Bacolod City – Pushing for an open-budget governance, Negros Occidental Third District Rep. Javier Miguel Benitez has filed House Bill 4380, or the “Blockchain 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 statement.
In the Senate, Senator Bam Aquino also filed Senate Bill No. 1330, also known as the “Blockchain the Budget Bill,” which aims to aims to revolutionize government transparency by placing the entire Philippine national budget on blockchain technology, making every peso of public spending traceable, transparent, and auditable by citizens in real-time.
The Blockchain the Budget Bill, according to Aquino, proposes the establishment of a National Budget Blockchain System that would transform how the Philippines manages and monitors public funds. Under this system, all records of the national budget would be stored as Digital Public Assets (DPAs) on a blockchain platform, ensuring immutability and transparency.
Benitez said that the HB 4380 complements the Senate bill proposed by Senator Bam Aquino.
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, the neophyte solon from Negros Occidental further said.
Senator Aquino, in a statement, also emphasized the revolutionary nature of this approach, stating: “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.” (Gilbert Bayoran via tvds)
