Russia frees 24 Filipinos after Marcos talks with Putin
MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Russia has released 24 Filipinos who had been detained without charge for months in a Siberian city after Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. expressed concern for them in a meeting with officials. President Vladimir PutinPhilippine officials said on Saturday.
The 24 people were scheduled to arrive in Manila early Sunday on two planes, with the first group to be welcomed by Philippine Foreign Secretary Theresa Lazaro, who accompanied Marcos to his meeting with Putin in Kazan, Russia, on Wednesday, Manila’s Department of Foreign Affairs said.
Marcos, who currently holds the rotating presidency of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, led leaders of the 11-nation bloc in a ceremony commemorating the 35th anniversary of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. of ASEAN Diplomatic relations with Russia. Marcos held a bilateral meeting with Putin on the sidelines of the summit in Kazan.
The Filipinos’ release came relatively quickly after Marcos expressed his concerns on Wednesday. philippines one important treaty ally He is the representative of the United States in Asia and was among the majority of ASEAN members who voted for the UN General Assembly resolution condemning Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Singapore was the only ASEAN member to impose sanctions on Russia. Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong attended the Kazan summit.
Marcos told reporters after his bilateral meeting with Putin that he expressed concern about Filipinos who have been detained without charge in the southeastern Siberian city of Irkutsk for nearly nine months. He said the Philippines had no other information about their situation.
Philippine officials said there were reports that Filipinos may be victims of illegal recruitment and detained in Russia for possible violations of immigration laws.
Putin told Marcos that he was unaware of the problem but promised to look into it. Marcos said that at dinner on Wednesday, the Russian President told Marcos that the Filipinos were not accused of any crime. Marcos said Putin told him, “Don’t worry, we will find a way to solve this problem.”
Marcos said the Philippine delegation was eventually informed by Russian officials that the Filipinos would be sent back to Manila immediately.
According to Philippine Ambassador to Moscow Igor Bailen, approximately 15,000 Filipinos live and work across Russia.
