Blockchain Budget Bill Delay Raises Doubts on Anti-Graft Agenda

The removal of a bill that would use blockchain technology to disclose national budget transactions from the administration’s priority legislative agenda could raise questions about President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr.'s commitment to fighting corruption, political analysts said. “If we consider the political climate and the ratings, it is prudent for the President to push for the bill to become a law to cement his stance for a cleaner government,” Solon S. Sison, a political science instructor at Far Eastern University, said via Facebook Messenger. The Senate passed the Citizen Access and Disclosure of Expenditures for National Accountability (CADENA) bill, which seeks to create a blockchain-based portal for government spending disclosure, on third and final reading in December 2025. The measure has remained pending at the committee level in the House of Representatives for months. The issue resurfaced after Senator Paolo Benigno A. Aquino IV raised concerns at a Development Budget Coordination Committee hearing last week over the bill’s removal from the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council’s (LEDAC) priority measures. “In the longer list of the LEDAC priorities, it’s still there, except when the LEDAC met recently, the heads, the leadership of both Congress and the Executive, they decided to shorten it at least for the next 12 months to ensure that we get the measures that are so critical,” Economic, Planning and Development Secretary Arsenio M. Balisacan told the hearing. He added that measures under the broader legislative agenda might still be fast-tracked. Edmund S. Tayao, president and chief executive officer of Political Economic Elemental Researchers and Strategists, said allegations involving multibillion-peso flood control projects and other public spending issues should increase pressure on lawmakers to act on the measure. “More than just pushing the initiative, it should already anticipate its impact and limitations if related laws are not harmonized and we continue to do a piecemeal approach,” he said in a Messenger chat. He said the bill could help restore public confidence in the government but added that lawmakers should also assess how it would interact with banking, procurement and other related laws. University of Santo Tomas political science instructor Paul Micah S.A. Francisco said the bill’s removal from the priority list could weaken perceptions of the government’s commitment to transparency and accountability. “It can serve as a deterrent against corruption since it aims for full public disclosure through digital means,” he said in a Messenger chat. “Given today’s monitory democracy, digital disclosure of government transactions is an essential action to further strengthen our institutions.” He said pressure for the bill’s passage should come not only from civil society groups but also from Mr. Marcos and leaders of both chambers of Congress. Mr. Francisco said wider public access to government transaction data could boost government credibility and discourage corruption. He cautioned, however, that the system would also require safeguards against cyberattacks and disinformation. “The government should continue to strengthen its measures against fake news since the data that will be shown in public will be vulnerable to such,” he said. Mr. Tayao said the delay in the bill’s passage might indicate unresolved concerns about the proposal itself and reflect a broader tendency toward reactive policymaking. “Considering this bill was passed on third reading last year yet remains pending suggests still unresolved issues,” he said. “Policymaking in the Philippines has always been so reactionary that it often fails to consider a more comprehensive and systemic approach.” Mr. Sison said the loss of momentum might also be tied to shifting government priorities. “Priority measures often shift due to the changing political climate,” he said. “This is one of the shortcomings of a reactionary policy orientation of a government.” The CADENA bill seeks to require full public disclosure of government transactions through a digital budget portal, letting citizens track how public funds are spent. Advocates say the system could improve transparency, accountability and public participation in budget monitoring.