Newly assumed Cebu City Mayor Nestor Archival and Vice Mayor Tomas Osmeña launched the “Mayor of the Night” initiative this week to extend 24/7 government services to BPO workers and other night-shift employees, ensuring safer commutes and accessible city services, making them the first local government unit (LGU) in the country to implement round-the-clock operations at City Hall.
This initiative was a campaign promise, aims to cater to nighttime workers, like doctors, nurses, delivery riders, taxi drivers who often struggle to secure government service appointments at the City Hall during the day.
As part of this initiative, Mayor Archival announced that the city would begin offering free bus rides for night-shift workers traveling to Cebu IT Park, after they launched the city’s free shuttle service for night shift workers and BPO employees.
“Today, we begin upholding that promise, starting with the BPO industry — a vital driver of Cebu’s economic growth,” Archival wrote, emphasizing that the wheels of city government must keep turning even long after sunset.
The initiative aims to provide safe and accessible transportation for employees working late hours, as part of the city’s efforts to support the workforce and promote public safety.
To provide us an idea the size and scope of Cebu City, it has a land area of merely 315 square kilometers roughly 1.24% of Puerto Princesa’s 2,381.02 square kilometers. But Cebu is densely populated with a population density of 3,100 per square kilometer, while Puerto Princesa is 129 per square kilometer. Cebu City has a population of 964,169, compared to Puerto Princesa’s 307,079 (both based on 2020 census).
With Mayor of the Night, city officials hopes to encourage the private sector to follow suit.
“We want to build an environment that will eventually encourage the private sector to do the same. See a doctor, pay your bills, even get a haircut — all at a time convenient for you,” Cebu officials said.
“This is the kind of Cebu we want to build.”
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