Update: Phoemela’s camp clarified that they hadn’t traveled to Boracay since 2021.
Television host Phoemela Baranda received tremendous criticism on social media after being tagged in a complaint published by an airline passenger.
In a Facebook post, a netizen called out Air Asia Philippines for allowing a certain “celebrity” to get the seat she reserved during the booking.
“From Manila to Caticlan, I was surprised to see someone already sitting in my window seat during boarding time. The child was seated by the window, the mother in the middle, and their helper in the aisle. I showed them my boarding pass, thinking that they may have made a mistake,” the complainant said.
“They then asked me to sit across from them, which was an aisle seat. Maybe they weren’t seated together due to the seating arrangement. But if they wanted to sit together, they should have paid for their seats instead of taking someone else’s without even asking.
“It felt like a disrespectful act by someone who considers themselves a celebrity. They were using their celebrity status. Even the flight attendant was accomodating and helped them to steal my seat,” the complainant added.
A netizen, in a now-deleted comment, named Phoemela as the celebrity being mentioned by the complainant.
After she was tagged, netizens started to swarm Phoemela’s social media page and called her out.
As of writing, Phoemela has yet to respond to the accusations against her.
Phoemela became known for being the host of the reality show Extra Challenge as a replacement for its original host, Miriam Quiambao.