SURVIVORS. President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. (right, in light-colored shirt) meets with overseas Filipino workers Jimmy Pacheco and Camille Jesalva at Malacañan Palace in Manila on Friday (Dec. 22, 2023). The two survivors of the attack by the militant Hamas group on Israel on Oct. 7 shared their ordeal with Marcos. (Photo courtesy of the Presidential Communications Office)
MANILA – President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Friday met with two overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who survived the attack launched by the Hamas group on Israel on Oct. 7.
In a statement, Communication Secretary Cheloy Garafil confirmed that Marcos had a meeting with OFWs Jimmy Pacheco and Camille Jesalva, who recounted their ordeal in the hands of Hamas militants.
“President Marcos said he was pleased to meet Pacheco and Jesalva, and that they returned home safely,” Garafil said.
Pacheco, a caregiver in Israel who was among the hostages freed after 50 days of captivity in the hands of the militant group in Gaza, arrived in the Philippines on Dec.18.
On the other hand, Jesalva is a 31-year-old caregiver from Nueva Ecija who became an instant hero in Israel after sharing her story about how she saved herself and her 95-year-old employer when the terrorists entered their house.
Garafil said Pacheco, who was released on Nov. 24 on the first truce, shared with Marcos how their kibbutz was infiltrated by members of the Hamas group who shot his Israeli ward to death.
“He also told the President about his ordeal while in captivity together with other Israelis, and how they moved from one tunnel to another to avoid Israeli troops amid heavy bombardment,” she said.
According to Pacheco, he survived by eating a meager ration of dates and water in his more than 40 days of captivity.
He is one of the two known Filipinos held hostage by the Palestinian militant group during its Oct. 7 rampage in southern Israel that resulted in the death of more than 1,000 people on that day alone.
Noralin Babadilla, the other Filipino national taken hostage in Gaza, was freed days after Pacheco’s release.
Meanwhile, Jesalva earned public admiration because of her courage, dedication, and loyalty as she refused to leave her 95-year-old patient, Nitza Hefetz, during Hamas’ onslaught.
“Jesalva and Nitza were residing in Nirim Kibbutz on the Gaza-Israel border, which was attacked by Hamas on Oct. 7. Several militants entered their home and robbed Jesalva of her money that she was supposed to spend for her planned vacation in the Philippines,” Garafil said.
She and her employer were rescued by responding troops from the Israel Defense Forces on the same day of the attack.
Jesalva, during the meeting at Malacañan, thanked Marcos for his guidance.
“At least nakauwi kayo, at saka Merry Christmas. Napakabigat naman nung experience niyo. Isulat ninyo o i-video ninyo (It’s good that you returned home. Merry Christmas. Your experience is very difficult to bear. Write it or take a video about your story),” Marcos told the OFWs.
“Dapat gawin nating lahat nung mga… lahat ng repatriate. Ikuwento sila, para malaman ng tao kung ano ‘yung pinagdaanan nila. ‘Yung Israeli, mahal naman tayo eh (We should also do it with all repatriates. They should tell their story, so people would know what they went through. The Israelis, they love us),” he added. (PNA)
