When Senator Bam Aquino suggested putting the entire national budget of the Philippines on the blockchain, the idea sounded like something straight out of a tech startup pitch rather than the Senate floor. But behind the buzzword is a serious proposal: take the most contentious and controversial public document each year and make it traceable in real-time by every citizen with internet access.
The Philippines has long struggled with issues of government transparency, corruption, and misuse of funds. Citizens often hear about massive budgets, but rarely see a clear path for where the money actually goes. By placing the budget on blockchain, Aquino argues that each peso spent could be tracked. No hidden deals, no vanishing funds.
Blockchain, at its core, is a digital ledger that records transactions across a decentralized network of computers. Each entry is time-stamped, tamper-proof, and visible to everyone using the system. Unlike traditional databases controlled by a single institution, blockchain ensures that once information is entered, it cannot be altered without detection. In government terms, this means transactions—such as fund releases or project payments—can be made permanently visible to the public, offering a new layer of accountability.
The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) has already tested this idea on a smaller scale. Partnering with BayaniChain and Polygon, the DBM has begun logging certain budget documents on-chain. The system records Special Allotment Release Orders (SAROs) and Notices of Cash Allocation (NCAs), ensuring that they cannot be tampered with after release. If expanded, Aquino’s plan would mean everything from agency allocations to local government disbursements could be monitored on a public ledger.
This proposal also comes at a time when the government’s handling of the National Flood Control Program has faced scrutiny. Billions of pesos have been allocated for flood management projects, yet complaints persist about questionable contracts with contractors whose families flaunt lavish lifestyles on social media, unfinished or even a lack of work when it is tagged as complete, and the grave misuse of funds by overpricing substandard materials and underdelivering production. Putting the budget and disbursements on-chain would not just be a technological experiment but a practical tool for checks and balances, giving citizens, auditors, and watchdogs a transparent view of how resources for critical programs are being spent.
Skeptics will argue this is too ambitious. Many lawmakers themselves may not want that level of scrutiny. Political pushback is inevitable, especially in a system where opacity often benefits those in power. Even Aquino admitted that gaining political support may be the hardest part. Beyond politics, there’s also the practical question: how do you make sure that blockchain transparency translates into real accountability, and not just another flashy government tech project that the public doesn’t use?
Globally, few governments have experimented with blockchain at this scale. Some cities and agencies have tested it for land titles, supply chains, or procurement, but putting an entire national budget on-chain would be a world first. That’s both an opportunity and a risk. If the Philippines manages to pull it off, it could set a precedent for other nations battling corruption. If it fails, it could be remembered as another expensive experiment that didn’t solve the real problem.
At the heart of Aquino’s proposal is a question Filipinos have been asking for decades: can we actually trust that public funds are spent where they should be? Blockchain won’t magically erase corruption, but it could remove one excuse for the lack of a clear, tamper-proof record. The bigger challenge is whether those in charge are willing to open the books, literally and digitally, for everyone to see.
If this proposal moves forward, it will force both the government and the public to confront a new reality: transparency is possible, but only if there’s enough will to accept it. The question is, are we ready for that level of honesty in governance?
