The Embassy of Israel in Manila, in partnership with the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) and the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), recently held a solemn ceremony in Makati to mark the second year since the October 7 attack by Hamas against Israel.
Guests well welcomed at the venue by an exhibition dedicated to the women heroes of October 7.
The ceremony proper paid tribute to Angelyn Aguirre, Loreta Alacre, Grace Cabrera, and Paul Vincent Castelvi; all were overseas Filipino workers murdered by Hamas while protecting those under their care. Also honored were Cydrick Garin, a Filipino-Israeli soldier in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) who was killed in action; and Leah Mosquera, who sustained injuries from an Iranian missile attack during Operation Rising Lion and later passed away.
The heroism of two terror attack survivors, Camille Jesalva-Junio and Gelienor “Jimmy” Pacheco, was also recognized. Jesalva-Junio is a former caregiver who offered her measly savings to a Hamas militant to save herself and elderly ward.
Pacheco who was held captive in Gaza for 49 days, narrated his harrowing experience, surviving days without food and enduring extreme conditions in underground tunnels, and at times resorting to eating tissue to stay alive. He named his newborn daughter Israela in tribute to resilience and the enduring friendship between the Filipino and Israeli people.
Ambassador Dana Kursh led the ceremony alongside DMW Secretary Hans Leo Cacdac and OWWA Administrator Patricia Yvonne Caunan.
During the ceremony, Secretary Cacdac presented Ambassador Kursh with a Tagalog translation of the book “One Day in October,” a joint initiative of the Embassy and the DMW. The translated edition that includes stories of heroism and features Jesalva-Junio’s personal account of the attack, was developed in collaboration with the Commission on the Filipino Language.
Secretary Cacdac stressed the Filipino caregivers’ decision to stay with their patients during the attack reflected the deep compassion and professionalism of Filipino workers abroad. “They chose to stay, to protect, and to serve. That is the Filipino spirit,” he said.
In her remarks, Ambassador Kursh expressed her hope for every one “to heal, to keep on hoping, to keep on praying for peace, and to keep the unity of all of us fighting for peace. We must continue to defeat terrorism and to hold on to hope, heroism, and healing.”
