Negros Occidental OFW slain in Israel laid to rest
BACOLOD CITY – An overseas Filipino worker (OFW) killed in the ongoing war between Hamas and Israel was laid to rest in a public cemetery in Barangay Caduha-an, Cadiz City, Negros Occidental on Sunday, November 5.
A Mass was offered to Loreta “Daday” V. Alacre at the Saint Peregrine Parish in Cadiz before her interment.
Alacre, 49, of Barangay Cadiz Viejo, Cadiz, died in an attack by Hamas militants against Israel at the Gaza Strip while she attending a music festival on October 7.
She was among the four Filipino fatalities in the ongoing war and breadwinner of her family as she had worked 15 years as a caregiver in Tel Aviv, Israel.
Cadiz Mayor Salvador Escalante Jr. said that Alacre was really beyond copycat as she always thought of her family’s welfare.
“May Daday’s case serve as an eye opener to all OFWS from Cadiz and their respective families to always value their earnings by being canny enough,” Escalante said as he appealed to other families of OFWS from Cadiz to be “prudent” in spending the income of their loved ones abroad.
Escalante led the unveiling of a marker for the Loreta (Daday) V. Alacre Evacuation Center (LVAEC) at the Cadiz Viejo National High School (CVNHS) compound as the province celebrated the 125th Al Cinco de Noviembre or Negros Day, which commemorates the revolt of the people of Negros against the Spanish colonizers in 1898.
Naming the newly established evacuation center after her is the city government’s way of saying “Thank You, Daday!” for putting Cadiz in the world map as “Home to Great Heroine,” Escalante said.
“She’s our ‘Bagong Bayani’ thus she deserves this lasting marker within an edifice fit and worthy to be her remembrance to all of us,” he added.
Escalante said that the LVAEC will always serve as a reminder to the people of Cadiz that they have their own heroine.
“Daday will be with us forever,” he said, adding that she was an icon of perseverance, persistency, hope, and selflessness.
“She’s finally out of our sight, but her lasting memories highlighted by her unique heroism will forever linger in us,” the mayor said.
He thanked the city council for passing a resolution on LVAEC.
The city government will discuss with the Alacre family the possible lifetime assistance it could extend such as the employment of any of the seven remaining siblings, scholarship for nieces and nephews, and livelihood.
“We will do our share in helping Daday realizes her ‘dreams’ even in death for her beloved family,” Escalante said.
The government of Israel had condoled with the Alacre family when Israeli Consul Moti Cohen flew to the Philippines to personally console them and visit Alacre’s wake. Cohen also gave assistance to the victim’s family. (Glazyl Masculino)