By Felicity Sta. Maria (real name withheld upon request)
It is March 2026, and for those of us in Cebu’s BPO sector, the “graveyard shift” has taken on a literal, grim meaning for our finances. As the conflict in the Middle East escalates, the resulting double-digit surge at the pumps is hitting IT Park and Guadalupe workers where it hurts most. With diesel hitting P84 and gasoline hovering around P76 this week, my commute from Liloan feels like a premium subscription I never signed up for. This isn’t a mere “staggered adjustment”; it is a massive pay cut for every rider and commuter in a region already grappling with a six percent inflation rate — the highest in the country.
The “domino effect” is visible everywhere, from rising jeepney fares to the “fuel surcharges” appearing on bills at local carenderias. Even our morning puto maya and coffee are beginning to feel like luxuries rather than staples. There is a profound irony in our daily lives: we spend our shifts providing cutting-edge technical solutions to Silicon Valley giants, yet our own mobility remains paralyzed by 20th-century energy dependence. It is a bitter pill to swallow when a trainer discusses the “borderless economy” while you are physically stuck in a bumper-to-bumper crawl on the Mandaue-Mactan Bridge. Every global headline about a drone strike in the Red Sea feels like a direct hit to the V-hire terminals along Escario and the habal-habal drivers at the end of our streets.
For many, the habal-habal is the lifeblood of the 10 p.m. login, but what used to be a P50 quick trip has become a nightly negotiation. When multiplied by 22 working days, these “premium” rates swallow a significant chunk of a Tier 1 salary before we even sit in our ergonomic chairs. For female agents, the “peace” of the night shift is now haunted by a “safety tax,” as they are forced onto expensive ride-hailing apps to ensure a secure commute when public transport becomes scarce. The night shift differential — the very thing that makes this lifestyle viable — is being siphoned off by the gas pump before it even hits our bank accounts.
Cebuano workers are often praised for being “stronger than the storm,” but inflation is a slow-moving disaster that cannot be weathered by grit alone. The conversation in the smoking area has shifted from Netflix shows to the price of Brent crude, fueled by a sense of shared frustration that the “economic drivers” of this city are being left to buffer a global crisis alone. We are masters of “de-escalation” on the phones, yet we are getting visibly heated about the lack of government intervention. When the news reports a “slight” increase, we know that in Cebuano terms, that’s another P20 added to the daily overhead, further shrinking the gap between a living wage and just surviving.
If the government is suggesting a four-day work week to save energy, then BPO companies must lean into expanded work-from-home setups. Advocacy groups like BIEN have long championed this; it is time for management to listen. Whether through subsidized shuttle services, “inflation-proof” rice allowances, or a permanent shift to hybrid work, the industry needs to recalibrate.
At the end of the day, we aren’t asking for the world; we’re asking for the math to make sense. If our companies can track our “average handle time” to the second, they can surely track the rising cost of living in Central Visayas. The Middle East conflict isn’t ending tomorrow and neither is our need to get to work. We are the voice of the world’s biggest brands — it’s about time someone listened to ours.