24 Filipinos freed in Russian detention to return home June 21

Twenty-four Filipinos who were released from detention in Russia are en route to the Philippines and are expected to arrive on Sunday, June 21, the Presidential Communications Office (PCO) said on Saturday.

In a press release, the Philippine Embassy in Moscow said the group departed from Krasnoyarsk and boarded Aeroflot Flight SU 814 for a connecting flight via Bangkok.

“Upon arrival in Bangkok, the Philippine Embassy will provide airport assistance to the returning Filipinos before they board their connecting flights to Manila,” the PCO said.

According to the PCO, the returning Filipinos will arrive in two batches.

Six of them are scheduled to arrive at Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 1 aboard Philippine Airlines Flight PR 737 at 12:05 a.m. on Sunday.

The remaining 18 are expected to arrive at NAIA Terminal 1 aboard Philippine Airlines Flight PR 733 at 4:05 a.m. the same day.

On Friday, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. announced the release of the 24 Filipinos during a press conference following his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the ASEAN-Russia Summit in Kazan.

Marcos said the Filipinos were ready for deportation by 5 p.m. Saturday.

The Filipinos had reportedly been detained for the past nine months over immigration-related issues after allegedly falling victim to illegal recruiters.

“Their problem was immigration. President Putin told me that they were not after the Filipinos, but the illegal recruiters," Marcos said.

"Those are the people they are charging, and those are serious offenses for them,” he added.—MCG, GMA News