Palace to foreigners: More respect, please

Mugshot of Russian vlogger Vitaly Zdorovetskiy (Photo from BUREAU OF IMMIGRATION)

Foreigners visiting the Philippines should respect Filipinos and the country’s laws, customs and traditions especially if they are creating content for their social media audiences, Malacañang said on Friday.

This is as the Palace lauded the arrest of Russian-American vlogger Vitaly Zdorovetskiy, who was accused of harassing Filipinos in several videos.

Presidential Communications Office Undersecretary and Palace press officer Claire Castro said President Marcos learned of Zdorovetskiy’s rude actions and ordered authorities to immediately act on the matter.

Through the joint efforts of the Philippine National Police and the Bureau of Immigration, Zdorovetskiy was immediately arrested. “We saw how he treated our countrymen and disrespected our laws,” Castro said in an interview over state-run PTV 4.

READ: Russian vlogger faces deportation after harassing Filipinos in BGC

The incident should also serve as a reminder to foreign tourists to respect the country’s laws and Filipinos, she added. “Tourists and foreign nationals are welcome here.

But it doesn’t mean that they can disrespect Filipinos, our customs, our laws. This should serve as a lesson: if you’re a content creator, you should act within certain limits,” Castro said.

She went on: “Each freedom is accompanied by certain obligations. One cannot just always claim to practice freedom of expression. You also have the obligation to respect other people’s rights, or the country that you’re visiting.” Castro then pushed for the Russian-American vlogger to be declared persona non grata.

“He will be deported, after all. With that alone, he should already be persona non grata,” she added. On Friday, Zdorovetskiy underwent inquest proceedings and was slapped with a complaint for undesirability—an offense that may result in his deportation and inclusion in the country’s immigration blacklist. —JULIE M. AURELIO