Death and Taxes

Coed commits suicide over tuition. She could have been a shining example of how the public domain works, instead she's dead. There's a vivid connection between  death and taxes.

Education is one of the areas that taxes are suppose to cover. Trillions of pesos, collected as taxes, failed to save this particular life.  We have income tax, corporate tax, value added tax, sin tax, inheritance tax among thousands of variation which should have gone to areas the citizenry can enjoy and avail: (1) education (2) justice (3) peace and order along (4) with parks and roads.

Everybody knows justice is a money game and I am not talking about bribes, yet, but just normal procedures. One gets arrested, even on suspicion and the bills stack up. One needs a lawyer, one needs to pay bail, one needs to pay the court for rescheduling, copies of documents, etc etc. Having had my share of being incarcerated, I saw people doing more time than the offense would merit for a number of reasons: (1) unavailability of the judge or fiscal; my particular case ran ten  years; (2) no representation, the Public Attorneys' Office is hard to access otherwise there won't be cases where holding period before trial surpasses incarceration period decreed by law, example shoplifting; (3) backlog of cases, the court my case was assigned hears over 100 cases a day. 

If that was not bad enough the 15th congress of the senate enacts the cyber crime act effectively disenfranchising the people of the freedom of speech. Where's justice? Then, their own members commit plagiarism after a member of the supreme court. It's funny but it hurts when I laugh. If there was something about the election, it should be to boot out the incumbents.

What of peace and order? In comes the pieces of body parts and they order the investigation. We know why the most famous division of the police is Scene Of the Crime Operative. The call center is a burgeoning industry that sends its employees in the most wicked hours where there are no police officers and if there were, could turn out to be the criminals themselves. 

Here's another, Congress before recess (as if it needed more) debated over house bill 6052 (?) , something to do with lowering juvenile criminal liability from 18 to 12.  HB 6052 was prompted by media reports on rampant shenanigans committed with audacity right in the busy highway of EDSA by out-of-school youth gangs alternately called 'Bakal Boys' , 'Car Wash' and 'Tropang Rugby' .  One very graphic footage captured a taxi driver in mid morning traffic assaulted by a boy, probably no more than 15 whose cohorts, meantime, grabbed the cabbie's earnings. It was a stunning depiction of lawlessness. The inability of the police force to put a stop on the syndicates operating these 'crews' or formulate strategies to bust the gangs hanging out in the peripheries of EDSA have come down to congress making laws to jail children.

Speaking of EDSA, DPHW and MMDA are thinking of renovating the whole stretch. Not a bad idea, except time and again these agencies have shown they cannot handle the consequent traffic jams. 

Now toll on highways are another matter. It's just weird that people pay taxes so roads can be built. Then government builds roads but exact toll which would be a tax on the tax. On top of that, government levies a tax on the tax of a tax.

So BIR is going to put an eagle eye on doctors and lawyers. What about the Forbe's list? What about the congressmen and senators lining up their pockets with their Priority Development Fund?

The Coed is dead because among other factors, some non-existent NGO got funds that could have gone to her education.

