Former Hamas hostage gets P 500,000 from Speaker

Speaker Martin Romualdez gifted P630,000 in aid a repatriated overseas Filipino worker who was held captive by the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas.Romualdez facilitated the release of the assistance package to 33-year-old caregiver Jimmy Pacheco and his family on Wednesday at the House of Representatives.Pacheco was captured by Hamas in Kibbutz Nir Oz in southern Israel during an Oct. 7 attack and was released from captivity on Nov. 24 through efforts of the Philippine government and other organizations. He returned to the country and was reunited with his family on Monday.“We know that this aid package cannot undo the physical and psychological scars that Jimmy Pacheco suffered while being held hostage in Gaza. We cannot begin to imagine what he has witnessed and what pain he has experienced,” the Speaker said.Of the total P630,000 assistance package, P500,000 cash was from the Office of the Speaker; P10,000 each for Pacheco and his wife and P5,000 in educational assistance for each of their three children, all from the Department of Social Welfare and Development’s Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situations; and P95,000 in livelihood assistance from the DSWD’s Sustainable Livelihood program and the Department of Labor and Employment’s Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers or Tupad.

Romualdez told Pacheco, “We welcome you home, Jimmy. And you have our gratitude for being a modern-day hero for your family and for your country.” INQ