Transportation Secretary Vince Dizon said they are filing criminal and economic sabotage charges against a Malaysian-based travel site for over charging plane tickets.

Dizon said he was informed by Leyte Representative Richard Gomez and his wife Tacloban City Mayor Lucy Torres-Gomez that they bought two one-way tickets from Tacloban to Manila for P77,704 through AirAsia Move, an alleged Malaysian-based travel platform.

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.

Dizon said that AirAsia Move asserted its independence in response to the cease and desist order previously issued by CAB.

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, he said.

“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.

Meanwhile, Dizon also asked the Philippine National Police cybercrime division to take down that mentioned site.

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.

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.

Currently, Tacloban City and Samar Province are under a state of emergency.