Russia Deports 24 Filipinos Held Nine Months in Irkutsk After Marcos-Putin Meeting

Russia released 24 Filipinos who had been held without charges for about nine months in Irkutsk, Siberia, after Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. raised the matter with President Vladimir Putin on June 17. The two dozen detainees were scheduled to arrive in Manila on two flights early Sunday, June 21, with the first group to be met by Foreign Secretary Theresa Lazaro, the Department of Foreign Affairs in Manila said.

Lazaro had accompanied Marcos to the bilateral talks held on the sidelines of the ASEAN-Russia Commemorative Summit in Kazan. Marcos, who holds the rotating presidency of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, told reporters after the meeting that he had raised the detention of the Filipinos during his conversation with Putin.

He said the Philippines had no further information on their condition at that time.

Putin told Marcos he was unaware of the problem but promised to look into it, Marcos said. Over dinner the same day, Putin added that the Filipinos had not been charged with any wrongdoing and said, "Don't worry, we will find a way to fix this problem," according to Marcos. Russian officials later notified the Philippine delegation that the 24 would be deported immediately to Manila.

Reports indicated the detainees may have been victims of illegal job recruitment and held for possible immigration violations, Philippine officials said. The summit in Kazan marked the 35th anniversary of ASEAN's diplomatic relations with Russia.

General Assembly resolution condemning Russia's 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Singapore was the only ASEAN member to impose sanctions on Russia; Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong also attended the Kazan summit. About 15,000 Filipinos live and work across Russia, according to Philippine Ambassador to Moscow Igor Bailen.

Marcos met with President Donald Trump last year in the Oval Office to discuss trade.