About 300 fans and local officials came to the Mactan Cebu International Airport upon his arrival on Sunday night, but there was only one face that Mt. Everest climber Heradio "Leo" Oracion was dying to see. When he finally saw her, Oracion fought back tears as he kissed and tightly hugged his five-year-old daughter Leah Marie Angela, whom he had not seen in four months. "Matagal na kami hindi nagkita miss na miss ko na siya (We have not seen each other for a long time. That is why I miss her so much)," said Oracion who brought his daughter's drawing with him when he made the historic climb to Mt. Everest, the world's highest peak, on May 17. It was only after he had seen his daughter that Oracion went out of the airport to face his fans, mostly his neighbors in Barangay Cubacub, who were proud of his feat. Oracion's daughter fever but still went to the airport with her aunt and aunt Loreta as she too longed to see her father. According to Loreta, Leah had a slight fever when she arrived from her mother's hometown in Dalaguete, about 85.1 kilometers south of Cebu City, also to attend the festivities, celebrating her father's arrival. The girl's mother Angel used to be an employee of Shangri-La Mactan Island Resort and Spa in Lapu-Lapu City. She was reassigned to a branch of Shangri-La in Amman, Jordan in February. Oracion and five members of the First Philippine Mt. Everest Expedition (FPMEE) arrived at the Mactan airport at 6:10 p.m. on board Philippine Airlines PR Flight 849. The flight was delayed for more than two hours, as the plane was expected to arrive at 4 p.m. With Oracion were FPMEE head Arturo Valdez, expedition physician Ted Esguerra, expedition photographer Voltaire Velasco, PAL executive officer John Fortes and Erwin "Pastor" Emata, also of the FPMEE team and the second Filipino to reach the Mt. Everest Summit. Upon reaching the arrival lounge of the airport, the group was given a warm welcome by Mandaue City officials led by Councilor Allan Borbajo, a neighbor of Oracion in Cubacub. Mandaue Mayor Thadeo Ouano was not in the airport, but he called Oracion in the cellular phone to express his congratulations. When Oracion stepped out of the airport, he was greeted by the drum and bugle corps of the Mandaue City Comprehensive High School, complete with dancing majorettes. About 300 fans lined the arrival area of the Mactan airport - all chanting Oracion's name. The warm welcome overwhelmed Oracion. "I don't expect that these number of people will come to greet me here," he told Cebu Daily News. "Daghan kaayong salamat sa pag-sugat (Thank you very much for the warm welcome)." Oracion, Emata and Valdez boarded a dark blue pick-up, which was escorted by motorcycle cops and the members of the drum and bugle corps, who continued playing on board a Mandaue City-owned dump truck. About 30 vehicles joined the convoy to Oracion's home in Deca Homes Subdivision, Cubacub. About 600 residents greeted Oracion at the village rotunda. They immediately set off firecrackers. A 30-minute program followed. Neighbors rendered song and dance numbers for Oracion. Asclefiades Corro, president of Deca Homes Homeowners Association, described Oracion in three words - "determination, devotion and dedication." Because of these, he added, Oracion was able to climb 29,035 feet to reach Everest's summit. In the middle of the program, Oracion went up on stage and gave profuse thanks to his neighbors for giving him a hero's welcome. After Everest, Oracion is now set to conquer two more mountains - Mt. Cho Oyu in Nepal and Mt. McKinly in Alaska. Mt. Cho Oyu, 8,158.8 meters, is considered the sixth highest mountain in the world. It is located in the central Himalaya Mountains on the border of Nepal and China. Mt. McKinly at 20,320 feet, has the highest peak on the north American continent and is considered the largest mountain in the world. Like his preparation for the Mt. Everest climb, Oracion includes prayer as part of his daily regimen. "Aside from my regular practice everyday, I'd always pray to God to give me strength (to achieve my goals). Prayer is a big help talaga," he said. He could not forget what he saw at the summit of Mt. Everest - the area was filled with "prayer flag." According to Valdez, the expedition team leader, the peaks of Mt. Cho Oyu and Mt. McKinly were smaller than Mt. Everest, but the temperature was colder than Everest. He said the FPMEE members have been conducting continuous training until its second expedition in September next year for their climb to Mt. Cho Oyu. In the meantime, Oracion will spend one more day in Cebu before flying back to Manila on Tuesday. On Monday, he will be at the Mandaue City Hall to hoist the Philippine flag in commemoration of the Independence Day. Oracion will also receive P25,000 in check and a plaque from Mandaue City Government for the honor he has brought to the country.