(From left) Pokwang, Lee O’Brian. Images: Instagram/@itspokwang27, Instagram/@leeobrian
American actor Lee O’Brian, the estranged partner of comedian Pokwang and father of her daughter Malia, has been ordered deported by the Bureau of Immigration (BI) for violating his work visa.
In an eight-page resolution dated Dec. 12, the BI ordered O’Brian’s deportation following a case filed by Pokwang, whose real name is Marietta Subong, last June. A native of San Francisco in California, O’Brian moved to the Philippines in 2015 to pursue his acting career.
Pokwang, in her complaint, said O’Brian merely kept on renewing his tourist visa, while his real purpose in the country was not to be a tourist, but for employment.
“We thank the Bureau of Immigration for siding with the truth in our case against Lee O’Brian,” said Rafael Vicente Calinisan, Pokwang’s legal counsel, in a statement Saturday morning.
“We have been consistent that Lee O’Brian must be made accountable, as his repeated renewal of his tourist visa constitutes fraud and willful misrepresentation of facts, while his work engagements are violations of limitations under which he was admitted as a non-immigrant,” he added.
The deportation order against O’Brian came after Pokwang recently allowed him to visit and spend time with their daughter again.
Pokwang said she welcomed this development as it’s important for her to see her daughter happy being with her father.