President Rodrigo Duterte urged the Filipino community in Russia on Saturday to follow the rules there and avoid doing anything which will jeopardize the relationship of Manila and Moscow.
In his meeting with the community, Duterte reminded Filipinos that laws in Russia are strict.
“My prayer is just abide by the laws of Russia. Just follow the laws and we won’t have any problem,” he said.
“You know, the criminal laws of Russia are very strict. Even stricter than the Philippines. I’m pleading to you not to do anything that will jeopardize our relationship and put us in a bad light,” he added.
Duterte also assured his Filipino audience that Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III is working with the Russian Federation to ease restrictions on Filipino workers.
“They would be willing to make an arrangement. Secretary Bello is working on an agreement for those who are overstaying or have had problems,” he said.
He also asked those who have expired passports to renew theirs through the help of the Philippine embassy.
“You don’t have to come back to the Philippines. You can renew your passports here. No problem,” he said.
There are about 10,000 Filipinos in Russia and majority of them are undocumented, Ambassador Carlos Sorreta said.
The government is also working for a bilateral labor agreement to grant legal status to undocumented workers, the envoy said earlier.
President Duterte arrived at Francisco Bangoy International Airport in Davao City Sunday after his five-day visit.
He had separate talks with Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev in Moscow and President Vladimir Putin in Sochi.
He also delivered a speech at the Valdai Forum alongside other heads of states: Putin, Jordanian King Abdullah II, Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, and Azerbaijan President Heydar Oglu Aliyev.
The President defended his campaign against illegal drugs in the forum, as he slammed countries such as the United States for being critical of his policies.
Duterte also sealed 10 business agreements worth $12.57 million, including exports of Philippine products, intent to explore the prospect of constructing nuclear power plants, and importation of technological products from Russian companies.
The President was also conferred with an honorary doctorate degree (honoris causa) by Moscow State Institute of International Relations University, a training ground for budding Russian diplomats.
The Chief Executive also met with Russian businessmen in a forum.
