Manila, Philippines – Amid the issue of corruption within the government, some tech groups are pushing for the adaptation of blockchain technology to curb corruption.
During Kapihan sa Manila Bay news forum, Blockchain Council of the Philippines President Donald Lim explained blockchain technology as an advanced and decentralized database mechanism that can store records of transactions, in which can be monitored by all the involved parties.
Lim described this as a live ledger of transactions, giving a copy to all the participants to allow them to track and validate transactions.
If related to government transactions, blockchain technology will serve as a leger showing where funds and budget is allocated.
Jonathan Bocaling, president and chief executive officer of Integra Nexus Inc. detailed the four core pillars of blockchain technology:
• Immutability: Data, once written, cannot be changed.
• Transparency: Everyone in the network sees the same verified record.
• Decentralization: No single point of control or failure.
• Consensus: All participants must agree before data is validated.
These features assure that all data recorded cannot be changed; all network members can monitor the records; no point of control and authority; and all parties must agree before the data can be validated.
With this technology, any form of corruption will not seep through.
This was the basis of Senator Bam Aquino when he proposed Senate Bill No. 1330 – a measure seeking the creation of a National budget Blockchain system to strengthen transparency, accountability, and public participation in the budget process.
Aquino believes that through this technology, the public itself can check anc validate flow and allocation of every peso of the national budget.
“Sa paggamit natin ng makabagong teknolohiya, masisiguro natin na bawat piso sa ating national budget ay mapupunta sa pinaglalaanan. Matitiyak din ng taumbayan na ito’y nagagamit sa tama, hanggang sa huling sentimo.”
“This ensures that every peso can be tracked by the public. No more ‘fly-by-night’ contractors. No more hidden projects unknown to local governments,” Aquino said.
Under this proposed bill, the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), Department of Budget and Management (DBM), and Commission on Audit will create a blockchain-based budget system where all national budget records are recorded as digital public assets.
Presently, DICT is the only government agency that has a node—the eGovernment web but Lim aims that all government agencies be able to set-up their own nodes.
BCP already proposed the pilot testing of Integrity Chain before the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) which is the center of the ongoing infrastructure corruption issue.
Bocaling, on the other hand, recognized the potential security risks and data sensitivity in dealing with the national budget information, reason why he proposes a sovereignty blockchain which is locally crafted in the Philippines.
Meanwhile, DICT said that it is open to putting the 2026 national budget in the blockchain to curb corruption.
DICT is now eyeing to store the records of the 2026 budget deliberations, following President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. pushing for the livestreaming of the budget hearings at the bicameral level.
DICT Secretary Henry Aguda also confirmed that he has been in talks with blockchain networks to use the technology mechanism, but assured to not tie the Philippines with a single service provider only.—Mia Layaguin, Eurotv News