President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. confirmed on Saturday the release of Filipino national Gelienor “Jimmy” Pacheco on Friday, a few weeks after he was held hostage by the Palestinian militant group Hamas.

“I am overjoyed to confirm that a Filipino, Mr. Gelienor ‘Jimmy’ Pacheco, was among the first group of 24 hostages released by the Hamas yesterday,” President Marcos said on his official X [formerly Twitter] account.

President Marcos said that Pacheco is now in the custody of the Philippine Embassy in Israel.

The President lauded the Philippine Foreign Services and thanked the State of Qatar for their invaluable assistance in securing the freedom of Pacheco.

Pacheco, 33, was taken hostage on October 7.

With Pacheco’s release, President Marcos said that the government remains concerned about the whereabouts of Filipino national Noralyn Babadilla who is reportedly one of the foreign nationals held hostage by the Hamas group.

President Marcos said that the Philippine government will not waste time to ensure her release if found that she is one of the group’s hostages.

“We remain concerned over the whereabouts of our other national, Ms. Noralyn Babadilla, and are sparing no effort to locate and secure her if she is indeed found to be one of the hostages,” President Marcos said.

“We pray for the continued success of the truce and for all hostages to be released,” he added.

The chief executive assured the Filipino people in Israel and their loved ones in the Philippines that the government will continue monitoring the situation in the war-torn areas and coordinating with international counterparts to ensure their welfare and safety. |PND