In Search for Senators

The word senator comes from the Latin 'senex' which translates to 'old men'. Roman emperors enlisted  retired magistrates to lend advice on management policies of the kingdom because of the supposed relation of age to wisdom.
I know, I know It's not always true. A know a few of my own relatives who grew old learning everything in reverse.
When monarchies evolved to republics, consequently senators became representatives of the people from mere advisers to kings. Emperors were out of jobs and did not need advisers. Senex, still sought for advise by ordinary citizens, parlayed the demand by creating a cushy job. Their new job was defining the aspirations of citizens in building a just and humane society, thus was born the August Hall.
Centuries later the pork barrel was invented, thus was born scandal.
Philippines in May 2013 holds mid-term elections for Senators. 33 candidates of which 6 are incumbents are vying for twelve seats. 12 are over 60 years old and I guess you can name those tunes.
No, I am not campaigining for the oldies. I am just saying.
So while I really think 50% of the votes cast would depend which party 'buses' the electorate first, I hope there's the other half who would vet candidates. I can lend some of my own views in vetting candidates.
Here is my list.
Criteria
1.Wisdom is a foremost quality the electorate should look for in a candidate.
Wisdom is the acquisition of experience and their applications that result to the greater good. Lack of wisdom can best be illustrated in plagiarism, the act of imitation then letting people think the idea is original. Tsk tsk tsk. Lack of wisdom can also be shown when people respond with "I was unaware" after being caught with their hands on the cookie jar. ( the appropriate repartee would be "Tell me to the marines" he he he). Lastly, there's the classic 'There's no law" when questioned about propriety of action.
Is your candidate wise?
2. Fierce belief in Equality and Freedom.
The beginning and end of legislation is the definition of equality and freedom.When in the past, the candidate pushed for clipping of rights- Martial Law, Cyber crime- then the candidate is not for freedom and equality.
3. Understanding the work.
Most senators think that the Priority Development Fund (PDAF) is 'the' work, so they build farm to pocket roads and distribute money to ghost non government organizations (NGO). Really they should scrap the pork.
Talent in policy crafting is the work. Policies generally tend to negatively impact on a portion of the constituency. The trick is to ensure the positive impact lands on the greater number of the population, instead of the other way around.
A purpose of the election: Cleaning the Senate
One way of looking at the coming election is a window to clean the senate. Stories of fund misuse by ranking bureaucratic leaders abound in this country with a corruption perception index (CPI) of 105 that ties with Mali (seriously?), Kosovo and Mexico although as far as I know, the only successfully prosecuted case is that one of former president Estrada.
Recently, the senate had been fraught with scandals specifically its use or misuse of funds; first the realignment of savings to Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses (MOOE) involving Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile which was later discovered to have been given as additional bonuses to Senators and staff; then followed by the Priority Development Fund (PDAF) reported by the Commission on Audit (COA) to have been poured into non-existent foundations again by Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile along with Senator Ramon 'Bong' Revilla and Senator Jinggoy Estrada. The three mentioned senators have terms up to 2016 although they all have relatives running for various positions in the coming election.
Jackie Enrile, gunning for a senate seat, is son of Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile. Senator Ramon 'Bong' Revilla has wife Lani Mercado running for a congressional seat while his son Jolo is campaigning for governorship for the province of Cavite. JV Ejercito seeking a seat in the senate  is the sibling of Senator Jinggoy Estrada whose father convicted former president Estrada is also running for mayor of Manila.
If it isn't clear, I am suggesting that relatives of officials involved in questionable doings should not be voted into office. Why? Foremost, their clout, once in office would affect the investigations or court proceeding  assuming plunder cases are initiated.
Booting out incumbents
All the senators of the 15th congress are guilty of taking away the freedom of speech when they promulgated the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012. So the re-electionists consist of Alan Peter Cayetano, Francis Escudero, Loren Legada, Aquilino Pimentel, Antonio Trillanes and Gregorio Honasan. Special Mention should be given Sonny Angara because his father was a member of the 15th congress, also Cynthia Villar whose husband is Manny. Last but not least, voters should exclude Bam Aquino because his cousin is the president who approved its enactment.
No to Dynasty
We can strive for equality all we want but we won't get there until dynasties are vanquished.
Oligarchs and dynasties share the same vision: to ensure dominance in their field and perpetuate that until 'thy kingdom come', that's equality out the window. Ferdinand Marcos hit on a bright idea to take out the oligarchs that controlled the economy. However, he replaced oligarchs with cronies and kleptocracy. But the greatest harm he set on the Filipinos was unleashing Juan Ponce Enrile.
The electorate take away the power of dynasties and these dynasties cannot protect their economic backers.
Its time for a new order.

A Stand up Movie, Stand up Guys, Lionsgate, 2013

I like buddy-action movies. But  take Al Pacino and Christoper Walken then spice it with Alan Arkin and voila, you have a treat that's upped the ante in this genre. They are  funny, believable and entirely engaging, making the film work on several levels:  (a) as pure entertainment (b) as a view on growing old and second wind (that's my own appreciation) and (c) as a look how values stand up to the tyranny of changing times.

