Cheers, tears and beers as hostage goes free
Cheers, tears and beers as hostage goes free
Roli Ng, Reuters/Buenavista, Philippines
Relatives of a Filipino hostage freed in Iraq celebrated his
release with cheers, tears and beers on Tuesday as the Philippine
president defended her decision to yield to the demands of his
kidnappers.
Angelo de la Cruz, a 46-year-old truck driver and father of
eight who had been threatened with beheading, said his abductors
had not hurt him during two weeks captivity that ended a day
after a 51-member force of Filipino troops and police quit Iraq.
President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, breaking a public silence
she maintained throughout the crisis, said she had no regrets for
having pulled out the force one month ahead of schedule in order
to save the life of a compatriot in peril.
"With over one million OFWs (overseas Filipino workers) in the
Middle East and over eight million Filipinos the world over, my
government has a deep national interest in their well-being
wherever they live and work."
The U.S. embassy in Manila issued a statement welcoming de la
Cruz's release without reference to the terms.
De la Cruz looked tired and drawn but fit in television
pictures from Baghdad, where he was released into the care of the
United Arab Emirates embassy then moved to the Philippines
mission pending an expected return home via Abu Dhabi.
In Buenavista, a dirt-road village of low houses with grass or
tin roofs about 90 km north of Manila, members of De la Cruz's
extended family shouted "Long Live GMA" in a reference to Arroyo
as they watched her speak on television.
"Thank you for saving Angelo to beloved Gloria and God
Almighty ... Thank you, Philippines," said his sister Nelia.
Another relative, a great aunt, jumped for joy then buried her
head in her hands to hide tears while other family members feted
De la Cruz's freedom on beer, noodles and chicken.
Government officials had told the family on last Saturday that
he had been released only to row back and shatter their hopes.
De la Cruz was abducted two weeks ago near the town of
Falluja, west of Baghdad, while trucking fuel from Saudi Arabia.
His plight transformed him overnight into an unlikely hero, a
symbol of an army of expatriate workers whose annual remittances
of US$7.5 billion are the lifeblood of families back home and
vital to the indebted country's economy.
Benefits that now await the family include a plot of land for
a new home from a local construction company, scholarships for
several of the children and a promise of a job for De la Cruz
himself from a member of the Philippine Congress.
Hostage-taking has been a tactic used by some rebel groups in
the Philippines, in particular the Abu Sayyaf group. Arroyo made
clear that her action in Iraq did not mean the government would
capitulate to kidnappers at home.
"Every life is important. Angelo's was spared and we
rejoiced," she said. ".... but our people must also know that
will not always be the case. Innocents will come into harm's way
and circumstances may not allow such a successful outcome."