ILOILO CITY (PIA6) – The Iloilo provincial government will extend assistance to the family of an Ilongga Overseas Filipino Worker (OFW) who has been killed amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas in Palestine.

Grace Prodigo Cabrera, 45, from Barangay Burak, Maasin, Iloilo province, died after she was abducted by Hamas in Kibbutz Be’eri, Israel.

Prodigo, in a media interview, said that Grace chose to go with the Hamas terrorists to save her octogenarian ward. She was reported missing for over 10 days before the OWWA confirmed her death through her fingerprints last Oct. 19.

The governor also said that they are coordinating with the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) for the repatriation of Grace’s remains, who worked as caregiver in Israel for more than five years; as well as to know the status of other OFWs.

plete contract are eligible to avail themselves of the P10,000 financial assistance.

Stipulated in Provincial Ordinance 2020-245, the P10,000 financial assistance targets repatriated Ilonggo OFWs who’ve faced job loss due to factors in the host nation like political disturbances, civil discord, natural disasters, mistreatment from foreign employers, or health-related issues.

Meanwhile, Defensor acknowledged the sacrifices of the OFWs, saying that the public should not just recognize their efforts during crisis situations, as their decision to be away from their family just to give them a better life is already a selfless act and a “high degree of heroism.”

“Muna nga ginahimo naton ang tanan nga makabulig kita sa kasimanwa naton nga naga-ubra abroad kay ang ila heroism na hindi lang kung may problema or kalamidad or giyera. You know the social cost kung mag-ubra ka sa abroad, that itself is already a high degree of heroism […] because in the language of labor, ang social cost sang pag abroad kag bayaan ang imo pamilya, dira pa lang dako dun na nga bagay, ano pa gid kung mag agwanta ikaw to sang gyera kag kalamidad,” Defensor said. (AAL/JNH/PIA Iloilo)