Archival told reporters in a news conference that the 24-hour government services would start in mid-March after all the furniture and interior had been setup.
“This is a big step for the city. Our aim is to bring government services closer to the people, especially to night-shift workers and those in the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) who work in the evening,” the mayor said.
“We continue to innovate in our governance. In Cebu City, government service is not only up to 5 p.m. We are building a city that works 24/7 for the people,” he added.
Aside from key city departments, 10 national government agencies have signed up in the program, which is first of its kind in the country.
These were Social Security System, Pag-IBIG Fund, PhilHealth, Bureau of Internal Revenue, National Bureau of Investigation, Philippine Statistics Authority, Philippine Postal Corporation, Land Transportation Office, Philippine National Police and the Department of Labor and Employment.
Archival said the government agencies have a budget to pay their own staff assigned in the program but a team from the city government would oversee the operation.
Vice Mayor Tomas Osmeña, who was the proponent of the program, was tasked to take charge of the operational preparation.
Cebu City 24/7 Service was created through Executive Order No. 27 Series of 2025, which mandates the establishment of a one-stop shop that would allow night shift employees like those working in hospitals and BPO companies to avail of government services that were normally available during the day.
The EO acknowledged that Cebu City had been recognized as the “BPO Capital of the South,” being the country’s largest BPO hub outside of Metro Manila.
One of the economic drivers of Cebu City, the BPO industry has more than 300 operators employing at least 270,000 people.
Many employees in these industries worked at night and could not access essential government services which were typically available only during the day, the EO said.
Last February, the City Council approved a P5.1-million budget to fund the lease of the facility that would run from Feb. 1, 2026 to June 30, 2028 when the term of the incumbent officials would end.
The lease agreement was with Eklestos Estates Inc. for the rental of two units on the second floor of Cebu Exchange Tower , which is located in front of Cebu I.T. Park, a 27-hectare business district that has the largest concentration of BPO offices, or another identified 24-hour commercial district.
Present during the signing were representatives of the 10 national agencies that would take part of the program as well as leaders from the BPO sector that had signified their support.
These include AZPIRED BPO, Cebu Telenet Philippines, NAP Solutions Inc., Shearwater Health, Tahche, TechMahindra, TTEC, Virtual Staffing Solutions and Conduent.
— Edited by Daxim L. Lucas
Contributor
