Entertainment

Melissa Mendez defends self after being offloaded from flight

Joyce Jimenez - The Philippine Star

March 21, 2015 | 11:44am

MANILA, Philippines - Melissa Mendez denied the allegations made against her by passenger Rey Pamaran, who was in the same flight she got offloaded from on Friday.

The actress was in Cebu Pacific flight 5J711 going to Pagadian when she was offloaded from the plane after allegedly hitting a passenger and a flight attendant.

She said she politely asked Pamaran if she could sit in their reserved seat until she's done taking photos of the clouds.

"Nang dumating na si Andrew Wolff and his friend, sabi nila 'yon daw upuan nila ng friend niya," she recalled, referring to Pamaran, in an interview with Gretchen Fulido, aired in "TV Patrol" on Friday.

"Sabi ko, puwede dito muna ako tapos pag-take off mag-take lang ako ng ilang shots, lipat na ako sa upuan ko. 'Hindi, binayaran namin 'yong upuan na 'yan, e,' sabi ng guy. Sabi ko, 'sandali lang naman, e, tapos lipat na ako agad.'"

At this point, Mendez said Pamaran threatened her.

"E sabi niya, 'kapag hindi ka umalis dyan hahampasin ko mukha mo ng bag ko,'" she said. "Lalaki siya, e, so nagulat ako gano'n ang reaksyon niya. At the top of my voice, nagalit talaga ako."

On the statement given by Pamaran, he stood by his earlier claims that Mendez was asking them to take her seat at the back of the plane.

"Sinabi namin na upuan namin ;yan. Sabi niya, puwede bang kayo na lang umupo sa likod? Sinabi namin sa kanya, 'di puwede, e. Binayaran po namin 'yong seat kasi kailangan namin ng leg room," he said.

"E, ayaw niya talaga umalis. Sabi niya, 'dito ako, magpi-picture ako ng clouds paglipad.' E, anong gagawin namin, tatayo lang kami sa harap?"

'I'm not drunk'

Mendez also denied that she was drunk when she boarded the plane.

"Hindi ako umiinom, e," she said. "I was drinking 'yong juice ko na lagi kong baon. Kasi nagda-diet nga ako. E, medyo may amoy 'yong sugar beet sa drink ko."

This came after the claims of Pamaran, who said that " amoy talaga 'yong ano (alak). Hindi niya puwede i-deny 'yon nakainom siya pati 'yong kasama niyang si Malou, nakainom 'yon, mabaho, e."

Mendez recalled how Pamaran told her that she has "bad breath," and threatened to hit her with a bag on the face when she tried to make amends with him.

"Sabi niya, 'bad breath ka, bad breath ka," she said. "Mag-toothbrush ka muna. Wala kang modo, umalis ka sa harapan ko.' Doon na nagpintig talaga ang tenga ko."

Pamaran didn't deny that he said those words to Mendez, but clarified that he didn't hit her.

"Ang dami niyang satsat, ang dami niyang sinasabi," he recalled. "Nagsisisigaw na siya, 'hanggang ngayon hindi mo ako kilala?'

"'Pag di ka umalis dyan masasampal ko mukha mo,' nasabi ko talaga sa kanya 'yon. [Pero] wala akong ginawa, hindi ko hinampas ang mukha niya."

Meanwhile, the Cebu Pacific management confirmed that such incident happened, but hasn't decided yet if they'll pursue legal charges.

If legal actions will be taken and allegations are proven to be true, the accused will be charged with P500,000 and/or three years of imprisonment.