If statement does not seem to work - php

Question

Something may be wrong with my logic or the hosting server because when I tried it locally it works flawlessly!! however, when I upload it always execute the second statement no matter what the value of applicant_email_activated is??
It is driving me crazy please help!
<?php
// Santize the provided inputs
$applicant_email = filter_var(stripAndCleanHTML($_GET['applicant_email']), FILTER_SANITIZE_EMAIL); # santize the email
$applicant_token = stripAndCleanHTML($_GET['applicant_token']); # santize the token
/**************** Find the applicant that has the same email *******************/
$database_connection = Database::database_connect();
$find_email_query = $database_connection->prepare('SELECT * FROM applicants WHERE applicant_email = :applicant_email && applicant_token = :applicant_token LIMIT 1');
$find_email_query->execute(['applicant_email' => $applicant_email, 'applicant_token' => $applicant_token]);
if ($find_email_query->errorCode() > 0) {
if (DEBUG === true) {
echo 'There was an issue in searching for the email Big Boss: <br>';
print_r($find_email_query->errorInfo());
die();
} else {
header('location:../404.shtml', true, 404);
die();
}
}
$applicants = $find_email_query->fetchAll();
foreach ($applicants as $applicant) {
$applicant_username = (string) stripAndCleanHTML($applicant['applicant_username']);
$applicant_password = (string) stripAndCleanHTML($applicant['applicant_password']);
$applicant_name = (string) stripAndCleanHTML($applicant['applicant_name']);
$applicant_phone = (string) stripAndCleanHTML($applicant['applicant_phone']);
$applicant_birthdate = (string) stripAndCleanHTML($applicant['applicant_birthdate']);
$applicant_city = (string) stripAndCleanHTML($applicant['applicant_city']);
$applicant_country = (string) stripAndCleanHTML($applicant['applicant_country']);
$applicant_major = (string) stripAndCleanHTML($applicant['applicant_major']);
$applicant_major_type = (string) stripAndCleanHTML($applicant['applicant_major_type']);
$applicant_exp_years = (string) stripAndCleanHTML($applicant['applicant_exp_years']);
$applicant_cv = (string) stripAndCleanHTML($applicant['applicant_cv']);
$applicant_email_activated = (int) stripAndCleanHTML($applicant['applicant_email_activated']);
}
if ($applicant_email_activated === 1) {
include '../../includes/job_app/email_has_been_activated.inc.php';
} elseif ($applicant_email_activated === 0) {
include '../../includes/job_app/email_confirmed.php';
}
?>
this is the function I used to clean the value:
function stripAndCleanHTML($to_clean)
{
return htmlspecialchars(strip_tags(stripslashes(trim($to_clean))));
}
and this is the Database class:
class Database
{
private const DB_HOST = 'domain.com';
private const DB_NAME = 'ats';
private const DB_CHARSET = 'utf8';
private const DB_USER = 'public_user';
private const DB_PASS = '1F#kaH$!q5r2as';
public static function database_connect()
{
try {
// setting DSN (Data Source Name)
$dsn = 'mysql:host=' . Database::DB_HOST . ';' . 'dbname=' . Database::DB_NAME . ';' . 'charset=' . Database::DB_CHARSET;
// creating a PDO (PHP Data Object) instance
$pdo = new PDO($dsn, Database::DB_USER, Database::DB_PASS);
$pdo->setAttribute(PDO::ATTR_DEFAULT_FETCH_MODE, PDO::FETCH_ASSOC);
return $pdo;
} catch (Exception $e) {
if (DEBUG === true) {
echo $e->getMessage().'<br>';
die();
} else {
die();
}
}
return $db_info;
}
}

Answer 1

It did work after I removed the (int) and put the compersion numbers into single quotes!! crazy right!!?
I guess the server on the hosting company handles PHP in a peculiar manner!! or maybe I have pumped up the app with a lot of stripping non-sense as some of you would agree, nonetheless, I have done it and I could go home and sleep knowing my baby app is safe and sound!
A huge thank you for the tips and mentoring, have a good day! and do not forget to be awesome.