Dela Cruz arrives home after hostage ordeal

Dela Cruz arrives home after hostage ordeal

Freed hostage Angelo de la Cruz arrived home to a hero's welcome on Thursday as Manila started to count the diplomatic cost of its decision to withdraw its troops from Iraq to save him from beheading by militants.

Two days after he was released in Baghdad, the 46-year-old was greeted at Manila international airport by his father and eight children before meeting President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, who risked her close ties with Washington to save his life.

He flew back with his wife Arsenia and youngest brother Jesse after being reunited with them on Wednesday night in Abu Dhabi, where he had a medical check-up.

An unknown truck driver until his abduction two weeks ago, de la Cruz has become a high-profile symbol of the 8 million Filipinos working overseas to support their families back home.

"We have prepared a welcome party for Angelo de la Cruz," said Mark Lapid, governor of the driver's home province of Pampanga, north of the capital. "He will be given a hero's welcome not only in his village but by the country."

Source: Agencies