Detained Russian vlogger Vitaly to be deported to Russia

Russian vlogger Vitaly Zdorovetskiy is set to be deported to Russia within a week, according to the Bureau of Immigration (BI) on Thursday.

At a press conference, BI legal division chief Arvin Santos said the bureau’s board of commissioners has already issued a deportation order against Vitaly.

“Nakalagay po doon sa ating deportation order na ang pag-deport sa kanya ay subject to clearances ng [National Bureau of Investigation] at saka 'yung courts kung saan siya nagkaroon ng kaso, 'yung mga kaso po niya sa Taguig [Regional Trial Court] at [Metropolitan Trial Court] ay na-resolve na rin and deemed served na rin po 'yung penalty niya doon,” Santos said.

“Kaya, marapatin po ay puwede na rin po siyang i-deport soon. Nagko-coordinate na rin po kami sa pagde-deport-an na lugar niya, 'yung bansa niya, which is Russia,” he added.

Interior and Local Government Secretary Jonvic Remulla noted that while Vitaly is holding a green card from the United States, the vlogger is a Russian citizen with a Russian passport.

“Let this be a reminder to all our visitors here in the Philippines that we always welcome tourists and visitors. We treat them with respect and we expect them to follow the same rules as we follow the same rules when we travel,” he said.

“We have no ill feelings against Vitaly. He has served his time and he has shown his remorse and he is now a free man when he goes back to Russia,” he added.

Vitaly, a vlogger with over 10 million followers on YouTube where he posts his prank videos in countries he visited, was apprehended by Philippine authorities in April 2025 for his series of law-breaking stunts.

The vlogger, who goes by the content creator name "Vitaly," drew the ire of netizens after uploading videos of himself harassing Filipinos while filming around Bonifacio Global City in Taguig.—AOL, GMA Integrated News