YouTuber Vitaly posts bail, returns to BI custody
Russian-American vlogger Vitaly Zdorovetskiy, who was arrested in Pasay City for harassing Filipinos for content, has posted bail and was returned to the custody of the Bureau of Immigration.
The controversial content creator faced criminal cases, including unjust vexation, before the Regional Trial Court branch 153 in Taguig City.
On June 11, Zdorovetskiy was placed under the custody of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology until the resolution of his court cases. RTC Branch 153 in Taguig allowed him to post bail on June 18, and he was transferred back to the BI wardens facility inside Camp Bagong Diwa.
"Because he faces a deportation case, even if he files for bail for his local cases, he will still be returned to the custody of the BI," the agency's Commissioner Joel Anthony Viado said.
"He will not be allowed to roam around as he is already seen as an undesirable alien."
Zdorovetskiy had previously submitted a request for temporary liberty under bail, noting that he doesn't intend to evade deportation and would only stay within the National Capital Region.
Viado also said that the content creator will not be deported until his cases are resolved and he serves any sentence given to him.
On April 2, Vitaly was caught by Filipino authorities in front of a Pasay hotel based on a BI mission order.
This was after he was seen messing around with Filipinos in Bonifacio Global City by riding a patrol motorcycle, stealing a security guard’s cap multiple times, and playing petty pranks with passersby in his Kick video titled "Vitaly disturbing the peace in the Philippines" with a devil emoji. He also forcibly filmed a security guard who called him out for it. Vitaly then mocked the latter by singing some lines from Lady Gaga’s Paparazzi.
Among other stunts he pulled was stealing a heavy-duty electric fan from a restaurant and bringing it inside a hotel. Zdorovetskiy also drove a tricycle but eventually sideswiped a passenger and slightly crashed into a parked jeepney.
