DOJ says no hold departure order issued against Heart Evangelista's ex-glam team
The Bureau of Immigration dispelled rumors that Heart Evangelista's ex-glam team was issued a hold departure order, causing them to be offloaded from their international flight earlier this week.
Assistant Justice Secretary Mico Clavano confirmed this in an interview with the media after being asked about the issue of makeup artist Justin Soriano and hairstylist Jeck Aguilar regarding their flight to Dubai.
"Upon confirmation with the Bureau of Immigration, it was found that there was no derogatory record. There is also no hold departure order or international lookout bulletin order. There is not a single record in the Bureau of Immigration,” Clavano told reporters.
The issue started when Ogie Diaz, through his YouTube vlog, said that Soriano and Aguilar were stopped at a check-in counter in Manila because the airline personnel would not issue them a boarding pass.
The pair were said to be on their way to meet with Pia Wurtzbach and fashion designer Mark Bumgarner in Dubai.
"Naki-pagtalo pa sila sa airline staff dahil porke’t free miles ni Pia ang gamit ay hindi na sila pasasakayin?" Diaz said. "Pero ang tsika sa amin, na sana ay hindi ito totoo, ay ipinatawag sila sa Immigration para ito ang magsabi na sila ay may hold departure order."
However, Clavano explained that the issue came from the Dubai airline, and Philippine authorities weren't the ones who offloaded Soriano and Aguilar.
"The report to me was that the problem was on the side of Dubai. The airline itself was the one that offloaded the passengers. They were advised to report to the [United Arab Emirates] Embassy," Clavano said.
"On the side of the Philippines, there are no problems. They are allowed to leave. It was on the side of the Dubai airport and authorities that they encountered problems," he continued.
Evangelista started working with Soriano and Aguilar in 2019. The three used to travel the world and attend various events together—from branded affairs to intimate parties—as seen in their social media posts.
However, their friendship ended last year, with the actress unfollowing both on Instagram. When asked about the issue in a past interview, Evangelista simply said, "Life is like that. Madami tayong pagdadaanan with our careers, with our personal life. But everything's for a reason, and everything is for us to be stronger so we can face anything else in life." (with reports from Nillicent Bautista)
