Russia and Philippines Secure Release of 24 Detained Filipinos After Diplomatic Talks

MANILA, Philippines — Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. raised the plight of 24 Filipinos detained for months without charges in a Siberian city during a meeting with President Vladimir Putin, and Russia has now released them, according to Philippine officials.

They are expected to return to Manila on Sunday morning via two flights, the first carrying the initial group, which will be welcomed by Philippine Foreign Secretary Theresa Lazaro, who accompanied President Marcos in his talks with President Putin on Wednesday in the Russian city of Kazan, the Department of Foreign Affairs said.

As the rotating ASEAN chair, Marcos presided over the 35th anniversary of diplomatic ties between ASEAN and Russia and led the 11‑nation bloc in commemorating the milestone. He also held a bilateral meeting with President Putin on the sidelines of the summit in Kazan.

The swift release followed Marcos’s appeal on Wednesday. The Philippines, a key treaty ally of the United States in Asia, was among the majority of ASEAN members that voted for a United Nations General Assembly resolution condemning Russia’s 2022 full‑scale invasion of Ukraine.

Singapore was the sole ASEAN member to impose sanctions on Russia, and Prime Minister Lawrence Wong joined the Kazan summit.

After his bilateral meeting with President Putin, Marcos told reporters that he raised concerns about the Filipinos detained for about nine months in Irkutsk, a city in southeastern Siberia, without formal charges, and noted that the Philippines has no further information about their condition.

Philippine officials said reports suggested the Filipinos may have been victims of illegal job recruitment and were taken into custody in Russia for possible violations of immigration laws.

Putin told Marcos he was unaware of the issue but pledged to look into it. During dinner on Wednesday, the Russian president told Marcos that the Filipinos had not been charged with any wrongdoing, and Marcos quoted Putin as saying, “Don’t worry, we will find a way to fix this problem.”

Marcos said Russian officials eventually notified the Philippine delegation that the Filipinos would be deported back to Manila without delay.

Philippine Ambassador to Moscow Igor Bailen noted that roughly 15,000 Filipinos live and work across Russia.

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