Philippines Launches Blockchain-Based Transparency System

The Philippines has launched a blockchain-based transparency system for its Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) following mass protests over alleged corruption in flood-control projects worth billions.

Integrity Chain, developed by BayaniChain Ventures, was unveiled on Wednesday as a platform to record DPWH contracts and project milestones on a tamper-proof ledger.

The goal is to turn “government records into digital public assets that are immutable, verifiable, and openly validated,” stated BayaniChain CEO and co-founder Paul Soliman in an interview with Decrypt.

Once the initiative expands from the DPWH to other agencies, it could help protect the entire annual budget of the Philippines, estimated at roughly $98 billion, he said.

The project is part of a broader effort to reshape accountability across every department and every peso spent, making it “permanent, measurable, and unavoidable,” according to Soliman.

“Public trust will be rebuilt not on promises, but on cryptography, open validation, and a system where citizens themselves can verify outcomes,” he added.

The rollout follows mass protests on September 21, which drew an estimated 130,000 people to commemorate the 53rd anniversary of martial law declared by former President Ferdinand Marcos Sr. This declaration is remembered for widespread human rights abuses, censorship, and corruption.

Protests demanded accountability after revelations of overpriced contracts, substandard construction, and ghost projects in the flood-control program overseen by the DPWH. Over $33 billion was allocated to these projects over 15 years, according to the Australian Institute of International Affairs.

On-chain Civic Accountability

Similar to an earlier implementation at the Department of Budget and Management, Integrity Chain ingests data directly from DPWH systems, minting each contract, budget release, and project milestone as a digital public asset.

Prismo, the orchestration layer, manages data handling, encryption, and validation. The platform operates on Polygon’s Proof-of-Stake network, an Ethereum-compatible scaling solution that serves as its consensus and transparency layer.

The records are then cryptographically time-stamped and anchored on-chain before reaching independent validators, ensuring that any attempts to withhold or manipulate information become visible rather than hidden, said Gelo Wong, chief growth officer and co-founder at BayaniChain.

Validators include independent civic organizations, non-governmental organizations, universities, and media groups, among other sectors. They review and attest to the entries, with their actions logged as public records to maintain accountability.

Keys for validators are hardware-secured, rotated periodically, and assigned to reviews through randomization. Each validator action is recorded on-chain as its own public asset, ensuring transparency in cases of misconduct or bias, Wong explained.

Regarding safeguards, Wong highlighted the framework’s one-organization-one-vote model to prevent any sector from dominating the process. More than 40 non-governmental organizations participated at launch, contributing to a “wide and diversified base of civic accountability.”