Filipinos in Russia unfazed by mutiny, opted to stay – DFA

by Beatrice Pinlac Inquirer.net

MANILA — No Filipino in Russia has asked to be repatriated after the recent power struggle between the military and a mutinous paramilitary group, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) reported on Monday, June 26.

DFA Undersecretary Eduardo de Vega said there are 10,000 Filipinos in Russia. At least 8,000 of them are in the capital Moscow, he added.

“In Rostov-on-Don, taken over by the Wagner group momentarily, there are 10

Filipinos. All indicated they were safe,” de Vega reported through a message to INQUIRER.net.

“The crisis has been resolved due to Belarus’ intervention. But even during the crisis, no Filipino asked for repatriation,” he said.

De Vega added that should anyone seek repatriation, assistance funds would be available.

In the meantime, he is urging Filipinos in Russia to stay indoors.

“Filipinos are advised not to undertake unnecessary travels outside their region,” he said. Last Saturday, June 24, the embassy urged Filipinos to adhere to Russia’s rules.

It had also asked them to refrain from posting “political comments on social media.”

The advisory came after Wagner, a para-military group led by Yevgeny Prigozhin, took control of two cities south of Moscow and began an advance toward the capital.

The situation was defused by evening after Belarus could broker a truce between Russia and Prigozhin. This included his safe exile.

Prigozhin has a long-standing rivalry with two top officials in the Russian military. n

Clemency for Veloso sought after UAE pardons 3 Pinoys

by Nestor Corrales Inquirer.net

MANILA — After United Arab Emirates (UAE) President

Mohamed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan pardoned three convicted Filipinos at the request of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., calls were renewed to again ask Philippine ally Indonesia to grant clemency to death row convict Mary Jane Veloso.

The renewed calls were made after the President telephoned the Emirati president on Friday, June 23 to thank him for responding positively to the appeal Marcos made in April.

Presidential Communications

Secretary Cheloy VelicariaGarafil said, in a statement on Friday night, that Marcos called the sheik on Friday after Emirati Ambassador to the Philippines Mohamed Obaid Salem Al-Zaabi informed the government that the requested pardons were granted.

Two of the three pardoned Filipinos were sentenced to death for drug trafficking while the third was serving a 15-year sentence for slander.

Aside from the pardons, Marcos also thanked Al-Nahyan, also the crown prince and de facto ruler of Abu Dhabi, for sending 50 tons of food and medicine to families displaced by

Mayon Volcano’s unrest.

For his part, the Emirati leader noted the valuable contribution of about 600,000 Filipinos working in the UAE and reiterated his invitation to Marcos to attend the 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Dubai in December.

Veloso case

As Garafil announced the pardons, the local workers’ group Migrante International repeated its call for the president to continue asking the Indonesian government to pardon Veloso.

“We challenge President Bongbong Marcos Jr. to take more proactive actions to appeal to the Indonesian government to grant clemency for Mary Jane,” said the group’s chair Joanna Concepcion.

Marcos already asked President Joko Widodo to “reexamine” Veloso’s case on the sidelines of the 42nd Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit in Indonesia last year. But the Indonesian leader answered that that is their law and they had already given Veloso a “postponement” of her sentence.

Veloso was convicted of drug smuggling in 2010 after 2.6 kilograms of heroin were found hidden in her suitcase upon her arrival at Yogyakarta’s Adisucipto International Airport.