Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson (right) and the relatives of Leah Mosquera at the Bacolod Silay Airport Thursday morning. *Richard Malihan photo
A “modern-day hero, home at last” was the somber welcome for Leah Mosquera, a Negrense caregiver who tragically died following an Iranian missile attack in Israel.
The remains of Mosquera, 49, from San Enrique, Negros Occidental, arrived at the Bacolod Silay Airport Thursday morning, July 25.
A streamer from the Negros Occidental provincial government at the airport read: “The final journey of a modern day hero, home at last. Welcome home Leah Mosquera, Salamat at Paalam”.
Her casket, which was accompanied by her younger sister Mae Joy Mosquera, who also works as a caregiver in Israel, was met by grieving relatives.
Also present at the airport were Negros Occidental Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson, Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) Negros Island Region Director Glenda Aligonza, and Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) 6 Director James Mendiola.
The remains of Leah Mosquera arrived in a wooden box* Richard Malihan photo
Her body was transported to a funeral home for preparation before being moved to her home in Barangay Guintorilan, San Enrique, for the wake.
TRAGIC ACCOUNT
Mosquera died on July 13 in Israel from severe injuries sustained when an Iranian missile struck her apartment in Rehovot on June 15. She had been critically wounded in the blast.
Mae Joy recounted the harrowing incident, stating that her sister was trapped in a room of their apartment when the missile hit.
“When she opened the door, there was an explosion that hit her chest, and she was pinned beneath the debris,” Mae Joy said.
Mosquera and three other Ilongga flatmates were in their apartment when the missile strike occurred around 2:36 a.m. Three of them were injured, said Mae Joy, who was at work when it happened.
The flatmates had gone to bed at 2 a.m. and did not hear the siren that typically alerts residents of a missile attack.
Part of their apartment that was hit collapsed.
It took nearly 30 minutes to an hour to rescue Mosquera, who was comatose upon arrival at the hospital. She underwent several surgeries but succumbed to her injuries 28 days later.
Mae Joy said she had warned her sister about potential Iranian missile attacks.
Mae Joy Mosquera with OWWA 6 Director James Mendiola, Negros Occidental Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson and DMW Negros Island Region Director Glenda Aligonza (l-r) at the Bacolod Silay Airport.*Richard Malihan photo
GOVERNMENT ASSISTANCE
Lacson said that the Negros Occidental provincial government will provide P190,000 in assistance to Mosquera’s family.
Paying his last respects to Mosquera at the airport, Lacson said “She was an OFW who sacrificed her time away from home to give her family a better life”.
He also pointed out that OFWs, who are modern day heroes, are the biggest contributors to the country’s economy.
“Leah is one of the millions of OFWs who contributed to that coffer,” he said.
The governor said he was told that a friend of Mosquera from Pontevedra town, who sustained injuries in the attack, plans to return to Negros Occidental for a vacation to recover from the trauma.
He assured that the provincial government’s help desk remains open to assist families of Negrense OFWs in Israel who need support.
Donna Mosquera, a sister of Leah, said she is thankful that her remains were brought home so they can see her before she is laid to rest, and to all those in government who have helped them.
Her sister Leah was a happy person who laughed a lot, Donna said.
Leah was sending 12 nieces and nephews to school, and supported their family, her sister Lenie Mosquera said.
OWWA Director Mendiola said that OWWA is shouldering the cost of Mosquera’s funeral services and burial, following instructions from President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to the Department of Migrant Workers and OWWA to assist her family.
There are currently 1,712 Western Visayas residents, including 210 from Negros Occidental, working in Israel.
Mendiola said the Department of Foreign Affairs has lowered the conflict alert level for OFWs in Israel from three to two, allowing returning OFWs to go back to their employers if conditions permit.*