Russia's President Vladimir Putin gestures next to Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Singapore's Prime Minister Lawrence Wong during the Russia-ASEAN summit in the Russian city of Kazan on June 18, 2026. Alexander Nemenov / POOL / AFP
KAZAN, Russia — Russian President Vladimir Putin has authorized the release of 24 Filipino who have been detained in the Siberian town of Irkutsk for some 9 months over immigration issues, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said on Thursday.
The Filipinos were detained in Irkutsk since mid-2025 after illegal recruiters supposedly facilitated their entry to Russia, Marcos said in a press briefing here.
“Noong nag-bilateral with President Putin, binanggit ko ito at nagulat siya sabi niya, ‘Hindi ko alam ‘yan.’ Noong dinner kagabi, sabi niya. Nakita na namin kung ano ang sitwasyon,’” the Filipino leader said.
“Sabi niya (Putin) they have not been charged with anything but they have been kept in detention for 9 months,” he said.
“Sabi niya (Putin), ‘We will find a way.’ And now the 24 Filipinos will be released. They will be ready for deportation tomorrow by 5 p.m. so those Filipinos will go back to the Philippines and back with their families,” he said.
Russia gave the Filipinos an option to legally work here, but they chose to come home to the Philippines., Marcos said.
There are some 15,000 Filipinos in Russia, according to data from the Department of Foreign Affairs.
The development comes as the Philippines — this year’s chairperson of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) — pushed to forge closer ties with Russia, Europe’s most oil-rich country and Eurasia’s largest economy.