Bacolod City – In relation to the pressing issue of red-striped soft scale insects (RSSI) infestation of sugarcane crops in Negros Occidental, the Israeli government will be sending an agricultural expert to the province to run tests and provide technological solutions, its Consul Mito Cohen disclosed recently.
“Next week there will be an agricultural expert from Israel that will come to Negros to deal with and test infestation on sugarcanes here and look for a technological solution,” he said.
Israel is promoting its technological advancements across the country, including Negros as one of the beneficiaries.
Cohen also vowed that they are willing to share their knowledge and technologies to solve environmental issues like water pollution, which is also one of the issues in the Philippines.
“We hope we can learn from them, and maybe they can help us in addressing the present infestation,” Negros Occidental Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson said.
The province is facing an issue of RSSI infestations of sugarcane. This pest is usually found on the lower surfaces of the middle leaf portion of sugarcane and might reduce sugar content by as much as 50 percent, unless it is contained, according to studies conducted by the University of the Philippines.
Meanwhile, The Government of Israel, represented by Consul Mito Cohen, assured the family of Leah Mosquera, an overseas Filipino worker, who was killed in their war against Iran, that they will provide benefits to the bereaved family and cover all the expenses for the funeral.
“The state of Israel is relating to anyone who was hurt from an act of terror. Every benefit that the citizens [Israelis] are getting, the same goes to all foreign nationals that were hit by missiles or any act of terror,” Cohen disclosed in an interview.
Among the benefits to be given were financial support and health insurance to the family. This includes the back-and-forth travel expenses of Mae Joy Mosquera, the sister of the deceased OFW who also worked and will still be working in Israel, Cohen said.
The Israeli government is working closely with its national insurance and with the embassy in Manila for the faster process of the release of the benefits and funds to all victims, including Mosquera.
“It is easy to coordinate with the authorities [in the embassy] because here we have the distance and language barrier, but we in the embassy with my team are helping everyone to get the benefit they are entitled to,” he added.
Cohen paid a courtesy visit with Negros Occidental Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson to discuss matters regarding the death of Mosquera.
Lacson said that the purpose of the consul’s visit was to condole and cater to the needs of the bereaved family. Afterwards, Cohen visited the office of San Enrique Mayor Jilson Tubillara, and the wake of Mosquera in her residence.
Despite the ongoing war, there are still about 30,000 OFWs currently working in Israel. According to Cohen, Filipinos chose to stay because they feel safe due to Israel’s capacity to intercept missile attacks and other defense forces.
Filipinos are observing the same safety measures as Israelis, and the country is getting back to normal after the attacks.
During that attack in June, Iranian forces launched more than 500 missiles at various Israeli cities, but most were intercepted by Israel due to its anti-ballistic technology. Unfortunately, some missiles hit various cities, which resulted in the deaths of 30 civilians, including Mosquera, Cohen stated.
“During our war, Israel always attacks military targets, but the Iranians hit civilian targets, and unfortunately they hit civilians; most of them are Israelis, but there’s also a Filipino victim,” he claimed. (Richard Caballero Jr via tvds photo by tvds)