Pokwang’s ex-partner Lee O’Brian deported – BI

MANILA, Philipines – Pokwang’s ex-partner Lee O’Brian was deported by the Bureau of Immigration (BI) on Monday, April 8, the government agency said in its press release on Thursday, April 11.

“BI Commissioner Norman Tansingco said that O’Brian was deported evening of April 8 on board a Philippine Airlines flight to San Francisco after the BI confirmed that he has no pending local case in the Philippines,” the BI wrote in its statement.

“Hindi namin maitago ang aming kaligayahan sa balitang deported na si Lee O’Brian. Tunay na umaandar ang hustisya sa Pilipinas. Nagpapasalamat kami sa Bureau of Immigration. Bawal ang mga babaero at mapang-aping dayuhan sa ating bansa,” Pokwang’s counsel Rafael Calinisan said of the deportation.

(We can’t hide our joy over the news that Lee O’Brian has been deported. Justice truly works in the Philippines. Thank you to the Bureau of Immigration. Womanizers and oppressive foreigners have no place in this country.)

This development comes almost a year after the actress-comedienne filed a petition to have O’Brian deported in June 2023, claiming that O’Brian had been actively working in the film, television, and theatrical industry, but did not have a special working permit.

Pokwang said that she had filed the petition “para sa karapatan ko at ng anak ko, para sa mga kapwa ko babae, at sa bayan ko (for my rights, and my child’s rights, for my fellow women, and for my country).”

Only a few weeks after Pokwang filed her petition, O’Brian filed a counter-affidavit, stating that he has always “put the best interest [of their] daughter first.”

In December 2023, Pokwang won her deportation case against O’Brian. Her lawyer Attorney Ralph Calinisan said that the BI ordered O’Brian’s deportation for “violating the terms and conditions of his Philippines stay.”

The BI then canceled O’Brian’s pre-arranged employment visa and issued a Warrant of Deportation against the US national. His name has also been included in the BI’s blacklist, which will prevent him from re-entering the country again in the future.

Pokwang and O’Brian met in 2014 while working on the film Edsa Woolworth. They were together for six years, and share a daughter, Malia, born in January 2018.

Pokwang confirmed her split from O’Brian in July 2022, though she initially said they had separated on good terms. – Rappler.com