Sarah Lahbati fights back

GMA Films president glad talent has answered in proper venue

Plus: Newbie Arjo Atayde wants project with Mom Sylvia Sanchez

The legal battle between TV star Sarah Lahbati and GMA Films President Annette Gozon-Abrogar is far from over.

A few hours after she returned to the country last Friday, Sarah posted bail for the libel case which the GMA Films president filed against her. Sarah had alleged that Abrogar asked her to enter into questionable management deals last January.

Sarah counter-sued Abrogar and four others with grave coercion before the Quezon City Regional Trial Court last Monday, July 15.

Sarah’s latest legal action was in response to the libel case the GMA exec filed after the actress alleged that Abrogar asked her to enter into questionable talent management deals last January.

"I'm back just to fix things. Bumalik ako para ayusin ang mga dapat ayusin at katulad nga po ng sabi ni attorney (her legal counsel Atty. Maggie Abraham), eh maayos na, wala nang libel case. Sana matapos na to nang maayos, and I'm happy na the first step is done," Lahbati told the press.

Meanwhile, Abrogar has issued a statement on Sarah's latest legal action and it reads: "I haven't received anything from her lawyers but if it's true, then I welcome it since she's now fighting in the proper venue. Now the public will know what the truth is."

Her mother network GMA-7 also slapped the actress with a breach of contract case earlier this year for “refusing to comply with the terms of her contract with GMA-7 and its programs.”

On Monday, while she did not mention any name, Ms. Abrogar posted a message on her Facebook account, which says: “Settlement is out of the question. Wrong move.”

While Sarah is courageous enough to face the charges, some showbiz observers say she could have just talked to GMA-7 and Ms. Abrogar to settle the dispute amicably.

While she’s busy cleaning up her legal mess, Sarah has yet to answer another issue she and boyfriend Richard Gutierrez are facing. Undying rumors link Sarah’s six-month stay in Geneva as her way of hiding her “pregnancy”.

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While we can say that Arjo Atayde’s entry into showbiz was kind of Johnny Come Lately, the son of character Sylvia Sanchez and businessman Art Atayde is certainly making the most out of it. He has been barely a year in showbiz but Arjo is thankful for the big breaks coming his way, like his being cast in the widely-followed ABS-CBN action series “Dugong Buhay.”

Arjo is playing a kontrabida role opposite lead actor Ejay Falcon and the young man is enjoying his role immensely. “I am playing a role that is the exact opposite of my true self. At first, I was having a difficult time getting into the role but with the help of my director Toto Natividad, slowly but surely I was able to grasp my role,” he said.

“But I am already getting the hang of it and I can say that I am more confident in doing my role compared the first time I stepped into the set,” added Arjo. He said a big help to him was his senior co-stars who are generous in giving him tips on how to attack his role with maturity. The acting tips were most helpful for Arjo who at first had a hard time acting out the crying scenes.

“I am no longer having a difficult time with the crying scenes even if I didn’t have an unhappy childhood because I take into the situation that my character is undergoing. I can relate with the situation that he is into.”

Arjo takes pride in saying that despite an absence of an acting experience, he can now tackle drama scenes with ease. In fact, he is dreaming for an acting assignment together with his mom Sylvia  and he wants to prove to her that he can match, if not surpass, the intensity of her mom when it comes to acting.

More than being nervous sharing the scene with his mom is the challenge that he can level up with her in terms of acting intensity.

“Dugong Buhay” has been extended until September, making the cast and production staff very happy. “We are like a family on the set that’s when the series ends, lahat kami malulungkot. Being on the set is our bonding moment too and after taping we still hang out together to eat,” said Arjo.