Russia Deports 24 Filipinos Held Nine Months Without Charges in Irkutsk

Russia released 24 Filipinos who had been held without charges for about nine months in the Siberian city of Irkutsk. The detainees are scheduled to arrive in Manila on two flights early Sunday, June 21, 2026. Philippine Foreign Secretary Theresa Lazaro will greet the first group.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. raised the detentions during a bilateral meeting with President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday, June 17, 2026, in Kazan. Putin told Marcos he had been unaware of the case but promised to examine it.

Russian officials later notified the Philippine delegation that the 24 would be deported immediately to Manila. Marcos, who holds the rotating presidency of ASEAN, had traveled to Kazan to mark the 35th anniversary of ASEAN’s diplomatic relations with Russia. He also led the bloc’s commemoration events at the summit.

Philippine officials said the detainees may have been victims of illegal job recruitment and held for possible immigration violations. The Philippines has no further information on their condition during the nine-month detention, Marcos told reporters after the meeting. About 15,000 Filipinos live and work across Russia, according to Philippine Ambassador to Moscow Igor Bailen.

N. General Assembly resolution condemning Russia’s 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Singapore was the only ASEAN member to impose sanctions on Russia; its prime minister, Lawrence Wong, also attended the Kazan summit.

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