I recently joined Team RP, a college students and young professionals-led initiative that advocates truth, accountability, and reform in Philippine government. (What a surprise that I received an invite, given that I am neither a college student nor a young professional. Ah, the joys of not looking, sounding, or acting one’s age.)

Team RP is one of the many groups seeking truth, accountability and reform in government. I’m not exactly sure what other groups propose to do, but I imagine much of their rah-rah-rah’s revolve around kicking President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo out of office.

I wish she weren’t our president. I do not believe she won the elections, and I do not believe she has never stolen a centavo from public coffers, as much as Luli would like to have us believe. I do not believe she has this nation’s best interests at heart. I did not believe her when she said she would not run again, and I will not believe any future announcements on her future political plans. I do not believe the economy improved the way it did based solely on her efforts. As far as I am concerned, the President’s integrity is slightly higher than that of the fleas on my dog.

Despite all this, I believe President Gloria Arroyo should finish her term.

Not necessarily because of the economy, which could have improved significantly more had our public servants not been so… um… greedy. Not necessarily because of the relative lack of someone viable to replace her. Certainly not necessarily because of our long history of using unconstitutional means to deal with our dissatisfaction with our presidents.

I think GMA needs to finish her term because it allows us, the hopeful idealists in the private sector, many in the middle class, to prepare for 2010. If we want truth and accountability in government, we’re not going to get it overnight. We’re not going to get it by forcing our president out.

The lack of integrity in people runs deeper than the head of state. It’s become part of our psyche as a people. It happens when drivers run red lights, and when said drivers try to bribe traffic cops when caught. (I regret having wished the fleas of a thousand camels occupy the ear lobes of drivers behind me honking their horns because I refuse to run a red light.) It happens when people try to use their connections to get a better seat, a better job, entrance into a better school. It happens all the time. At some point, we are all guilty, but God is a God of second, third, 152nd chances, and I think we owe it to ourselves and the future generations to forgive ourselves and start fresh.

If I’m not mistaken, this is what Team RP is aiming for. Reform has to start somewhere. I think if we want truth, accountability, and reform, we need to set the gold standard by living lives that emulate those values. If we want a government that is respected by the people, we the people need to respect the government and work with it towards that reform.

The pollyanna Pinoy in me believes truth and accountability in government - the ideals sought by groups like Team RP - is possible. The hopeful Filipino in me believes there are still good government officials, and not everyone is out there looking for a slice of the pie. Yes, the system is corrupt, and people can cheat their way to victory in elections, and ‘clean’ people can become sullied in government, but the optimistic Philippine citizen in me says we need to give it a shot. I’ll be darned if Nathan and Nicki grow up in a society where greed is moderated instead of eradicated and corruption is tolerated instead of punished.

Allow me to steal a line from US Senator Barack Obama, who has struck a chord with many Americans on the basis of his ‘politics of change.’ Obama has built his campaign on the ‘audacity of hope.’ His is “a politics of common sense, of common purpose, of shared sacrifice and shared prosperity.”

If we cannot trust our politicians to put the nation first, to share in our sacrifice, and to use common sense in their day-to-day business (i.e. not rob us blind) so we can all share in the resulting prosperity, then we ourselves would do well to ensure we the people do not put these so-called public servants in power. A public servant whose heart is in the right place will not tolerate corruption. Period.

We cannot afford to be apathetic. We are going to have to work hard to make inroads, to become part of the system so we can change the system. We’re going to have to create a network of people who will stand by during elections to prevent fraud and ensure the crooks no longer stay in office. We are going to have to be positive influences on people in government, and renew in them the fire that may have gone out, thanks to the suffocating nature of government business. We are going to have to educate the masses on the implications of the padrino system, the vote-buying system, and how government can empower them to live more affluent lives.

Assuming the Constitution is respected between today and the elections in 2010, we have two years. Two years to influence people in government. Two years to reach out to the masses and educate them on the issues. Two years to prepare for public service qualified persons currently in the private sector. Such are the options available to us in our current democracy.

For as long, however, as the Constitution remains in place, we must at least respect that cornerstone, that Bible of our democracy. If we stumble into the pitfall of kicking out a president unconstitutionally, I truly fear for the survival of our democracy as we know it, and more importantly, the integrity and respect for truth, accountability, justice, and equality for which it stands.

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