Filipinos called for accountability following reports of resignations and removals of personnel at the Bureau of Immigration’s (BI) detention facilities after Russian vlogger Vitaly Zdorovetskiy alleged corruption inside the jail.
Reports said the warden of the BI detention facilities has resigned, while two deputy wardens and three other personnel were removed from their posts after the vlogger claimed he would release a video exposing alleged corruption.
Vitaly, who appeared in a livestream with American online personality Adin Ross on January 23, said he spent three months in isolation inside a detention cell and was allegedly able to sneak in a cellphone after bribing jail guards.
“I had a phone the whole time in jail. I vlogged the whole experience. I’m going to expose the corruption,” the vlogger said.
“Bro, you can do anything. Money talks in the Philippines,” he added.
Vitaly was deported to Russia on January 17 after spending around nine months at the BI’s Warden Facility at Camp Bagong Diwa in Taguig City.
He was charged with unjust vexation, alarm and scandal, and attempted theft, with the BI saying he disrupted public peace and safety and committed acts deemed contrary to morals, good customs and public policy, for his stunts and pranks targeting Filipinos.
The vlogger was arrested in April 2025 and declared an “undesirable foreign national” after incidents that included harassing a security guard, shouting expletives at a Filipina, stealing a heavy-duty electric fan and taking a tricycle that later crashed into a jeepney.
RELATED: ‘Hope you learned your lesson’: Vitaly told after post about Philippine jail experience
Meanwhile, reports of the resignation and removal of some BI personnel drew public attention, prompting calls for accountability following the incident.
A Reddit post discussing the matter has garnered around 1,000 upvotes and more than 100 comments from users.
Looming Vitaly “Exposé” Leads To Resignations
byu/ActualSecretary9407 inPhilippines
“Hindi pwedeng resign at sibak lang. Hindi pwedeng ganon na lang parati. Dapat may maranasan ang consequences. Kulong ‘yan dapat!” a Reddit user wrote.
“Sack [equals] reassign. I like how you can probably make millions from corruption, then resign when caught with no further legal repercussions,” another Redditor said.
“Ikulong ‘yang mga ‘yan!!! Kalokohan ‘yang resign, resign!!!” a different Reddit user commented.
“So resign lang, ok na? Asan ang accountability?” another Pinoy asked.
“Names should be made public so we can also monitor and call out the agency that hires them. Full transparency,” a different user wrote.
The Palace said that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has already ordered a “thorough investigation” into the possible corruption in the facility.
Palace Press Officer Claire Castro also said that detainees are strictly prohibited from possessing mobile phones, a rule that Vitaly violated.
She noted that detainees are only allowed to use such devices for communication with their families.
When asked whether Malacañang sees the need to replace key officials at the BI following the controversy, Castro said, “Depende po.”
“Kailangan maimbestigahan kung sino ba at kanino ba nagsimula ang mga ganitong klaseng mga pang-aabuso,” Castro said.
Following Vitaly’s expose, BI spokesperson Dana Sandoval said the bureau will no longer allow detainees to use cell phones.
She said one of the policies Immigration Commissioner Joel Anthony Viado wants to implement is a total ban on mobile phone use inside detention facilities.
“But BI detainees would not be deprived of calling their families, counsels or embassies,” she said.
She added that the BI plans to install a video-calling booth in its detention facilities in Taguig and Muntinlupa to allow detainees to contact their families, many of whom are based overseas.
An initial investigation revealed that Vitaly’s phone was confiscated around June or July 2025, an incident that “resulted in the confiscation of gadgets that had been smuggled into the compound.”
— with reports from Philstar.com/Ian Laqui and Jean Mangaluz