The premise is locked tight, how do you kill your best friend?

Seems Val (Pacino) accidentally kills the mob boss' (Mark Margolis) son in a botched heist. After doing time, he walks into his best friend Doc (Walken) who had been handed the job to off him. But Doc is torn so he procrastinates, instead he shows Val a good time, hitting the brothel and finding time to rescue Hirsh (Arkin), a former get-away driver for the mob stuck in a nursing home with emphysema.
In a joy ride, Hirsh confesses to an item in his bucket list for a three-way (menage a troi) and they go back to the brothel.

The trio finds a naked woman in the trunk of the car they jacked who had been kidnapped by a group of thugs. They decide to dispense justice. Hirsh, while waiting for Val and Doc in the get-away vehicle however dies suddenly.

Doc tries to talk the mob boss out of killing Val but fails. The mob boss threatens to harm Doc's granddaughter if he does not deliver  the job. In the end the duo takes on the mob.

"Do we kick ass or chew gum?"

"I'm out of gum" Walken does a little dance as he replies to Pacino's question. Now, how could that miss?
Pacino, Walken and Arkin work on each other with good chemistry.
Initially disconcerting, a disheveled Pacino reworks his Scent of a Woman  (Universal, 1992) role, a man who is cocky on the outside but resigned in the inside. I thought of throwing a molotov cocktail on the screen when it looked liked they were going for Scent of a Woman in that scene in a bar where Pacino asked for a dance. Thank goodness, it was not a tango.

Walken does this eye thing.
In this movie, the plot  engages because of Walken's eyes.
There's the scene that really blows where Pacino washes his face and Walken stands behind him with a cocked gun. At first, the eyes (as I saw it) reflected resolve, then conflict.
Another one was in a bar scene where two guys of the mob boss approach the duo where Pacino was snorting prescription medicine.  Walken didn't say a word but unflinchingly eyeballs the two with a most menacing stare. It was great.
Arkin plays it straight reacting to the other two. His character is another doomed guy just out to have one last party. As in Argo (Warner, 2012, Oscar recipient for best Movie) his role is short but sweet.
Mark Margolis as the mob boss, Claphands, we've seen in countless movies doing the same role but he does it well and comes out believable. Good job.
I like the touch about the painting of sunrise against the movies theme of lost causes.
Stand up Guys is a man's movie without that much violence but instead, lends a reflective view on self-conflict. The movie appeals because that's an everyday dilemma, maybe not to kill but whether to kick out an old friend because you can't afford it.
I have a few friends I spent a lot of time with who I don't see anymore, probably will not, not with our advance age. So, this one appeals to me. 

The Jagged Trek on Daang Matuwid

The admirable strength of the President in his resolute pursuit of  'Daang Matuwid' shines through despite the obstacles hurdled in his path. After almost three years in office, PNoy remains unblemished by any scandal while  his performance is generally appreciated by the constituency . So while I might agree with Richard Gordon that initially, PNoy's political clout had been largely subsidized by his mother's goodwill, the situation today is totally different. He has become his own man.

The road to exacting reforms still stretches far, but for sure, some proportions of progress have been achieved, foremost, the return of trust in government institutions. This confidence build-up is seen to have precipitated the unprecedented economic growth and an upbeat view of the international community on the country's progress. However, items hogging the headlines of late, gnaw at the gains of the regime.  

As an example, eclipsing all other news is the incursion of Filipino Muslims into Sabah that has deteriorated into a raging firefight, placing the Aquino administration squarely in a vulnerable position. The on-going situation threatens both the peace initiative in Mindanao and Malaysian-Philippine diplomatic relation. Meantime, thousands of illegal migrant Filipinos face deportation and unemployment as another result of the fracas.  

How can such a large group just sail out of Tawi-Tawi without the intelligence community getting wind of it? 

