Fifty-two-year-old Faustino Sande was met by wife Nesita and his two grown-up children at Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila early Wednesday morning.

Arab News previously reported that Sande, who had sought help from the embassy’s Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) for his repatriation, underwent surgery on Dec. 23 at King Saud Hospital, where he was admitted on Dec. 15.

Tabuco, a mechanical engineer, told Arab News that all costs were shouldered by Sande’s employer, including his medical bills and plane tickets for him and two compatriots who accompanied him to Manila. Sande also received his end of service benefits.

Sande worked as company nurse for five years with SPIMACO (Saudi Pharmaceutical and Medical Appliances Corporation) before he became ill. The two OFWs who accompanied him were Bryan de la Vega, an analyst at SPIMACO, and Diana Jaligue, nurse at the Ayoun Aljawaa Hospital in Qassim.

Tabuco said Sande was taken to King Khaled International Airport in Riyadh by an ambulance provided by King Saud Hospital.

He said officials from the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) were also at the Manila airport to receive him. An OWWA ambulance arranged by the POLO in the Central Region in Saudi Arabia took Sande and his family to their home in North Fairview, Quezon City.

Tabuco thanked SPIMACO and members of Sampiga who had helped in various ways so that Sande could recover and finally go home to rejoin his family in the Philippines.