MANILA - Grab Philippines is investing $20 million to enhance the safety features of its businesses, the company's president said Thursday during the launch of its in-app safety center.

Grab users will be able to access the in-app "Safety Center" starting Aug. 30, Grab Philippines president Brian Cu said.

He said the company will spend $20 million to improve safety in terms of engineering, support, features development, insurance and partnerships.

"Safety has always been core to who we are and what we do, and we will continue to increase our investments and focus on this area to ensure that each Grab experience is safe and secure," Cu said.

Passengers will be able to report safety issues, ride details, and ask for emergency assistance through the "centralized access point" within the app.

The safety button ensures a digital response within 30 minutes and a 2-to-6-hour resolution timeframe for incidents, Grab said.

It also has a feature that will connect passengers to police hotlines for immediate response, Cu said.

Grab in 2018 partnered with the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency and the police Highway Patrol Group for its safety and crime prevention campaign.

• Grab partners with gov't agencies for road safety, crime prevention