No less dangerous is the polarizing effect of the partisan politics that the catholic church assumed in its continued opposition to RA 10354 also known as the Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health Act of 2012 . Because intense canonical arguments in the interpellations failed to stop the bill from becoming law , the church continued to lambaste the policy in the pulpit . Now they're taking to campaigning against the law's proponents. Apart from the divisive nature of the action, it waters down the credibility of not just the government but the church as well. The church strikes a pose of infallibility which we know is not true. I hope the church desists from continuing its political drive and let the faithful  assess for themselves their own situations. Faith cannot be legislated. 

Sharing the front page with the Sabah incident is the misuse of the Priority Development Fund  in the amount of over P100M by three senators namely Enrile, Revilla and Estrada. If no action is taken, specifically corruption charges against the three senators, it will be viewed as a whitewash. I wonder what happened to the Commission on Audit personnel stationed at the different levels of the bureaucracy when the PDAF money were being slipped into the hands of private organizations? Aren't there prohibitions of such acts?

Buried in the inside pages, Rabusa, whistle blower on the AFP fund misuse had been cleared of charges for turning state witness. The decision of the ombudsman departs from the Lozada case. In time it could explode into another controversy with Lozada backed by the clergy. Another case that conflicts with another decision is the Abadilla 5  conviction upheld by the supreme court which situation resembles that of the suprisingly overturned case against Webb et al for murder in the Vizconde massacre. Both case stood on the testimony of a lone witness; a security guard in the Abadilla 5 while Jessica Alfaro for the latter.

All these transfer efforts from initiatives to fire fighting. Definitely two step backwards were taken.

The jagged trek of daang matuwid would certainly cause some missteps towards bringing about the egalitarian and a truly democratic society promised by 'walang wang-wang' and 'kayo ang boss ko' pronouncements. I can only hope PNoy continues to put up the good fight.

House Bill 6052: Congress working on jailing children instead of the Anti-dynasty Law

Philippines-  A debate on lowering criminal liability from 15 to 12 years old divides the lower house as it tackles House Bill (HB) 6052 titled Strengthening the Juvenile Justice System in the Philippine Act. In summary, the proposed law subjects children over 12 years old to criminal liability once found to have acted with discernment.

These people must be joking!

My fellow voters, this debate is stupid, working on how to jail children instead of crafting meaningful laws like anti-dynasty. This, definitely signals the need to change all members of congress.

Juvenile Justice is an oxymoron. How does one equate justice with children? Justice is such a vast concept that takes years to understand. Even lawmakers are lost as to its meaning like when they become fugitives, Senators Gregorio Honasan and Panfilo Lacson as well known example along with  not a few law makers who are also law breakers. 

HB 6052 was prompted by media reports on rampant shenanigans committed with audacity right in the busy highway of EDSA by out-of-school youth gangs alternately called 'Bakal Boys' , 'Car Wash' and 'Tropang Rugby' .  One very graphic footage captured a taxi driver in mid morning traffic assaulted by a boy, probably no more than 15 whose cohorts, meantime, grabbed the cabbie's earnings. It was a stunning depiction of lawlessness.

And Lawlessness is what it is, the inability of law enforcement agencies to enforce the law. One day Philippine Law enforcement would land in Roget's as an oxymoron.
Children are children. What these children lack for parents, the state must provide but not in form of incarceration.
Poverty kicked these children out of homes, into the street and into sniffing rugby. We know about syndicates who pick up these  children using them to beg. We know about men in uniform, men in high places cuddling these syndicates but what do our lawmakers do, they decide to jail children. S T U P I D !!!!
Poverty is caused by a myriad of corrupt practices that  has stunted the rise of a level playing field- government corruption, oligarchy, dynasty and the alliance of criminals and law enforcement personnel. And what do our lawmakers decide on, to jail children. S T U P I D !!!!
One day we'll see news of an ambush in Antimonan of 200 kids massacred under Oplan Batang Armado.
If they are going to say children of 12 can have discernment, then we should not call them children. These people of 12 years and above should be, if they can be criminally liable :
(1) allowed to vote
(2) contract marriage- (and where will that leave your RH law)
(3) Have consensual sex
(4) be emancipated from their parents
(5) be able to go into a contract
(6) sue
(7) allowed to drive
(8) statistics would include them in the ranks of unemployed if they're not in school
Look at the HB, it doesn't bother to mention these ramifications. What can I say?

