Rep. Javier Miguel “Javi” Benitez*
Rep. Javier Miguel “Javi” Benitez (Neg. Occ., 3rd District) said he has 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 bill complements Sen. Paolo Benigno “Bam” Aquino’s earlier filed Senate Bill 1330, “Blockchain the Budget Bill,” aligning both chambers toward open-budget governance, Benitez said on Wednesday, Sept. 10.
“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.
“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.
Aquino, in a press release, earlier said his bill seeks to mandate the creation of a National Budget Blockchain System to strengthen transparency, accountability, and public participation in the country’s budget process.
While the national budget is one of the most important instruments of governance, Aquino said documents related to it have remained closed, highly technical and difficult to understand, making oversight almost impossible even for those who want to scrutinize them.
“This bill seeks to modernize budget transparency and accountability through the use of blockchain technology. The goal is not only to make sure that the budget is publicly available, but also to ensure that it is accessible and open for citizen engagement,” Aquino said.
Through blockchain, collaboration can be strengthened across the Executive and Legislative branches, along with civil society organizations and other stakeholders who play a vital role in sustaining and deepening democracy, he said.
It also serves as a powerful tool for accountability as all budget transactions become transparent, immutable, and auditable, he added.
“This ensures that every peso can be tracked by the public. No more ‘fly-by-night’ contractors. No more hidden projects unknown to local governments,” he said, adding that prices of materials can be easily compared across contracts.
If enacted into law, the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), in coordination with the Department of Budget and Management and the Commission on Audit, will establish a blockchain-based budget system where all records of the national budget are recorded as digital public assets (DPAs), he said.
A public portal with real-time access to DPAs will be established to enable citizen, COA, and oversight bodies to independently verify the flow of funds, down to the agencies, projects, and beneficiaries, Aquino added.*