[UPDATED] THE Bureau of Immigration (BI) announced on Thursday, April 11, 2024, the deportation of American national Lee O’Brian, the estranged partner of Filipino actress comedian Marietta Subong, popularly known as Pokwang.
O'Brian was deported on the evening of Monday, April 8, 2024, on board a Philippine Airlines flight to San Francisco, according BI Commissioner Norman Tansingco.
The BI said in a statement on Thursday, April 11, that O'Brian's name has been included in the bureau's blacklist as a consequence of his deportation. This means that Pokwang's estranged partner will be barred from entering the country.
In 2023, Pokwang filed a deportation case before the bureau against O'Brian for working in the country without proper permits.
In her complaints, Pokwang said O’Brian, the father of her youngest daughter, rendered work in different production companies without securing required Department of Labor and Employment and BI permits.
The BI found merit in Pokwang's complaint and ordered O'Brian's deportation in December for violating the conditions of his stay.
O'Brian filed a motion for reconsideration, which the BI denied.
“The BI found merit in the said complaint and ordered O’Brian deported in December for violation of the conditions of his stay. O’Brian filed for a motion for reconsideration, which was eventually denied,” the BI said.
According to his profile on the Internet Movie Database (IMDb), O'Brian started his acting work in Lima, Peru in 2004.
The Walnut Creek, California native then went on to work in San Francisco Bay Area. He later moved to the Philippines where he was cast in movies and television dramas, one of which was the highly popular "Ang Probinsiyano" starring Coco Martin.
In 2015, Pokwang confirmed in a television interview that she was in a relationship with O'Brian. She gave birth to their daughter, Malia, on January 18, 2018.
Pokwang announced her split with O'Brian in 2023. (TPM/KAL/SunStar Philippines)