The Righteous Path

Philippines-Campaign for election 2013 nears fever pitch with everybody in helter skelter. Candidates of all hues prominently run around covering as much area as humanly possible, spreading good cheers and money as long as their pockets hold out. People cheerily flood candidates' HQ to return home with some booty. Local leaders once again step into the spotlight while the sea of unemployed gain work, at least in the next three or four months. Suppliers are abuzz.
It's Christmas in February!!
Elections- I love elections. It's the only time when ordinary citizens rule; when the corrupt regurgitate what they stole and economics is at its high. Everybody is happy- that is until the last vote has been tallied and the corrupt retains their position. Then it's back to the grind.
As citizens, we should make every election work.
In character , the President dives into the campaign, head first, hands-on, landing squarely on ground zero. Endorsing in Cavite the senate candidacy of the 12 administration bets culled from a hodge fudge of disparate parties, called Team PNoy, he makes his call using the slogan that has kept people , even his detractors, glued to his every move- DAANG MATUWID (THE RIGHTEOUS PATH).

When first heard back in 2010 , I thought it was so cheesy that it would immediately kill the lactose intolerant. Pointedly addressed at his immediate predecessor, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo (GMA) , the slogan struck a raw nerve in the voting population, made clear in the landslide victory of President Benigno Simeon C. Aquino III (PNoy) over his opponents including heavy favorite former president Joseph Estrada and media front runner, senator Manny Villar. After two odd years in office, the slogan remains the resounding battle cry of the administration that has kept the popularity of PNoy at the forefront of national politics. In November 2012, result of the Pulse Asia survey yielded a high trust rating of PNoy at 78% . It is widely expressed that this popularity spearheaded the unexpected economic growth for 2012 of 6.6%.
The exact translation of 'Daang Matuwid' (Daan: path, road, way/Matuwid: straight) in English would be the straight path but that losses the impact of its connotation with governance. Righteous to my mind aptly translates the message of justice with compassion, moral, ethics, social equity and level playing field that PNoy in the image of his mother Cory would like to impart. The slogan brings to the fore, not for the first time I am sure, albeit differently accentuated, the malady of corruption that afflicted the succession of regimes. Corruption in turn, accounts for wide spread poverty and a general climate of lack of opportunities. So it was that the GMA regime was used as a springboard to catapult Daang Matuwid soaring into national consciousness like the Good Year Blimp on a bright sunny day. Not that her 9-year regime towered in terms of corruption in the annals of Philippine governance but the presidency of GMA fell into so much controversies that made her poster girl material. In his inaugural speech, PNoy further defined 'Daang Matuwid'' by calling the citizens his boss and vowed 'Walang Wang-Wang' a reference to practice of government officials in using sirens to sweep clean roads when they pass, avoiding traffic. The speech sounded like the beginning  of a government 'of the people, by the people, for the people' aspirations verbalized by Abraham Licoln and John Kennedy.
PNoy spent the whole first year of his presidency leading the campaign to impeach Supreme Court chief Justice Corona, intruding on the trial by unabashedly criticizing, accusing and indicting Corona publicly which resulted to PNoy garnering criticisms.  He saw Corona as the last visage of the GMA regime, an obstacle to finally holding GMA accountable for her corruptions.
However, rumor mill spins the tale of PNoy's merely exacting vengeance on GMA for her pull out of law enforcement personnel in Hacienda Luisita during a violent incident. Then, there was the pull out of security escorts of Cory which appears left of righteousness and downright petty.
Eventually, Corona was unseated in a dramatic trial that saw an inept prosecution team, and a gathering of  two brilliant aging lawyers, one for the defense and the other as chief impeachment judge. Before anyone can bat an eyelash, PNoy installs Lourdes Sereno as Chief Justice to the howl of protests in the legal circle.  Seen from another angle it seems PNoy was out to control the judiciary.
Now with elections, he might just also control the legislative branch, if he has not already.
The man's on a roll given his batting average. There's the  hiatus on demolition of informal squatter families cheered on by probably half of the residents of metro Manila. Pnoy also pushed the much contested Reproductive bill to now Republic Act 13054 against an intense lobby of the catholic church which has yet to stop. And topping the cake, a 6.6% economic growth hailed by both outside and inside industry leaders.
However, it seems his overriding goal is to see GMA in jail.
Is he living up to the righteous path? As far as he is concerned, Pnoy remains unblemished by any accusation of corruption, so maybe. However, his defense of classmates,shooting colleagues and a myriad of friends  installed as government functionaries have been subject of criticism more prominently those of Viriginia Torres over Stradcom, Rico Puno over Jueteng, Proceso Alcala over Carp and Rene Almendras over the handling of the Mindanao energy crisis. Also PNoy seem prone to the bulldozer tactics as in the Corona impeachment. Likely he sees ends justifying the means, a horrible proposition.
If PNoy succeeds in getting a majority in both houses, he becomes dictator. It would be the biggest irony in Philippine history. There would be no fiscalizer; no check, no balance, no righteous path.
Do you think that if UNA is able to dominate the senate and congress, there would be a fiscalizing element? I think not. They are the same dynasty oriented, pork barrel consuming, MOOE realigning, committee hungry, neurotic lot as their fathers.
It is wise therefore, to look for alternative candidates that may help PNoy really implement this much vaunted  'Daang Matuwid'. But then if you look at the roll of candidates, there's slim pickings made more obvious with three candidates included in both UNA and Team PNoy slate.
Still there are the few promising prospects, so look up: John Carlos Delos Reyes, Kapatiran with his hands-on campaign against social ills; Greco Belgica, Democratic Party of the Philippines with his progressive tax concept and Edward Hagedorn, no none sense former Palawan mayor.

