The remains of Negrense caregiver Leah Mosquera, who was among the casualties of a missile attack in Rehovot, Israel, arrived in Negros Occidental yesterday.
Her family members and friends were joined by Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson and officials of the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) and Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) in an emotional welcome at the Bacolod-Silay Airport.
They carried a banner, which read “Welcome home, Leah Mosquera. Salamat at Paalam. The final journey of a modern-day hero, home at last.”
May Joy Mosquera, also a caregiver in Israel, accompanied the remains of her elder sister.
“She couldn’t talk, but when I visited her at the hospital, I would ask her if she could hear me and if she knew I was beside her. She was responding by opening and closing her eyes,” she said in Hiligaynon during a media interview.
May Joy said she met with Leah the day before the missile attack to give her share of the amount they would send back home.
On July 13, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) confirmed Leah’s death at the intensive care unit of the Shamir Medical Center after she remained in critical condition, following a missile attack on June 15.
Leah’s remains were brought to the St. Jude Funeral Homes in her hometown of San Enrique before arrangements are made for her wake.
Lacson said the province would provide financial aid to the Mosquera family through its Public Employment Services Office.
“We are just preparing the budget, and we will schedule for the family to receive the financial assistance. We will give about P190,000,” the governor said in an interview.
DMW-Negros Island Region Director Glenda Aligonza and OWWA-Western Visayas Director James Mendiola led in providing assistance from the national government to the Mosquera family.
Mendiola said they received a directive from President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. to assist in the return of Leah’s remains home and extend all forms of assistance to her bereaved family.
“On top of the financial assistance, the DMW will also provide the ticket for May’s return to Israel,” Aligonza said. | PNA
