Efforts to integrate blockchain technology into government operations may soon advance in the Philippines. Senator Bam Aquino announced plans to introduce a bill that would place the country’s national budget on a blockchain platform, aiming to enhance transparency and accountability in public spending.
“No one is crazy enough to put their transactions on blockchain, where every single step of the way will be logged and transparent to every single citizen. But we want to start,” Aquino said at the event, according to local media.
Aquino noted that if successful, the Philippines could become the first country to implement such a system at a national scale, though he acknowledged uncertainty about the level of support the proposal will receive.
The senator’s remarks follow a recent blockchain-related rollout by the Department of Budget and Management (DBM). Last month, the DBM launched a document validation system on Polygon, which Undersecretary Maria Francesca Del Rosario said was designed to help counter the rise of AI deepfakes and prevent the falsification of official documents.
Globally, governments are experimenting with blockchain to improve transparency, reduce fraud, and streamline processes. For example, US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick recently announced plans to begin publishing official economic statistics, including gross domestic product (GDP) figures, on a blockchain.
Similar initiatives are being tested in countries such as Estonia and South Korea, where blockchain has been used for digital identity systems and voting trials.
Questions also remain about how sensitive budgetary data would be managed, and whether a fully public ledger or a permissioned blockchain would be more suitable.
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