Good Music and Excellent Food at The X Bar

Ortigas Center crawls with bars, there's one on every corner of every kind- from convenience stores that have taken to serving alcohol and music, crowded by the call center practitioners, 24/7; to dives serving cheap street foods and cold beers; to pool halls and sports bar; to KTVs with their Hi-Definition, Sensurround systems; to stand alone bars playing live music with middle income prices and then hotels with their staple of live acts and fancy food. Each cater to a specific market, setting prices and entertainment fare accordingly. So if you're working in the area, there is not going to be a dirt of places to go come special occasions or the occasional three rounds to bide time while traffic flow eases. 

Nine years ago, I tried a place called the X bar, recommended by Arthur where he performed regularly. Apart from the X, Arthur had dozens of gigs in the circuit at that time, including the Kalesa Bar at the Hyatt-Regency  (Now Midas) where I chanced upon his Tuesday night performance.

Arthur is a big guy with long hair tied in a pony tail, making him look like a sumo wrestler rather than a Tony Bennet-James Ingram, Luther Vandross sound alike. Several foreign acts have chosen  Arthur to open, most famously for Pat Upton of the defunct Spiral Staircase. Conducting his show with a bit of comedic flair sometimes bordering on the ribald, I was immediately captivated by this huge guy and struck a conversation with him. Thus, he gave me his club schedule. His style sometimes goes off the wall as in a show at the Hard Rock Cafe where he poked fun at a foreigner who did not understand a single word of Tagalog. He had him sing obscene lyrics to an otherwise serious ballad that sent the audience rolling down the isle. The companions did not find it funny  and a little altercation ensued or that's how I remember the event.
At the first instance I tried it, the X bar stood unremarkable with its staid interiors, bad sound system and inattentive crew. But the food was great and judging by its prices, were totally cheap compared to other hotel bars. And the coffee,uhmmm was magnifico, made  even better with free refills to boot. With Arthur on stage, my night was complete.It thus became a once a week destination for me specifically on nights of Arthur's performance. Later. I would introduce it to friends who found the atmosphere cozy enough for repeat visits.

