The body of the Negrense caregiver who was killed by Hamas militants in Israel on October 7 arrived in Cadiz City, Negros Occidental, on Sunday, October 22.
Relatives of Loreta Alacre, 49, especially her sisters, wailed and were inconsolable as the wooden box containing her body was unloaded from a plane that landed at the Bacolod Silay Airport at about 5:37 a.m. Sunday.
Her body was brought to the Beniabon Funeral Parlor in Cadiz City and will be transferred to the home she built in Barangay Cadiz Viejo at 1 p.m. Monday, Cadiz Mayor Salvador Escalante said.
The Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) and the Cadiz City government will give her a hero’s welcome during the transfer of her body, Escalante said.
Rizza Moldes, OWWA 6 regional director in Western Visayas, said financial assistance would be given to the family of Alacre upon the instructions of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
The government, she said, would also facilitate Alacre’s funeral and burial expenses.
The nieces and nephews of Alacre whom she was sending to school will be included in a scholarship program and livelihood assistance for the family will also be provided after the funeral, she said.
Moldes said a hero’s welcome would be given to Alacre for the sacrifice she gave, not just to her family, but also for her heroism as an overseas Filipino worker (OFW).
Loreta, along with her Chinese boyfriend, was killed in a Hamas attack as she was returning to the house of her employer in Israel after her day off.
Lorena and Anabella Alacre, sisters of Loreta, said her physical appearance was not the same, she did not look good when the box containing her body was opened.
They plan on burying her at the Caduha-an Cemetery in Cadiz City on November 5, Lorena said.
Loreta had been planning to come home in December for her 50th birthday on December 13. The last time she had visited the family in Cadiz City was in 2015, Anabella said.
“We love Loreta very much, she was very kind to all of us”, Anabella said.
“I am very angry at the people who did this to her, she would still be with us today if they had spared her,” Anabella said.
Lorena and Anabella thanked all those who have helped their family in their hour of grief.*