MANILA, Philippines?If you ask singer Dingdong Avanzado, it?s no chore to work with an ex-girlfriend, especially if she?s Rachel Alejandro.

?We haven?t performed together in 15 years,? he noted.

They were not only a couple, they were also a music tandem who collaborated on ?Paalam Na,? the Awit Song of the Year in 1995. (He wrote the music; she, the lyrics.)

As such, they entitled their reunion concert ?Music & Lyrics,? held Saturday at Metro Bar, West Ave., QC.

Reunion of two artists

They?ve remained friends even after the end of their three-year relationship in ?95, he recalled. ?I became closer to her father (Hajji Alejandro) after we split up pa nga.?

There?s no awkwardness between them, she agreed. ?But the producers made sure to talk to his wife first.?

Avanzado is now married to singer Jessa Zaragoza, with whom he has a five-year-old daughter Jayda. ?The producers got Jessa?s consent first,? he recounted.

He pointed out that it?s not impossible for exes to share the stage or collaborate in the recording studio.

?But the show was not about the reunion of two former lovers,? he explained. ?It?s the reunion of two artists. It?s like we were revisiting our music. That whole era.?

It was not about dredging up the past, he insisted. ?That?s finished na,? he said.

But will he ever work with another former girlfriend, Rufa Mae Quinto, who had a very public tiff with his wife last year?

?If she?s doing an album or a show ? it?s all in the right timing.? He hastened to add, however, that he and his wife haven?t seen nor talked to Quinto since the controversy hit the fan.

?At that time, all we wanted to do was set the record straight,? he said of the verbal tussle between the two women.

In any case, he is too busy to bother with intrigues. He?s juggling work as producer of Zaragoza?s all-English CD, and singer-composer for his own album of original songs.