Observing the crowd in my weekly jaunt, there was this particular group that came to my attention who seem to attend Arthur's weekly gig as I did. It was a big group, 6 or 7, consisting of mostly gentlemen in their advance years. They seem fairly well-off, drinking single malt scotch or blue as well as gorging on expensive cuisines on the menu . At the last set, the group would invariably take to the stage on what would be an impromptu open mike. Arthur would sit beside me as we watched the going-ons. Looking like they enjoyed sequestering the stage, the group conducted the late night proceedings themselves, calling on  one another for turns on the stage or inviting the other habitues.  They could carry tunes with repertoires markedly 1940's-50's, leaning towards old Sinatra tunes  and classic musical materials from the likes of 'King and I', Guys and Dolls, or South Pacific and a mild sprinkling of 60's ditties  There were times, I myself took to the stage at the egging of Arthur but to my dismay the piano player wasn't familiar with 70's tunes.

In time, I was formally introduced by Arthur to the group. There was Danny who seemed to be always footing the tab and would sing MacArthur's Park (Jimmy Webb, composer, Edwin Morris publishing, 1968) in his inimitable rendition. Joey, another performer who would later replace Arthur does a hilarious parody behind Danny, of course. Another member of the entourage was Chito, the stage actor, who would be invariably asked for several anchors, specially by the ladies. Vic almost always took the house down with his rendition of "Big Spender' (Cole-Fields, from the Musical Sweet Charity, Chrysalis Music Group publisher, 1966) accompanied by a rollicking dance number then seguing into a display of his french. It was amusing hearing  songs with  original french lyrics, back to back with the English version like 'My Way' (Comme d' Habitude written by Claude Fracois and Jaques Revaux). My favorite remains 'Beyond the Sea' originally 'La Mer' composed by Charles Trenet (1913-2001) with the unrelated English adaptation by Jack Lawrence (1912-2009, Songwriters' Hall of Fame 1975)  . Ben, who passed in 2006 sang a variety of Sinatra tunes with an easy style. Once in a while his daughter would join the group singing samba ditties in their original Portuguese lyrics. Mel and Long sang with baritone voices that caught the attention of the crowds. Completing the group was Boy who loved dancing as well as singing. Once in while, he would dazzle with his piano playing.
At the piano was Ferdie Borja, player extraordinaire who was followed by the group of Danny from gig to gig. Prior to the x bar,  Ferdie played in a bar in Mabini for nine years. While never having formally studied piano, he started as a piano demonstrator and salesman and had played gigs with a multitude of big name singers in the club circuit.
Amazingly,he could play back a tune on the piano with just one hearing, sometimes annotating on paper with symbols that only he understands. To me, he is piano superhuman. The thing with Ferdie, however, is that at the time we got introduced, he was lost with 70's music and rock and roll in general. A month of us talking and jamming together sorted the problem.
Ferdie and me became good friends sharing a love for TV trivia apart from music. In his opening pieces, before the featured singers would take the stage, I would challenge him, now and then, to play now obscure TV series themes as that one from Mannix (CBS 1967-1975, music by Lalo Schifrin) or M.A.S.H (CBS 1972-83 theme by Johnny Mandel, Suicide is Painless). Do you remember Thomas Hewitt Edward Cat? Look it up.

Not a few big names visited the X bar in the years 2003-09, either brought along by Danny's group or those who were looking for Ferdie like: Senator Dick (he sings well), Vernie V., Karylle, Jose Marie, A Ferdie namesake who is lawyer of a previous president who also surprisingly sang very well; international singer David and some other movie denizens I cannot recall at the moment.
Some notable staple performers who graced the X bar stage include Joey Bautista of Mulato, guitarist par excellance Paul Sotto, Girl Valencia and the current Friday headline, the Big Bash.
Right now the X is under renovation. Through the years, service had improved to the relief of frequent visitors, I sincerely hope that with the renovation, they would change their sound system. I'm sure that as soon as it opens it would be back to good music and excellent food.