Leah Mosquera: Negrense killed in missile attack in Israel was family’s rock

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Leah Mosquera was the second caregiver from Negros Occidental to die as a result of attacks in Israel since 2023

NEGROS OCCIDENTAL, Philippines – Leah Mosquera had been asleep when the missile came screaming through the sky on June 15 and crashed into the apartment she shared with fellow caregivers. It was another explosion in a distant war she had nothing to do with.

Once the jolly presence in her village in Negros Occidental, Mosquera is returning only for the second time since she left for Israel 17 years ago. The first time, she brought chocolates, cookies, and the small joys overseas workers carry for loved ones. This time, she is coming home in a coffin.

For nearly a month, her family in Negros Occidental clung to updates from a hospital and Philippine officials half a world away. Then the call came. The woman they called “Yumo,” the backbone of a household of farmers and dreamers, was gone.

LEAH’S HOME. The Mosquera family home in Negros Occidental stands as something Leah Mosquera helped build. Ambo Delilan/Rappler

The 49-year-old Mosquera had died on Sunday, July 13 at the Shamir Medical Center nearly four weeks after she was critically injured in the Iranian missile strike in Rehovot, an Israeli city near Tel Aviv.

Nicknamed “Yumo” by relatives and neighbors, Mosquera left her farming village in Sitio Kamunsil, Barangay Guintorilan, San Enrique town, in 2008 to work as a caregiver in Israel. She had returned only once, in 2013, to bury her mother, Erlinda.

Her elder sister, Donna, a former caregiver who helped bring Mosquera to Israel, said Yumo, described as “wacky” and known for her generosity, became one of the family’s main providers. 

Donna said her sister held the household together. She was the breadwinner and the anchor for her nephews and nieces. She paid the tuition of two nieces in college and covered the daily allowances of 10 others. When the family home needed repairs, it was Yumo who sent the money.

A graduate of West Negros College in Bacolod with a degree in commerce, Yumo was remembered by her siblings as generous, cheerful, and dependable.

Before she left, Yumo served as barangay treasurer in Guintorilan for more than 10 years.

“We’re really proud of Yumo’s record as barangay treasurer,” Donna said.

San Enrique Mayor Jilson Tubillara also paid tribute to Mosquera’s honesty and public service.

“She left the barangay with no anomalies involving finances. Their family in Guintorilan is also known for honesty and integrity,” Tubillara said.

Mosquera was the second caregiver from Negros Occidental to die as a result of attacks in Israel since 2023. In October that year, 49-year-old Loreta Alacre of Cadiz City was killed during the Hamas attack in southern Israel.

Unlike Alacre, who died instantly, Mosquera fell into a coma and was placed in intensive care following the missile attack that damaged their apartment.

The Philippine embassy in Israel confirmed her death and said it had coordinated with her family during her treatment and final arrangements.

The Negros Occidental provincial government would provide P190,000 in financial assistance to the Mosquera family, according to Karen Dinsay, head of the capitol’s Public Employment Services Office on Monday, July 14.

The capitol’s help desk, established for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in Israel and neighboring countries, is also offering psychosocial support, temporary employment under a cash-for-work program, and scholarships for those who have yet to finish college.

The Mosquera family is now coordinating with the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) and the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) for the repatriation of Mosquera’s remains.

In the meantime, residents of Sitio Kamunsil are preparing for her return, a homecoming not of celebration, but of mourning. – Rappler.com