Russian authorities have freed 24 Filipino citizens who spent months behind bars without facing any charges in a Siberian city, Philippine officials announced Saturday. The breakthrough came after Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. personally brought up their situation during a face-to-face meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The 24 individuals were expected to land in Manila aboard two separate flights early Sunday morning. Philippine Foreign Secretary Theresa Lazaro, who had traveled with Marcos to his talks with Putin on Wednesday in the Russian city of Kazan, was set to welcome the first group of returnees, according to the Department of Foreign Affairs in Manila.
Marcos was in Kazan representing the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, as he currently holds the bloc’s rotating presidency. He and other leaders of the 11-nation group gathered to mark the 35th anniversary of ASEAN’s diplomatic ties with Russia. On the sidelines of that summit, Marcos held a one-on-one meeting with Putin.
The speed of the release drew attention, coming just days after Marcos raised the issue on Wednesday. The Philippines is a close treaty ally of the United States in Asia and was among the majority of ASEAN nations that backed a United Nations General Assembly resolution condemning Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Singapore was the sole ASEAN member to impose sanctions on Russia, and Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong also attended the Kazan summit.
Speaking to reporters following his meeting with Putin, Marcos said he had expressed concern about the Filipinos, who had been held for roughly nine months in the city of Irkutsk in southeastern Siberia with no charges filed against them. He noted that the Philippines had little information about their well-being.
Philippine officials said there were reports suggesting the detained individuals may have been lured by illegal job recruiters and then detained in Russia over possible immigration violations.
Putin told Marcos he had not been aware of the situation but pledged to look into it. Later that evening over dinner, the Russian leader informed Marcos that the Filipinos had not been found guilty of any wrongdoing. Marcos recalled Putin saying, “Don’t worry, we will find a way to fix this problem.” Shortly after, Russian officials notified the Philippine delegation that the Filipinos would be deported and sent back to Manila right away.
According to Philippine Ambassador to Moscow Igor Bailen, approximately 15,000 Filipinos currently live and work throughout Russia.
