OFW held hostage by Hamas back in PH to spend Christmas with family --- By JOVILAND RITA, GMA Integrated News

Overseas Filipino worker (OFW) Jimmy Pacheco, who was held hostage and later freed by militant group Hamas, arrived in the Philippines on Monday morning. Pacheco was welcomed by his family at the airport, according to GMA Integrated News' Sandra Aguinaldo. In a press conference, Pacheco said that it will be his first time to celebrate Christmas with his family since he started working in Israel. “Sa Paskong ito masayang-masaya at ito iyong unang Pasko na mangyayari sa amin na magsama-sama since nag-OFW ako,” he said. (This Christmas will be joyful because this is the first Christmas that we will spend together since I started working as an OFW.) Although the Philippine and Israel government vowed to provide assistance to Pachecos family, the 33-year-old Filipino caregiver said he will still return to Israel for work to secure the future of his family. “Gaya ng sinabi ko po sa asawa ko, babalik po ako ng Israel dahil para ma-secure ko po kahit ganoon iyong nakaraan ko, maibigay ko lang iyong gusto kong gawin sa kanila. Kasi ganun naman dapat iyong magulang,” he said. (Like what I've told my wife, I will return to Israel to secure the future of my family in spite of what I have been through so I can give them what they need. That's what a parent should do.) “At saka ayaw ko pong maranasan nila iyong paghihirap ko simula bata hanggang ngayon na naghihirap pa rin, ayaw ko pong iparanas sa kanila kaya babalik po,” he added. (And I don’t want them to experience the struggle that I faced since I was a child, that is why I will go back to Israel.) Pacheco was freed along with 10 Thai workers held by Hamas on November 24. They had been in captivity in Gaza City since the group’s attack on Israel on October 7 where over 200 people were kidnapped. The Philippine government said it will provide livelihood and scholarship assistance to Pacheco’s family, while the Israeli government promised to give the OFW lifetime benefits. —KBK, GMA Integrated News

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