Cebu City set to roll out ‘Mayor of the Night’ program

Local

CEBU City is finally preparing to open its long-planned 24/7 government service center in Barangay Lahug.

This will mark the operational start of the “Mayor of the Night” program.

Vice Mayor Tomas Osmeña said the city will begin with a soft launch, possibly within the month or by early next month, following the City Council’s approval of a multi-year lease for office space at Cebu Exchange.

“We are going to open up our doors. Mag soft opening usa ta. Sometime this month or next month,” Osmeña said during a press conference on Friday, Feb. 13.

“We don’t like to have a grand opening because everybody shows up, hinay-hinay lang. Maybe and then as the problem comes up, we find the means to accommodate them,” he added.

Rather than unveiling a fully scaled operation from day one, Osmeña said they are positioning the initial rollout as a live test phase.

“It’s very complicated. We don't know exactly what we need, we don't know what the volume is, but we are starting somewhere,” Osmeña said.

“The first step is you know there's a problem, now looking we are looking at the problem and we are trying to solve the problem, and then as we go along we make changes, we know we have to make changes, we have to make all adjustments but at least we are moving in that direction.”

The council recently authorized Mayor Nestor Archival to sign a lease agreement with Eklektos Estates Inc. for Units A and B on the second-floor podium of Cebu Exchange Tower in Barangay Lahug.

The contract covers a period of two years and five months, from February 1, 2026 to June 30, 2028. Monthly rental rates increase annually, beginning at P339,344.64 for the first year, P354,009.38 for the second, and P369,407.34 for the final five months.

City records indicate that P5,111,550 has been certified as available for 2026 rental expenses under the Office of the Vice Mayor. The required certificates of appropriation and fund availability were issued on February 2, 2026.

The lease was processed through negotiated procurement, as permitted under Section 35(i) of Republic Act No. 12009, which allows the negotiated lease of real property for official use, subject to efficiency and economy requirements.

During council deliberations, questions were raised on the scope of prior authorizations and whether the project had been formally established as a multi-year program.

Amendments were later introduced to clarify that the initiative carries multi-year authority, consistent with procurement rules requiring sanggunian approval before entering such contracts.

The 24/7 hub was created under Executive Order No. 027, series of 2025, issued by Archival. The order cites the Local Government Code of 1991 and identifies night-shift workers, particularly in the business process outsourcing (BPO) industry, as among those who face difficulty accessing services limited to regular government hours.

The vice mayor said the city will initially concentrate on call center agencies and workers clustered in Cebu IT Park and Cebu Business Park.

“We have to figure everything out, but the important thing here is it's really for everyone but we are focusing on the call center agencies because it's there where the demands are seem very well-defined, and because they are confined only in a small area in IT Park and Cebu Business Park,” he said.

“We have to go somewhere, we don't have to start very big, we have to start small, then we make adjustments as we go along,” Osmeña added.

Participating city offices are expected to include the City Treasurer’s Office, Business Permit and Licensing Office, City Health Department, and City Civil Registrar.

The executive order also encourages national agencies to join the initiative.(TGP)