She did not witness the alleged pepper-spraying, she admits, but says she saw her friend Neny in pain. "She was screaming, ‘I can't see... My eyes are burning!'"

Maricar says she then splashed glasses of water on Neny's face. She also corroborates the account of the witness who said that one fellow tried helping Neny by shooting water out of his mouth and into her eyes. Maricar would later identify him as "the former manager of Members Only [Club]," an exclusive section within Embassy.

Maricar says, "At around 4 a.m., Angelu drove her to the hospital. Convoy kami."

ANGELU BACKS NENY. Angelu de Leon, regarded as one of the better actresses in the country, says she first met Neny Montinola through Maricar, who played Angelu's sister in the GMA-7 TV series Sana ay Ikaw na Nga (2002). Angelu also bumps into Neny now and then at parties.

The 29-year-old actress confirms reports that she was part of Neny's group that night. In a phone interview on November 25 at 3:30 p.m., Angelu tells Karen Pagsolingan: "We left between 2:30 a.m. and 3 a.m. Nauna si Neny with a friend. I stayed to say bye. I was also looking for Maricar."

She says that after a few seconds, "Naamoy yung ammonia, parang acetone."

Angelu adds, "I was clueless. Who would do it? Baka pinauuwi na tayo. Nobody knew what it was. Everybody was asking what it was. Who did that? Feeling namin, may nag-spray sa hangin. Everybody started going down. Nagpo-progress na sobrang sama na ng smell."

Angelu recalls that Neny walked down the steps leading out of the club: "Bumaba si Neny at yung friend niya. Kasunod kami. Pagbaba, Neny went straight to the Christmas-tree area.

"Maya-maya, Neny felt parang nasusuka siya. Then nag-i-intensify yung burning sensation!"

Their group attempted to give Neny first aid, she recounts calmly. "We started to fan her, give her water. Nagwawala na siya. Masakit na masakit ang mata niya. I asked her to remove her contact lens. A friend removed them, and Neny was crouching that time. Excruciating pain yung dating niya."

All she could do, Angelu adds, was to keep the lady calm. "I kept on telling her, ‘Stay calm. Don't panic. Don't worry, your face is still buo. Relax.'"

Then Angelu made the crucial decision to drive Neny to the hospital.

Continuing her story, Angelu says, "Nakababa yung windows para mahanginan yung mukha niya. We went to E.R. 'Tapos flinush siya with sterile water. Kasi kung ordinary water daw, may chlorine pa rin, e. I was holding her hand. I was trying to open her eyes."

That was also when, Angelu says, she learned that the ammonia smell had come from a "pepper spray," and that her friend had just been a "direct target."

She recounts, "The doc said, ‘Good thing, naka-contacts siya kasi direct hit sa mata yung pepper spray, e. Posible na ma-damage yung cornea.'"