Sarah Lahbati reveals conflict with mother network

YOUNG actress Sarah Lahbati is now co-managed by Annabelle Rama, mother of boyfriend Richard Gutierrez, after a falling out with home station GMA-7.

Sarah made the announcement on social networking site Twitter as she thanked her fans for their support.

"@SarahLahbati: To all my friends and supporters, I'd like to thank you for the love and loyalty you've given me. I've been very blessed last year and I'm grateful to all of you but unfortunately you will be seeing less of me this year for reasons that are hard to explain through Twitter."

The 19-year-old also confirmed she is set to take a short break from showbizness and her parents decided to send her back to Switzerland to continue her studies.

Sarah then revealed that she has a misunderstanding with the people handling her career, but is still thankful for the help and guidance they showed her through the years.

"I am still thankful to them for the efforts they have shown in the past but now I feel neglected and my back is against the wall... Therefore I have to do something,” she said.

Sarah said she signed a contract with Royal Artist, headed by Rama, to help manage her career with GMA Artists Center. Sarah added it's her way of protecting herself in the business.

"I needed someone to protect and help my well being in this cut throat industry. Tita Annabelle only wants the best for me; with her years of experience and success in this industry, I know that she's the right person to help me,” she said.

Before tapping Royal Artist, Sarah said GMA Artists Center made an offer for her to be co-managed by talent agency ICONS Management.

"When my family made this decision, we were already sure that an artist tied up with GMA Artist Center such as myself can be co-managed by another talent company because I was offered by top management of GMA to sign a contract with ICONS management just a few months before I signed with Tita Annabelle,” she related.

The initial offer did not push through as ICONS wanted to deduct another 15 percent of her salary on top of the 25 percent being deducted by GMA Artist Center.

"We found that too steep of a deduction. For someone who just started such as myself,” she said.

Despite the conflict, Sarah reiterated she's not leaving the industry for good.

"This does not mean that I will be gone from the industry and craft that I love... Just a breather from all the chaos... Nakakalungkot na umabot pa sa ganito. But I'm also excited to study... I trust God's plans for me,” she said.

Meanwhile, GMA-7 released an official statement on the latest controversy involving the network and Sarah.

GMA said Sarah unilaterally decided to take a leave of absence for one month to "de-stress and unwind" but her reasons were allegedly vague.

"Because her reasons were vague, they were not accepted by management. While we understand that work in our industry can be stressful (as in any business), we believe that this is not only unavoidable in most cases, but also a part of what one does as a professional and/or performing artist,” it said.

The company said it also opposed Sarah’s request last December because she has to attend to pending obligations such as variety show Party Pilipinas, ongoing promos and other endorsement commitments.

"On the evening of Jan. 2, she tweeted that she will be going to Switzerland to study, despite the disapproval given to her last December on taking a leave. This is in violation of her contract, because she has to perform and appear in programs and events assigned to her, and make herself available to faithfully and promptly fulfill all engagements contracted for her by GMA,” the statement read.

GMA even accused Sarah of walking out during a taping, causing the production team to pack-up and incur and additional cost of P500,000.

"She is therefore, currently under investigation and the network is still studying on what actions to take,” the company said.

Sarah was named as the Ultimate Female Survivor of talent search "StarStruck" in 2009. She also did a couple of television shows such as "Time of My Life," "Kokak" and "Makapiling Kang Muli."

This January, she is slated to star opposite Rhian Ramos, Jennylyn Mercado and Senator Bong Revilla in primetime series "Indio." (Sunnex)