Negrense caregiver confirmed as 3rd Philippines fatality

BACOLOD CITY, Philippines — Another Filipina – also a caregiver – has been confirmed to be among the casualties in attacks by the militant Hamas group in Israel, the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) said yesterday.

Details on the death of 49-year-old Loreta Villarin Alacre were not immediately available, but her elder sister Annabella Alacre said she was at the Supernova Music Festival outside the Re’im Kibbutz near the Gaza Strip when Hamas militants arrived and went on a killing spree last weekend.

Two other Filipino caregivers – Angelyn Aguirre from Pangasinan and Paul Vincent Castelvi from Pampanga – were also among the fatalities in the Hamas attacks.

The DMW notified Annabella of the death of her sister who had been working for 15 years as a caregiver in Haifa and Tel Aviv.

Annabella said Loreta, of Barangay Cadiz Viejo, Cadiz City, Negros Occidental, stepped in as the family breadwinner following the death of their parents. She had also financed the education of her nephews and nieces, according to Annabella.

As arranged by Bacolod Rep. Greg Gasataya, Annabella said she was able to talk with DMW officer-in-charge Hans Cacdac, who promised to provide educational and livelihood support to Loreta’s bereaved loved ones as well to the families of other Filipino workers killed in the Hamas attacks.

In an interview over a radio program hosted by Gasataya, Cacdac revealed they were coordinating with Israeli authorities for the repatriation of Loreta’s remains to the Philippines for burial in Cadiz City.

Negros Occidental Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson and Cadiz City Mayor Salvador Escalante Jr. have also promised to provide assistance to the family of Alacre.

Lacson said the provincial government has a Migrant Resource Center staffed with personnel on standby to assist Negros residents in seeking help for the repatriation of family members in Israel. MRC records showed there are 231 OFWs from Negros Occidental working in Israel.