Philippine lawmakers push blockchain budget bills in House

Several proposals in the House of Representatives seek to put the Philippine national budget on the blockchain, a move supporters say will open government spending to real-time public scrutiny.

Rep. Javier Miguel “Javi” Benitez of Negros Occidental’s 3rd District has filed House Bill 4380, the “Blockchain the Budget Act,” which would record every peso of the national budget on a blockchain ledger. The measure mirrors Senate Bill 1330 earlier filed by Sen. Paolo Benigno “Bam” Aquino IV.

“I have filed House Bill 4380, or the ‘Blockchain the Budget Act’, to place the entire Philippine national budget on a blockchain ledger, a secure digital record where every transaction is permanent and tamper-proof. The goal is to make every peso publicly traceable and visible in real time, so that citizens, watchdogs, and lawmakers can independently verify where funds go, down to the project, agency, and centavo,” Benitez said in a Facebook post.

“If passed, this measure would make the Philippines a pioneer in open-budget governance, proving that modern technology can fight corruption, strengthen accountability, and give the people clear access to how public money is spent,” he added.

Benitez stressed that his proposal complements Aquino’s Senate version, aligning both chambers toward what he described as “open-budget governance.”

Poe backs transparency through blockchain

Rep. Brian Poe Llamanzares, representing the FPJ Panday Bayanihan Partylist and serving as Assistant Majority Leader, filed his own version on September 9. House Bill 4489, formally titled “An Act Mandating the Establishment and Implementation of a National Budget Blockchain System to Enhance Transparency, Accountability, and Public Participation in the Philippine Budget Process,” calls for a blockchain platform for budget tracking.

Poe, also a trustee of the Blockchain Council of the Philippines (BCP), said the system would make allocations and expenditures immutable and publicly accessible. His proposal mandates the creation of a National Budget Blockchain System under the supervision of the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), the Department of Budget and Management (DBM), and the Commission on Audit (COA).

Under Poe’s proposed bill, all budget transactions would be entered as digital public assets on the blockchain, with a public portal accessible to citizens, watchdog groups, and oversight bodies.

Barba pushes for wider government adoption

Rep. Angelo Barba of Ilocos Norte earlier filed House Bill 4075. His proposal goes beyond the national budget and aims to institutionalize blockchain use across several areas of government.

The measure calls for a phased rollout of blockchain in procurement, record-keeping, financial transactions, licensing, permits, and citizen registries. Under the plan, the DICT and other agencies would draft implementing rules.

Barba argued that adopting blockchain technology would bring the Philippines in line with governments worldwide experimenting with similar systems. He noted that blockchain’s tamper-proof and verifiable nature could reduce opportunities for corruption, prevent delays, and improve efficiency in service delivery.

Senate counterpart and broader context

The push in the House builds on Aquino’s Senate Bill 1330, which seeks to create a National Budget Blockchain System. Aquino earlier said the bill was designed to “modernize budget transparency and accountability” and make budget documents easier to access and understand.

Aquino pointed out that while the national budget is one of the most important tools of governance, it has often remained technical, inaccessible, and difficult to review. Blockchain, he argued, could ensure that “no more hidden projects unknown to local governments” escape oversight, while allowing price comparisons across contracts.

The Senate version also envisions real-time public portals that would allow anyone, from citizens to civil society groups, to track government spending.

Reform momentum in Congress

With Benitez, Poe, and Barba filing separate but related proposals, the House now has at least three measures advocating blockchain use in governance. All remain pending in committees but reflect growing momentum in the Philippine Congress to integrate emerging technologies into state processes.

Proponents believe that by recording the national budget on a tamper-proof digital ledger, corruption risks can be reduced, accountability strengthened, and citizens empowered to monitor projects and spending.

Benitez stressed in his post that blockchain’s potential lies in its ability to make public funds traceable “down to the project, agency, and centavo.” Poe framed his bill as part of wider transparency and participation reforms, while Barba presented his measure as a step toward aligning the Philippines with global practices.

For now, the bills will undergo committee deliberations. If approved, they will move to plenary debates before a possible bicameral reconciliation with Aquino’s Senate proposal.

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