Adventists employed in various Philippine government branches are committing themselves to oppose graft and corruption. They have banded together to form an organization called Seventh-day Adventists in Public Service (SDAPS). The primary goal is to promote honesty and transparency in government, according to Jonathan Catolico, communication director for the Southern Asia-Pacific Adventist Church region.

There are some 200 Adventists in the northern Philippines who are involved in public service, including members of the national Congress and the director of the local Bureau of Internal Revenue.

The first chapter of the organization held its first organizational meeting Nov. 18 to 20 in Palawan, North Philippines. The Palawan meeting is only the first of several organizational meetings planned nationwide by the umbrella organization, National Secretariat of Adventists in Public Service. A chapter for Central Philippines is already in the works.

“We have a cause to fight for, and that is to spell out a difference in our workplace—[to be] honest in every undertaking,” Lotie Blando, an Internal Revenue official, told delegates at the first organizational meeting.

Several government dignitaries were present for the event: Congressman Harlin Cast Abayon; Undersecretary Teddie Elson Rivera, executive vice president of the Philippine International Trading Corporation; Congressman Antonio Alvarez; and Congressman Abraham Khalil Mitra.

Abayon, who has advocated laws that advance religious liberty, emphasized that “God first” should be the rule in governance. “Unless we stick strictly to this rule, we become vulnerable to graft and corruption in the workplace,” he said.

All three members of Congress spoke about their role in governance and the need to follow through on projects that benefit the majority of their constituents and the people of the Philippines as a whole.