Writing for the Northern Philippine Times, Anne Ruth dela Cruz and Joy M. Cabrillos cited the case of sing-along bistro The Library, owned by Andrew de Real, who opened it on June 21, 1986 as, at the time, the only comedy bar in the country.  “Back then the only time you could watch a comedy act was when either Mitch Valdes or Nannete Inventor had a show,” De Real was quoted as saying, adding that this was what made him realize “it was time the public had a regular venue for comedy.”

And while the concept behind The Library was simple – every Friday and Saturday night a sing-along master would sing a few songs, perform a comedy act, and then encourage the audience to participate by singing on stage – its effect to the community was, arguably, tremendous.  Among others, it helped establish the Malate district of the City of Manila as an entertainment destination, just as it established stand-up comediennes into entertainment personalities, e.g. Ai-Ai de las Alas and Allan K., who both, in the end, became business partners when they established their own same-themed venues in Klownz and Zirkoh in Quezon City.

The bigger impact was, of course, in the venue’s establishment of a gay place, then largely lacking, so that with The Library, De Real more than found a good business (he recouped initialinvestments in less than a year – as did Allan K. and De las Alas), he founded a gay culture somehow.

In so many ways, and though this time in a more Western-influenced kind of way, these are also the very achievements done by such gay venues as Bed Bar in Malate, not too far from The Library, Palawan 1 and 2 in Cubao, Quezon City, and Club Government, along Makati Avenue in Makati City – they all found niche markets, thereby making good money as businesses (e.g. Palawan 1 is jam packed from Sunday to Friday, and Palawan 2 is a fire hazard due to its beyond capacity filling on Friday and Saturday), but they also provide arguably the only gay venues of their kind where they are established.

“I grew up in North American and I came out in North America.  I’ve only lived in the Philippines for four years, and since I arrived, the gay community has gone through so many changes.  It had its share of ups and downs. I would say that we witnessed the peak of the gay scene in 2003 when we had Circuit Asia, Icon, and GP – all of which are no longer in business,” says Henry Lim, who runs Club Government.  “Having said that, I can confidently say that we have more gay youths now who are confident to say ‘I AM GAY’ compared to four years ago.  The surge in gay bars/clubs and gay-oriented magazines in the past four years have given the ‘GAY VISIBLITY’ that we need to empower our gay youths.”

Running a gay establishment, for Lim, is no different from running any other business, however.  “In this industry, my biggest challenge is how to keep Club Government competitive in this very fickle-minded market.  With so many different bars and clubs popping up almost daily, we really need to focus on developing loyalty by creating a sense of family with our clients, by upgrading our interiors and our sounds/lighting equipment, by providing our clients with top notch DJs (local and foreign), and by providing world class service and ambiance,” he says.  “I think all the gay establishments, and even the straight establishments face the same challenge.  We all need to stay on top of our game to remain competitive and to keep our client base coming back.  In the long run, the market will benefit because the club scene will be elevated due to the fierce competition.”

Visit Club Government along Makati Avenue, Makati City.