The Philippines has launched a new blockchain-based system called Integrity Chain to increase transparency in government spending, especially for flood-control projects. This move follows massive protests by over 130,000 people demanding accountability for widespread corruption in multi-billion-peso infrastructure contracts. The system was developed by local startup BayaniChain Ventures and will be used initially by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).
Integrity Chain records every contract, budget release, and project milestone on an immutable digital ledger secured by Polygon’s Proof-of-Stake blockchain. This ensures that all records are time-stamped, tamper-proof, and publicly verifiable. Independent validators from civic groups, universities, and media institutions review and confirm the data, with their verification activities also recorded on the blockchain to discourage misconduct.
The system responds to corruption revelations in flood-control projects that may have cost the government over one trillion pesos—an amount surpassing historical theft during the Marcos Sr. dictatorship. Investigations found that contractors frequently used substandard materials and inflated costs to fund kickbacks to officials. Although nearly 10,000 flood-control projects have been launched under the current administration with billions spent, many have proven defective or even nonexistent.
The launch of Integrity Chain is seen as a technological solution to restore trust in government by making budget management permanent and unavoidable to monitor. It also holds promise to expand beyond DPWH to protect the entire national budget, estimated at $98 billion annually, through cryptographic transparency rather than relying on political promises. This innovation aligns with public sentiment, as a recent survey showed that 83% of Filipinos trust blockchain technology to help fight corruption effectively.