Philippine Senator Proposes National Budget Transparency via Blockchain

Philippine Senator Bam Aquino has proposed a bill to place the country's entire national budget on a blockchain platform to enhance transparency and accountability in government spending. This initiative would build on an existing Department of Budget and Management (DBM) blockchain system, which already records certain fiscal documents such as Special Allotment Release Orders (SAROs) and Notices of Cash Allocation (NCAs) on the Polygon network, making them publicly verifiable and immutable. Aquino emphasized that this would make every peso traceable in real time, potentially making the Philippines the first country to implement a full national budget on-chain, though he acknowledged uncertain political support. The blockchain infrastructure is managed by local firm BayaniChain, which connects the DBM’s internal systems to the public blockchain, ensuring data security and transparency through an orchestration layer called Prismo. While blockchain alone cannot eliminate corruption, its immutable records significantly strengthen accountability by making government transactions transparent to all citizens. This proposal aligns with global trends, as governments worldwide explore blockchain for public sector transparency and operations.