4 Filipinos bound for Russia stopped at NAIA for illegal military recruitment

MANILA, Philippines — Immigration officers at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 1 intercepted four Filipinos whom the Bureau of Immigration said had been illegally recruited for security and military work in Russia. The bureau said Tuesday, September 22, that the four were stopped in two separate incidents on September 18 and 19 after immigration officers noted inconsistencies in their statements during primary inspection. On September 18, three male passengers identified only by the aliases "Aldo," 30; "Nery," 41; and "Baby," 38, attempted to board a flight to Thailand. During secondary inspection, the three admitted that Russia, not Thailand, was their actual final destination, according to the bureau. Aldo told immigration officers that he had been recruited through a Facebook post for a security job offering a monthly salary of P70,000. Nery said he had been recruited by an unidentified individual in Bangkok, while Baby said his trip was sponsored by a contact identified only as "Alexander." The following day, September 19, immigration officers intercepted another male passenger, identified as "King," 34, who declared Vietnam as his destination before boarding a Philippine Airlines flight. During questioning, King admitted that he was actually bound for Russia after being recruited for military service, the immigration bureau said. He was allegedly promised a monthly salary of P150,000, Russian citizenship after one year and additional bonuses for completing "special missions." Immigration officers also recovered what the bureau described as a concealed Russian visa from alias King. He told officers that his recruiters had paid for all his travel expenses. All four Filipinos were turned over to the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking for further investigation and assistance. Earlier this year, Philippine authorities warned Filipinos against overseas job offers linked to foreign armed forces, following reports of Filipinos being recruited into Russian military units. In February, the Department of Foreign Affairs warned that such employment could expose Filipinos to "grave danger and serious legal consequences," including possible loss of citizenship. In one earlier case, Filipino Raymon Gumangan said he traveled to Russia in 2024 for what had been presented as a logistics job but was instead assigned as a shooter in a Russian military parachute regiment. He was later captured in Ukraine in September 2025. Ukrainian military intelligence also reported that another Filipino, identified only as "John Patrick," had been killed while serving with Russian forces in Donetsk, although Philippine authorities said at the time that they were still verifying the report.