Ambassador Ilan visited the family of Loreta Alacre, one of the 4 OFWs murdered by Hamas on October 7th. He also went to see the evacuation center named after Alacre as a tribute of the city government to her heroism.
BACOLOD CITY – Israeli Ambassador to the Philippines Ilan Fluss met with the family of Negrense caregiver Loreta Alacre, who was killed in the Hamas attacks in October last year, in Cadiz City as part of his five-day visit to Negros Occidental.
“My first visit when I arrived on Friday morning was to Cadiz. I went to Cadiz to meet with the family,” Fluss said in an interview here Monday afternoon.
The then 49-year-old Alacre, unmarried and without children, left behind her six sisters and a brother in Sitio Camay-an, Barangay Cadiz Viejo.
Based in Tel Aviv, she had worked in Israel for about 15 years and was attending the Supernova Music Festival outside the Re’im Kibbutz near the Gaza Strip when the attacks took place.
Fluss, who also met with Cadiz City Mayor Salvador Escalante Jr., said he also visited the evacuation center named after Alacre as a tribute of the city government to her heroism.
Cadiz Viejo National High School, her alma mater, unveiled the Loreta V. Alacre Evacuation Center marker in its compound on the same day of her interment on Nov. 5.
Fluss said the members of the Alacre family, though sad in a way, have shown resilience.
“Looks to me that they are okay, they’re resilient. They got assistance from our government. They also got some assistance from the governor, the mayor, and the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration,” he said.
Fluss said being resilient like the Alacre family is also what he sees in Israel after the Hamas attacks.
“Sad, but on the other hand, resilient, which is for me, that’s what I see in Israel. On one side, you see the families, it’s really very sad. On the other hand, you need to have hope, and you need to believe in a better future,” he said.
Fluss said his family has a connection to Bacolod City, the hometown of his children’s former nanny, who worked for their family when he was first assigned to the Philippines in the ‘90s.
He said Israel still needs more Filipino workers, but he acknowledged that the deployment of new overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) to Israel is still not allowed for now.
“They get a full package, not only salary. They get a pension plan and insurance. OFWs are treated exactly like Israelis. We don’t discriminate,” he added. (PNA)
By Nanette Guadalquiver | Philippine News Agency
Link: https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1226144