INTERIOR and Local Government Secretary Jonvic Remulla asserted on Sunday, June 1, 2025, that arrested vlogger Vitaly Zdorovetskiy will serve his sentence in the Philippines and will not be deported to Russia.
In a radio interview, Remulla said Zdorovetskiy is facing trial next week for three counts of unjust vexation, with possible jail time of three months to one year.
“We will serve his sentence, sinigurado ko po ‘yun (I made sure of that),” he said.
Zdorovetskiy was arrested on April 3, 2025 for harassing Filipinos and businesses in public as content for his vlog.
Remulla said deportation is not an option, as both Russia and the United States, where Zdorovetskiy is a green card holder, refused to accept him.
“Ang problema kasi namin, ang Russia, hindi siya tinatanggap. Ang US naman, green card holder siya, hindi rin siya tinatanggap, so hindi namin alam kung saan siya papauwiin eh,” he said.
(Our problem is that Russia won’t accept him. The US, where he’s a green card holder, also won’t accept him, so we don’t know where to send him back.)
Remulla said Zdorovetskiy wrote him a letter pleading for the charges against him to be dropped, citing mental health issues.
Once proven guilty, Remulla said Zdorovetskiy may serve up to 18 months in a Bureau of Jail Management and Penology facility. (TPM/SunStar Philippines)