DELIVERY riders in Davao City are asking food delivery platforms to raise their pay to an ₱80 base fare and ₱20 per kilometer, saying they take home only about ₱180 a day after expenses.
Members of the United Davao Delivery Riders Association (UDDRA) aired their demands during a press conference at Orcullo Park along Roxas Avenue on Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2026. They called on platforms such as Grab, foodpanda, and Maxim to make fare computation transparent and to stop bundled “triple run” and “quadruple run” deliveries.
UDDRA President Jeffrey Cuyos said the group tracked one rider’s earnings for five days, from Aug. 31 to Sept. 4, 2026. The rider earned ₱3,504 over 41 hours and 52 deliveries, but spent ₱2,605.60 on fuel, load, motorcycle maintenance, food, platform deductions, and auto-deducted loans. That left ₱898.40, or an average of ₱179.68 a day.
On two of the five days, the rider’s earnings fell below the average daily expenses.
Bundled deliveries
Cuyos said that in 2021 and 2022, Grab paid about ₱67 for a single delivery. Now, a triple run covering three customers costs ₱127 in total, which he said means one delivery is effectively unpaid.
He showed a printout of a Grab order from McDonald’s Matina Crossing with three orders and four stops, paying ₱127.
Board member Eric Cadungog said riders are not paid fairly for the extra deliveries.
“Minsan kasi nalilibre ‘yung pangatlo at saka pang-apat na customer (Sometimes the third and fourth customers are delivered for free),” he said.
Cadungog added that riders are sometimes made to travel 4 to 5 kilometers to the restaurant just to pick up an order, without pay for that distance.
Algorithm
Cuyos said riders cannot figure out how their pay is computed.
“Ang amo man gud gusto is transparent nga algorithm, nganong gipaunsa nila pag-compute ani nga bayad (What we want is a transparent algorithm, how they compute this pay),” he said.
He questioned the platforms’ claim that they earn little, citing Grab Holdings’ reported US$3.37 billion in revenue for 2025.
₱400 after 8 hours
Rodolf Baylen, a UDDRA auditor and Grab rider, said an eight-hour shift earns him about ₱800, of which he spends about ₱300 on fuel and ₱100 on food.
“8 hours, unya limpyo na lang mi og 400 ana (Eight hours, and we only take home 400 from that),” Baylen said.
He compared this to workers earning the minimum wage of about ₱545 a day, who also receive SSS, Pag-Ibig, and PhilHealth benefits, which riders do not. He said fuel now costs about ₱90 per liter.
He cited a trip from Roxas Avenue to Panacan, which pays about ₱110 with no return fare. “Mura ra ko’g naghatag dito og libre (It’s like I’m giving it away for free),” he said.
Union secretary Marife Apostadero said riders typically earn ₱1,000 a day but spend ₱300 to ₱350 on fuel alone, leaving ₱200 to ₱300 after food, load, and maintenance.
“Sa totoo lang, ang baba, grabe ang baba (Honestly, it’s low, really low),” she said.
Risks, no assistance
The riders said they rush deliveries during peak hours to meet time limits and avoid low customer ratings, exposing them to accidents, heat, and rain.
They said platforms did not assist riders whose orders went uncompleted during earthquakes and mall closures, and that riders involved in accidents have had difficulty getting insurance claims processed.
Appeal to council
Cuyos said the group wants a partnership with the platforms, adding that riders were not consulted before bundled deliveries were rolled out.
UDDRA said it has reached out to the delivery platforms, but as of Tuesday, its concerns remain unanswered. The group has also sought the help of the Davao City Council and hopes to get the support it needs.
This is not the first time the group has brought its concerns to the council. In November 2024, riders from Grab, foodpanda and Maxim under UDDRA lobbied the council to amend the city ordinance requiring delivery riders to obtain a business permit costing between ₱1,720 and ₱5,200, Davao Today reported. Around 6,000 riders were then expected to renew their permits in January 2025.
On Dec. 3, 2025, the 20th City Council agreed to remove business permit fees and taxes for riders and replace them with a reduced occupational tax of ₱125.
Asked about the riders’ fare demand during the Pulong-Pulong sa Dabawenyos media forum on Oct. 20, Councilor Alberto Ungab said the council would first need to conduct hearings before taking a position. GRS