• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
As the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) prepares the repatriation of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in Israel, the sister of one of the missing Filipinos, who is from Negros Occidental, is hopeful that Loreta Alacre is still alive and well.
Annabella Alacre went to the Provincial Capitol in Bacolod City yesterday to seek the assistance of Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson after reporting the plight of her sister to the DMW and the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA).
She said her younger sister was among the party revelers attending the Supernova Music Festival outside the Re’im Kibbutz, near the Gaza Strip, when the place was attacked by Hamas fighters.
Lacson assured the family of Alacre of help from the provincial government.
“The OWWA is doing its best to connect to all Filipinos in Israel, who wants to come back to the Philippines,” he said.
The governor also said the provincial government has a Migrant Resource Center (MRC) at the third floor of the Provincial Capitol to assist Negrenses, who may seek help for the repatriation of their family members in Israel.
MRC records show there are 231 OFWs from Negros Occidental, including 64 from highly-urbanized Bacolod City, who are working in Israel and are OWWA members.
In a press briefing, DMW officer-in-charge Undersecretary Hans Leo Cacdac yesterday said they have already received 22 requests for repatriation, including 19 caregivers and three hotel workers.
Meanwhile, the Department of Foreign Affairs has confirmed that two Filipinos among the six reported missing were killed amid the armed conflict between Israeli forces and the Hamas Islamist group.
The victims were identified as a 36-year-old female from Pangasinan who had been working in Israel for six years, and a 42-year-old male from Pampanga. | GB
