A P13 million budget to be allocated by Cebu City Hall to ensure the safety of business process outsourcing (BPO) workers may be substantial to some but it pales in comparison to the hundreds of millions of pesos, nay even billions of pesos in revenues earned from taxes paid for by said workers and the companies they work for.
That the Cebu City government or at least the incumbent administration plans to build a BPO “City” of sorts in the South Road Properties (SRP) that will house, provide employment and advance education to BPO employees says something about how they value the contributions of these workers who are, along with overseas workers, looked up to as the country’s unsung heroes.
The security measures may have come in part due to the death of BPO worker Lorraine Temple, who got killed while trying to fight off robbers along Pope John Paul Avenue at 3 a.m. early this month.
This tragedy notwithstanding, it’s about time that the city government extends some assistance to the BPO workers who chose to work and live in Cebu City.
Part of that budget worth P5 million is supposed to fund the purchase of 1,000 dashboard cameras that will be installed in passenger jeepneys plying the BPO route notably in Cebu City’s IT Park.
While security cameras may likely be placed in some key areas there, dashboard cameras inside jeepneys which are still being used as the cheapest means of transport for BPO workers will give city police a nearly 360 degree view of the surroundings and the people who move in and out there, including those with murderous criminal intent.
We hope jeepney operators who service the routes at the very least care for the dashboard cameras they will soon receive from the city government, some of which will likely be donated by the private sector including the BPO companies that will invest heavily in their employees.
The other solution is to buy an additional bus worth P8 million to augment the two buses that fetch BPO workers from Barangay Talamban to the BPO centers in IT Park and Cebu Business Park.
These free rides, to be sure, aren’t anything new since free bus rides are given from time to time to seniors and persons with disabilities who find it difficult to reach barangay halls where the distribution of quarterly cash aid is given to them.
Given that it is election season, it also won’t be too difficult for the City Council to approve the P13 million budget if only to gain voter appreciation from the BPO workers.
That said, P13 million is but a small price to pay for the BPO workers whose salaries had also drawn businesses both big and small that pay taxes to the city and whose continued presence will sustain the city’s economy for years to come.
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