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Following the Senate’s approval of the Citizens Access and Disclosure of Expenditures for National Accountability (CADENA) Act, the push for tech-based transparency (currently, it will utilize blockchain) has reached the Lower House.
Mamamayang Liberal Party-list Representative Leila de Lima officially filed House Bill No. 6898, a measure that seeks to place all government budget records on a transparency portal.
The bill “fully adopts” the provisions of Senate Bill No. 1506, authored by Senator Bam Aquino, which was passed on third and final reading earlier this week.
‘Blockchain the Budget’: What HB 6898 Does
House Bill No. 6898 mandates the creation of a centralized Digital Budget Portal where all government agencies, Government-Owned or -Controlled Corporations (GOCCs), and their subsidiaries must publish their financial documents.
By utilizing the best available technology, currently blockchain, the proposed system ensures that once data, such as contracts or fund releases, is uploaded, it cannot be altered, deleted, or hidden by corrupt officials.
To oversee this massive digital shift, the bill also proposes the creation of a National Budget Transparency and Accountability Council. This body will be tasked with crafting policies, conducting audits, and ensuring the portal remains secure and accessible to the general public. (Read the full article on CADENA: Just In: Sen. Bam Aquino’s ‘Blockchain Bill’ Rebrands to ‘CADENA’: Targets 2026 Phase 1 Rollout | BitPinas
Closing the ‘Glaring Gap’ in Accountability
De Lima emphasized that the measure aims to fix the institutional weaknesses that allow funds to be siphoned off unnoticed.
“Mas magiging posible ang tapat at malinis na budget kung may madaling access ang publiko sa mga impormasyon ukol sa budget process,” De Lima stated. (A deeper access to information regarding the budget process will make an honest and clean budget more possible.)
She described the current system as having a “glaring gap” that shields negligent officials. “Given the deep public mistrust brought forth by the unprecedented scale of recent corruption scandals, it becomes even more imperative to ensure complete and reliable disclosure,” she added.
A Priority Measure Amid Scandals
The filing of the House version comes at a critical time. President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. recently declared the CADENA Act a priority legislation, fast-tracking its passage in response to the multibillion-peso flood control scam that has rocked the administration.
The bill is listed alongside other key reforms, including the Independent Commission Against Infrastructure Corruption Bill and the Anti-Political Dynasty Act.
De Lima is not alone in this push; More representatives also filed a similar measure in the House earlier. (Read more: List of Blockchain and Bitcoin Bills Filed in the Philippines)
Scope: From Planning to Audit
If enacted, HB 6898 will require the publication of comprehensive data covering the entire budget cycle. Documents to be uploaded to the blockchain include:
- National Expenditure Program (NEP)
- General Appropriations Bill (GAB) versions
- Special Allotment Release Orders (SARO)
- Procurement Contracts
- Audit Reports
- Budget of Expenditures and Sources of Financing
This “end-to-end” visibility is designed to allow citizens and watchdogs to track every peso from its allocation in Congress to its final disbursement on the ground.
This article is published on BitPinas: Rep. De Lima Files House Bill Fully Adopting Senate’s CADENA Act of Sen. Bam Aquino
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