President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. may visit the wake of the Negrense caregiver who was killed by Hamas militants in Israel when her remains arrive at her home in Barangay Cadiz Viejo in Cadiz City, Negros Occidental.
The Cadiz City government is preparing for the possible visit of the president, Mayor Salvador Escalante said on Wednesday, October 18.
Loreta Alacre, 49, and two of her companions, one of whom was her boyfriend, were killed in a Hamas attack in Israel on October 7.
Loreta was the breadwinner of her family. She has seven siblings, and was sending her nieces and nephews to school.
On Tuesday evening, October 17, the youngest of the Alacre siblings, Nelia, who worked in Kuwait also returned to Cadiz with the help of the president.
Nelia, on Wednesday, said the day after she asked the president for help on Sunday when he called to express his condolences, her return to the Philippines was arranged.
She said after the loss of Loreta, her siblings do not want her to return to Kuwait where she had been working as a domestic helper for ten months.
Nelia said Loreta who had gone on her day off on October 6 was on her way back to her employer’s house on Saturday, October 7, with three Chinese nationals, one of whom was her boyfriend.
They were waylaid by the Hamas militants and three of them died. Only one survived, Nelia was told.
She was told that the body of Loreta is in a freezer at a morgue in Israel. There is no definite date yet when Loreta’s remains will arrive in the Philippines.
On Wednesday representatives of House Speaker Martin Romualdez and Tingog Party-list Rep. Yedda Romualdez turned over their P500,000 assistance to the Alacre family at the home in Sitio Camay-an, Barangay Cadiz Viejo, built by Loreta.
Delwyn Layson of Tingog Partylist said aside from P500,000 they will try to help the Alacre family with other needs.
Rep. Alfredo Marañon III (Neg. Occ., 2nd District) and Mayor Escalante joined the Romualdez representatives at the turnover of the funds.
Escalante said arrangements will be made to place the remains of Loreta at a Church near her home should the president visit the wake.
The city government also had the road leading to the Alacre home graded to make it passable, and set up tents for the wake.
The Cadiz City government is providing food assistance to the Alacre family and will look into providing help to the nephews and nieces of Loreta whom she was sending to school, Escalante said.
There are nine Cadiz residents still working in Israel and the majority of them do not want to leave their jobs and come home, he said.
Marañon said he would also be turning over some assistance to the Alacre family and would look into helping Loreta’s nieces and nephews whom she was sending to school.
He was also having the OFWs from the 2nd District working in Israel accounted for to determine if they need assistance, Marañon said.
Hopefully the situation in Israel does not escalate, he said.*