A civic transparency group is urging lawmakers to pass legislation that would place the national budget on a blockchain-based system, arguing that permanent digital records will make it significantly harder to manipulate public funds.

The Concerned Citizens for Digitized Expenditure and National Audit (CADENA) urged the government to move beyond post-facto corruption investigations and build digital safeguards into budget execution.

“We are trying to find corruption, but this time we have to take it seriously,” said Dani Belo, lead convener of CADENA. “The best way is to digitalize it, like the blockchain.”

Under the proposed Citizen Access and Disclosure of Expenditures for National Accountability Act, the government would establish a National Budget Blockchain System covering all stages of the budgeting process.

Public expenditure records would be published via distributed-ledger technology, making transactions traceable and tamper-proof.

Nick Malazarte, CADENA co-convener for Visayas, explained that blockchain relies on a shared ledger where records are validated simultaneously across multiple participants, preventing secret alterations to public contracts and procurement documents.

Belo cited that the open system would create a permanent audit trail visible to independent observers, making kickbacks or unauthorized budget alterations nearly impossible to conceal.

“Nothing can be hidden here,” Belo said. “This is not a perfect solution, but it’s a big step forward to solve the corruption problem here in the country.”

The Senate approved the measure with a 17-0 vote in December 2025. The bill currently awaits action in the House of Representatives.