ADVERTISEMENT
Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Romualdez turns over P630,000 in aid to OFW taken hostage by Hamas

Romualdez turns over P630,000 in aid to OFW taken hostage by Hamas

Published Dec 21, 2023 12:17 am

At A Glance

  • House Speaker Martin Romualdez on Wednesday afternoon, Dec. 20, personally handed over P630,000 in assistance package to a Filipino caregiver who was taken hostage and later released by Palestinian Islamist militant group Hamas.

IMG-7705abf4cfa080a22e028a558c8ccc78-V.jpgGelienor “Jimmy” Pacheco (3rd from right), receives an assistance package worth P630,000 from House Speaker Martin Romualdez (2nd found right). Pacheco is accompanied by his family. (Speaker’s office)

House Speaker Martin Romualdez on Wednesday afternoon, Dec. 20, personally handed over P630,000 in assistance package to a Filipino caregiver who was taken hostage and later released by Palestinian Islamist militant group Hamas.

Gelienor “Jimmy” Pacheco, 33 years old, was taken by Hamas in Kibbutz Nir Oz in southern Israel during the group’s Oct. 7 attack against Israel.

He was subsequently released on Nov. 24 through the efforts of the Philippine government and other organizations.

“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,” said Romualdez.

“But we do hope that this government assistance will send a message to Jimmy, his family and to all Filipinos that the government is there for you and that it will do everything to show that it cares for you, especially during times of great need,” the Speaker added.

Pacheco was accompanied by his wife, Clarice Joy, his mother, Felicitas, and his three children.

His family received P500,000 in cash from the Office of the Speaker, which he received in person together with his family.

Pacheco and his wife also received P10,000 each from the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) under the program Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situations (AICS).

Under AICS, his three children also received P5,000 each in educational assistance.

Additionally, Pacheco and his wife were granted P95,000 in livelihood assistance. In particular, P15,000 from the Sustainable Livelihood Program (SLP) of the DSWD and P40,000 from the Department of Labor and Employment’s (DOLE) Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers (TUPAD).

In total, the aid package accumulated to P630,000.

“We welcome you home, Jimmy. And you have our gratitude for being a modern-day hero for your family and for your country,” Romualdez said to the 33-year-old caregiver.

“Itinuturing nating bayani ang ating mga OFWs na nakikipagsapalaran sa ibang bansa at tinitiis na malayo sa pamilya. We recognize your contribution to nation-building,” he noted.

(We consider our OFWs heroes who venture abroad and endure being away from family.)

Related Tags

Israel Martin Romualdez HAMAS
ADVERTISEMENT
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1561_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1562_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1563_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}

{{ articles_filter_1564_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.mb-article-details { position: relative; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview, .mb-article-details .article-body-summary{ font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; font-family: "Libre Caslon Text", serif; color: #000; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview iframe , .mb-article-details .article-body-summary iframe{ width: 100%; margin: auto; } .read-more-background { background: linear-gradient(180deg, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0) 13.75%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0.8) 30.79%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000) 72.5%); position: absolute; height: 200px; width: 100%; bottom: 0; display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: center; padding: 0; } .read-more-background a{ color: #000; } .read-more-btn { padding: 17px 45px; font-family: Inter; font-weight: 700; font-size: 18px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; border: 1px solid black; background-color: white; } .hidden { display: none; }
function initializeAllSwipers() { // Get all hidden inputs with cms_article_id document.querySelectorAll('[id^="cms_article_id_"]').forEach(function (input) { const cmsArticleId = input.value; const articleSelector = '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .body_images'; const swiperElement = document.querySelector(articleSelector); if (swiperElement && !swiperElement.classList.contains('swiper-initialized')) { new Swiper(articleSelector, { loop: true, pagination: false, navigation: { nextEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-next', prevEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-prev', }, }); } }); } setTimeout(initializeAllSwipers, 3000); const intersectionObserver = new IntersectionObserver( (entries) => { entries.forEach((entry) => { if (entry.isIntersecting) { const newUrl = entry.target.getAttribute("data-url"); if (newUrl) { history.pushState(null, null, newUrl); let article = entry.target; // Extract metadata const author = article.querySelector('.author-section').textContent.replace('By', '').trim(); const section = article.querySelector('.section-info ').textContent.replace(' ', ' '); const title = article.querySelector('.article-title h1').textContent; // Parse URL for Chartbeat path format const parsedUrl = new URL(newUrl, window.location.origin); const cleanUrl = parsedUrl.host + parsedUrl.pathname; // Update Chartbeat configuration if (typeof window._sf_async_config !== 'undefined') { window._sf_async_config.path = cleanUrl; window._sf_async_config.sections = section; window._sf_async_config.authors = author; } // Track virtual page view with Chartbeat if (typeof pSUPERFLY !== 'undefined' && typeof pSUPERFLY.virtualPage === 'function') { try { pSUPERFLY.virtualPage({ path: cleanUrl, title: title, sections: section, authors: author }); } catch (error) { console.error('ping error', error); } } // Optional: Update document title if (title && title !== document.title) { document.title = title; } } } }); }, { threshold: 0.1 } ); function showArticleBody(button) { const article = button.closest("article"); const summary = article.querySelector(".article-body-summary"); const body = article.querySelector(".article-body-preview"); const readMoreSection = article.querySelector(".read-more-background"); // Hide summary and read-more section summary.style.display = "none"; readMoreSection.style.display = "none"; // Show the full article body body.classList.remove("hidden"); } document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", () => { let loadCount = 0; // Track how many times articles are loaded const offset = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]; // Offset values const currentUrl = window.location.pathname.substring(1); let isLoading = false; // Prevent multiple calls if (!currentUrl) { console.log("Current URL is invalid."); return; } const sentinel = document.getElementById("load-more-sentinel"); if (!sentinel) { console.log("Sentinel element not found."); return; } function isSentinelVisible() { const rect = sentinel.getBoundingClientRect(); return ( rect.top < window.innerHeight && rect.bottom >= 0 ); } function onScroll() { if (isLoading) return; if (isSentinelVisible()) { if (loadCount >= offset.length) { console.log("Maximum load attempts reached."); window.removeEventListener("scroll", onScroll); return; } isLoading = true; const currentOffset = offset[loadCount]; window.loadMoreItems().then(() => { let article = document.querySelector('#widget_1690 > div:nth-last-of-type(2) article'); intersectionObserver.observe(article) loadCount++; }).catch(error => { console.error("Error loading more items:", error); }).finally(() => { isLoading = false; }); } } window.addEventListener("scroll", onScroll); });
Join Our Newsletters

Sign up by email to receive news.

© 2025 Manila Bulletin The Nation's Leading Newspaper. All Rights Reserved.