PH-Russia to ink transfer of sentenced persons agreement, 2 other treaties

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine government and Russia will be negotiating for Transfer of Sentenced Persons Agreement (TSPA), the Department of Justice said Monday.

Currently, the Philippines has TSPAs with five countries — Canada, Cuba, Hong Kong, Spain, and Thailand. Under this agreement, a convict can serve the remaining years of his or her sentence in his native country.

“We will start negotiating the TSPA with the Russian delegation sometime next year,” said DOJ spokesman and Undersecretary Markk Perete.

He said currently there are two Filipinos detained in Russia for murder.

“One will be free by March 2020 while the other will be released in November 2028,” Perete said in Filipino.

Aside from the TSPA, Perete said the country and Russia will also sign extradition and mutual legal assistance treaties.

“About a month ago, they reiterated the early ratification of the two treaties,” the spokesman said.

Perete said once an extradition treaty is in place, the government can seek the return of its fugitive nationals. This means that Filipino fugitives hiding in Russia can be brought back to the country for prosecution.

However, if a Russian fugitive in the Philippines went back to Russia, and vice versa, the extradition treaty will not apply on the ground of nationality.

With regards to mutual legal assistance treaties (MLATs), the Philippines already signed MLATs with Australia, China, Hong Kong, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland, United Kingdom, and the United States.