Photos: Loui Galicia, Nanding Rubio, Sally Cimanez

Pilita Corrales' outburst of anger on November 4 after she performed at the Scent of Home Concert which also featured singers Richard Merk, Lolita Carbon and Rachel Ann Wolfe flabbergasted the Pinoys who were at the scene.

According to witnesses, Ms. Corrales flared up at the lobby of the Philharmonie Theater in Haarlem-The Netherlands over the issue of talent fee which she claims was not yet paid by the Pinay organizer of the concert Carmen Jebb.

Connie Miranda said she saw with her very eyes how Ms. Corrales pointed a finger at Ms. Jebb and how she threw papers at Ms. Jebb's face.

"Dinuduro niya. Pinopoint niya yung finger niya ke Carmen Jebb. Hanggang sa pa-alis ni Pilita, sumisigaw siya," Ms. Miranda said.

Early during the concert, Ricky Tuazon who is one of the emcees, felt that something's going to happen because Ms. Corrales apparently whined on and on backstage about money issues with Ms. Jebb.

Mr. Tuazon said that Ms. Corrales just suddenly sat beside him and his co-emcee and started complaining even if he didn't know nor understand anything she's referring to.

"And she even said that even the hotel was arranged by Roni Merk and also the flight was arranged by her. [That] She [Jebb} didn't pay anything," Mr. Tuazon recounted.

He also said that Ms. Corrales cursed and blamed Ms. Jebb for the postponements of the concert because their visas were not approved previously.

The Scent of Home Concert pushed through finally after being cancelled three times since it was first billed as "An Evening With Pilita" on June 16.

Back then, tickets were sold out but since the performers did not succeed with their visa applications with the Dutch Embassy in the Philippines, the concert was cancelled and most of the tickets were returned.

As if seemingly jinxed from the beginning, the concert was finally held in a 1,000-seater venue but which was filled to almost one-third capacity.

On her part, Ms. Jebb said that she decided to hold the concert at such short notice because she wanted to finish her project for the benefit of a foundation for the deaf and blind children in Bicol.

Ms. Jebb had only one week to sell the tickets to the organizers.

Even this writer was contacted by Mr. Merk's wife Roni, asking for assistance in the promotion of the event.

The one good thing about this event is the demonstration of solidarity and bayanihan among Pinoys here in Europe.

The leading Pinoy website in Austria, www.digitalpinoy.org, immediately posted the Scent of Home concert poster on its front page.

Munting Nayon sent an email to its network of friends and associates announcing the concert.

Pinoy sa Holland group also posted a bulletin on the concert on Friendster.

However, one can only do so much at so little time since the promotion and selling of the tickets also had their share of bad due to Halloween, All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day holidays.

People were just impossible to reach.

But nonetheless, the concert was still scheduled in Belgium on November 3 and the following day in the Netherlands.

Ms. Jebb called this writer to give an exclusive interview to ABS-CBN, in order to present her side because she feels that she owes it to the Filipino community in the Netherlands, especially since a lot of people witnessed the screaming spree between her and Ms. Corrales.

This writer can't anymore contact Ms. Corrales to get her side because she flew back to the Philippines the day after the concert.

However, on ABS-CBN"s Balitang Europe which was aired on November 18, Ms. Corrales told correspondent Mario Dumaual in a separate interview, that it was the other way around, that Ms. Jebb was the one who screamed first and that she just couldn't control anymore the build up of anger because the event was poorly organized and she had to pay a lot of expenditures from her own pocket because the hotel didn't accept Ms. Jebb's credit card.

Ms. Corrales also said that she even almost gave up coming to Europe to perform because the concert had been postponed three times already.

Ms. Corrales said that Ms. Jebb still owes her $1,500.

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