to the Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) regarding their plan to merge operations in Southeast Asia.

Commissioner Johannes Bernabe said Tuesday that both companies expressed willingness to sit down with the competition watchdog to discuss details of the acquisition deal by next week.

"Ang Grab naman at Uber ay nagsimula nang mag-reach out sa PCC tungkol nga dito sa kinakailangang review ng PCC. Lamang, hindi pa sila officially nagno-notify," he told DZMM radio.

The ride-sharing firms earlier said the merger's transition would be complete by April 8, meaning the Uber app could no longer be used in booking rides starting April 9.

• Ride-hailing firm Grab buys Uber's SE Asia operations

Bernabe said the mandatory review would only push through if the value of the Grab-Uber merger meets the PCC's threshold, set at P2 billion for Size of Transaction and P5 billion for Size of Party.

If the deal meets the threshold, Grab and Uber will have to wait for the PCC to finish its mandatory review for a maximum of 30 days before pushing through with the transaction, he said.

Earlier this year, the PCC voided businessman Dennis Uy's acquisition of a Dutch holding company that controlled Negros Navigation for failing to disclose the transaction to the body.

Bernabe said the public should be wary of mergers and acquisition deals because this may result in anti-competitive effects like poor quality of service and higher fares.

"'Yung kaledad ng serbisyo. Siyempre 'pag wala ka nang kalaban, hindi ka na kailangang maging very competitive in terms of the service you provide. 'Yan ang kailangan bantayan natin," he added.

Grab earlier announced it is buying Uber's ride-sharing and food delivery operations in the region. In exchange, Uber will receive a 27.5 percent stake in Grab, its statement said.

• Ride-hailing firm Grab eyes expansion as it acquires Uber