Philippine town welcomes freed hostage but more seek jobs abroad

0 Comments | AFP, July, 2004

BUENAVISTA, Philippines (AFP) — With eight children and a wife to care for, Angelo de La Cruz -- the Filipino hostage who returned home from Iraq -- found the prospect of higher-paid work overseas the best option.

Fifteen years ago the 46-year-old driver took a job in Saudi Arabia so he could sent much-needed money to his family back home, like the seven million Filipinos left with little choice but to seek a living overseas.

It was the promise of hefty bonuses that tempted De La Cruz to run the gauntlet driving fuel trucks over the border into Iraq -- a decision that nearly cost him his life.

On July 4, he was snatched by Islamic militants. After a 17-day hostage ordeal, he was released Tuesday after President Gloria Arroyo had complied with the captors'...