FOREIGN vlogger Vitaly Zdorovetskiy, who was arrested in April for harassing Filipinos in public for online content, will serve his sentence in a Philippine jail if convicted, the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) said.
Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla confirmed that Zdorovetskiy will go on trial next week for three counts of unjust vexation. If found guilty, he could face up to 18 months in prison.
“We will service his sentence. I will make sure of that,” said Remulla, who emphasized that deportation is not an option at this point.
Zdorovetskiy, a Russian national and US green card holder, cannot be sent back to either country, according to Remulla.
“Neither Russia nor the United States wants to take him back. So we don’t know where to deport him,” he said.
Earlier, Remulla revealed that the vlogger had sent a letter to the DILG pleading for the charges to be dropped, citing mental health issues.
Zdorovetskiy was arrested after videos of him harassing a security guard and pedestrians in Bonifacio Global City, Taguig, circulated on social media. The Bureau of Immigration has since declared him an “undesirable” foreign national.
