Recently, the tech circle in the Philippines exploded with a sensational announcement - Senator Bam Aquino directly declared: they want to move the entire national budget onto the blockchain! If this succeeds, the Philippines could become the first country in the world to manage its national finances with blockchain!
Some may ask: Can blockchain manage the budget? What’s the use of that? Aquino hit the nail on the head with one sentence: 'No one would be foolish enough to put all transactions on the blockchain and record every step for everyone to see - but we are going to do this 'foolish thing'!' He said this very practically at the Manila Technology Summit: once the system is implemented, every Filipino will be able to trace 'where every peso (Philippine currency) was spent,' whether it’s building schools, repairing roads, or giving subsidies to grassroots, every step will leave a trace on the chain, and it can’t be changed.
What’s even more exciting is that this is not a 'castle in the air' - the Philippine Department of Budget and Management (DBM) already has a foundation! The blockchain platform they are currently using is already the first on-chain system in Asia that can check budgets in real-time, specifically designed to record important financial documents. The local company BayaniChain, responsible for the technology of this platform, also expressed support immediately: 'Aquino's ideas align with ours! We want to make the Philippines' finances more transparent and officials more accountable.'
However, CEO Paul Soliman did not exaggerate: 'Blockchain is not an 'all-purpose medicine' against corruption, but it can lock every expenditure in an immutable record - if officials want to misappropriate funds or inflate reports? Just check the chain and it will all be exposed.' Their role is to build a technological bridge: connecting DBM's internal financial system with the public blockchain, so key documents like 'Special Allotment Release Order (SARO)' and 'Cash Allocation Notice (NCA)' can be checked and verified online in the future, and exist permanently on the chain, not afraid of being lost or changed.
It is worth mentioning that the technology used in this system is quite 'down-to-earth' - based on the Ethereum ecosystem's Polygon network (those in the know understand that Polygon is secure and efficient, and it can also be compatible with Ethereum), plus Prismo acts as a 'steward' responsible for data encryption, processing, and verification, ensuring transparency while safeguarding against information leaks.
However, there hasn’t been a formal proposal submitted yet, and Aquino also said, 'It’s uncertain how much support we can get,' and his team hasn’t responded with more details. But just think about it: in the future, the taxes you pay can be traced on the chain to see exactly where they were spent on which project or step, no more guessing 'Is the money being misused?' - This matter of 'opening the national ledger for inspection' is worth keeping an eye on for progress, regardless of the final outcome!
