Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama said he wants sitio Kakahuyan in barangay Mambaling included in the reblocking of sitios of Puntod and Abya which were hit by a big fire last week.
Sitio Kakahuyan was spared from the fire but belongs to the same block, he explained.
The city will have barangay Lorega as its model because the number of fire victims is almost the same.
Division for the Welfare of the Urban Poor (DWUP) Chief Collin Rosell said the city will restore the 30-meter road span so that there is easy access in the interior of the community.
This is needed for fire fighters and other emergencies where responders struggle with the present narrow roads.
There were 53 houses destroyed in the fire.
Rosell said he was confident that all the victims can still be accommodated in the same area after the reblocking.
“We are still trying to figure out how many square meters will be allocated for each house, but we are very confident that we can fit them in the 4,000-square-meter lot,” Rosell said.
He said DWUP will hold a meeting with displaced families to seek their suggestions for the reblocking.
The area is a no-construction zone for now.
Most of the fire victims are housed in 10 rooms in the Mambaling Elementary School.
Portable showers are stationed in the evacuation center while the Metropolitan Cebu Water District (MCWD) has provided free potable water supply.
“We assure them of a better setup after we are done with all the planning. We will fast track our operation so that we will no longer compromise classes in Mambaling” said Rosell.
Fire investigators have established that electrical misuse and not a butane canister explosion caused the fire.