OWWA to finish building house for family of OFW slain in Israel

The Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) has committed to complete the construction of the family home of Loreta Alacre, the slain caregiver in Israel, in Cadiz City, Negros Occidental.

Mayor Salvador Escalante Jr., on Tuesday, relayed the pledge after meeting with OWWA Administrator Arnaldo “Arnell” Ignacio at the wake of Alacre late Monday afternoon.

“Ang isa sa mga napansin ko yung mga pinagagawa ni Loreta hindi natapos. Sabi ko (sa) pamilya, tinanong ko sa pamilya gusto niyo ba tapusin na natin nito (I have noticed that the house being built by Loreta is not finished. I told the family if they want us to finish it),” Ignacio said in a media interview.

Ignacio condoled with the siblings of Alacre at her wake in their residence in Sitio Camay-an, Barangay Cadiz Viejo, following the transport of her remains from the city proper in a hero’s caravan.

“Upon the directive of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and led by our Administrator Arnaldo Ignacio, we will provide financial assistance to the family of overseas Filipino worker (OFW) Alacre. We will also facilitate the burial and funeral expenses,” OWWA-Western Visayas (Region 6) OIC Regional Director Rizza Joy Moldes said.

OWWA-6 assisted the Alacre family since her remains arrived at the Bacolod-Silay Airport on Sunday.

Escalante said the city government would also grant assistance, such as employment for some of Loreta’s immediate family members and educational scholarships for her nephews and nieces.

As a tribute to the Negrense caregiver, her hometown will also name its evacuation facility the “Loreta V. Alacre Evacuation Center.”

The newly constructed building is within the campus of Cadiz Viejo National High School, the alma mater of Alacre, who has been an OFW for 19 years, from 2002 to 2023, first in Taiwan and then in Israel.

Loreta, who was based in Tel Aviv, was attending a music festival near the Gaza Strip when the Hamas attacks took place on Oct. 7.

In a social media post, her employer, Noam Solomon, described her as a “dedicated and devoted” caregiver to their family. (PNA)