by Jay Deshmukh
BAGHDAD, July 20 (AFP) - A Filipino taken hostage and threatened with beheading enjoyed his first taste of freedom on Tuesday thanks to the hasty exit of Manila`s troops from Iraq against the wishes of the Iraqi government.
"I am fine and relaxed. I am extremely happy and I can`t say anything more than this," Angelo de la Cruz told AFP in a small room at the Philippine embassy where he was taken after being dropped outside the United Arab Emirates compound.
Dressed in a striped T-shirt the father of eight was heard speaking to officials in Manila on the telephone saying over and again: "Thank you, thank you. I am happy to be free."
The release was announced less than 24 hours after the last of a tiny presence of Philippine soldiers and police crossed into Kuwait from Iraq heading for home, as demanded by the kidnappers.
Manila`s decision to bow to the militants` pressure to pull out its 51-strong military contingent drew sharp rebukes from Baghdad and Washington who feared it would only further fuel a hostage crisis that has engulfed Iraq since April.
The Philippine government has ignored the criticism, saying its actions were consistent with its national interest.
"I just spoke to him and his health is good, his spirits high and he sends best wishes to every Filipino," Philippine President Gloria Arroyo said.
De la Cruz was dropped off on a street corner outside the UAE embassy at 10:30 am (0630 GMT) and told to walk towards the building.
"We were surprised this morning when the Philippine hostage Angelo de la Cruz was set free in our embassy," said UAE charge d`affaires Hamed al-Shamisi, adding that the UAE had agreed to transport the 46-year-old to Dubai where he will undergo medical check-ups.
The slim-built trucker was turned over to the Philippine deputy foreign minister, Rafael Seguis -- who came to Baghdad with a team of officials after the hostage drama erupted -- and Philippine charge d`affaires, Ricardo Andaya, who escorted him to Manila`s modest compound in eastern Baghdad.
"He has talked to his wife and he is looking forward to going home to see his children," said Henry Omaga-diaz, a reporter with the Philippine network ABS CBN who was allowed a rare audience with the trucker-turned-cause-celebre.
The former hostage looked clean shaven and was eating a Philippine noodle delicacy called `pancit`, he said.
The kidnapped Filipino was employed by a Saudi company working with US troops based in Iraq. He was taken by the militants and paraded on the Arabic satellite television Al-Jazeera television on July 7.
In another happy ending, an Egyptian truck driver taken hostage in Iraq was released on Monday after his employer also agreed to withdraw its presence from the country, but it was unclear if a ransom -- also demanded by the kidnappers of Sayed Mohammed Sayed al-Garbawi -- had been paid.
Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari said last week that Manila`s decision to succumb to the hostage-takers` threats would set a "bad precedent" and may encourage more abductions.
"This in my view and the view of the Iraqi government has set a bad precendent and sends the wrong messages. Terrorists won`t be rewarded otherwise this will repeat itself," Zebari said.
Iraq has been the centre of a hotage crisis tageting foreign workers who are used by militant groups as political pawns in a deadly game. Some have been released, others killed -- often by decapitation -- and some are still missing.