The Philippines’ crusade against anti-corruption is finding momentum following the proposal of a bill to transfer the country’s budget to a national blockchain platform for stronger public data access to government transactions.
Philippine budget blockchain system
Through Senate Bill No.1330, Philippine Senator Bam Aquino said the creation of a blockchain-supported platform for government budget would make state financial transactions “traceable, transparent, auditable, and accessible to citizens in real time.”
“This bill seeks to modernise budget transparency and accountability through the use of blockchain technology.”
“The goal is not only to make sure that the budget is publicly available, but also to ensure that it is accessible and open for citizen engagement,” said Aquino in a Senate press statement.
If enacted, the law would deepen the collaboration between the executive and legislative branches of the government, along with civil society organisations and stakeholders, in the pursuit of a stable democracy.
During the Manila Tech Summit on August 27, Aquino said the proposed bill is a game-changing reform despite the country’s prevailing problems in the education sector, such as the lack of sufficient classrooms, textbooks, and stable internet access.
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What is blockchain technology?
Though best known for powering cryptocurrencies, blockchain is a renowned digital ledger technology that has enormous potential in revolutionising the fiscal systems of countries around the world.
The technology links transactions in blocks to create a chain that is unalterable once verified.
It will essentially make auditing government transactions easier since each block is tamper-proof, resulting in an improved public oversight of state spending.
Though Aquino’s legislative push would likely make the Philippines the first nation in the world to ever manage its $95-billion state budget entirely through blockchain, local departments have already been dabbling in the technology for their cash allotment programs.
A move against government corruption
Based on Transparency International’s 2024 Corruption Perceptions Index, the Philippines remained one of Asia-Pacific’s worst performers in the measurement, scoring only 33 out of 100 to rank 114th out of 180 countries globally.
The country’s decade-long problem of systemic graft and corruption was recently highlighted following a public furor due to substandard flood control projects spearheaded by shady contractors that are related to top government officials.
In a statement, Senator Ping Lacson alleged that the country lost about $17 billion to corrupt flood control projects from 2011 to 2025, with the lawmaker stating that corruption in the country has become “pervasive and systemic that doing so is like a piece of cake.”
Vince Dizon, the country’s newly appointed Public Works czar, has recently expressed his plan to abolish the department’s anti-graft probing body.
He said the government will create an independent commission that will handle investigations on future projects.
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Hazel Camba 
Shameeka Voyiya 
Newsjustnews writers