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If putting the national budget on the blockchain stops corruption, why did the multibillion-peso flood control scandal still happen?
This was the pointed question raised by former Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) Undersecretary Jeffrey Ian Dy in a recent interview, just a week after the government announced plans to put the entire 2026 General Appropriations Act (GAA) fully on-chain.
Dy’s critique coincided with a fresh wave of public scrutiny regarding the project. Amidst these discussions, Paul Soliman, CEO of the project’s technology provider Bayanichain, issued a statement clarifying that while the system ensures data integrity, its scope remains a government policy decision.
Dy: Blockchain the Budget Method Here for 2 Years, But None Happened
In an interview with the Bilyonaryo News Channel, Dy reminded the public that this initiative is not entirely new. A similar system has been in place at the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) for the last two years.
- In July 2025, the DBM launched a blockchain-based platform (blockchain.dbm.gov.ph) to verify key budget documents — specifically Special Allotment Release Orders (SAROs) and Notices of Cash Allocation (NCAs) — via the blockchain.
- However, Dy argued that the recent flood control scandal occurred despite these transparency measures. He pointed out that blockchain only records data; it does not verify if that data is truthful or if the projects on the ground actually exist.
“If you look at the flood control scandal, most of it is before the budget was enacted. It happened during the transformation of the National Expenditure Program to GAA within that period.
Within that transformation period, DBM’s blockchain initiative did not yet exist. But when the flood control happened, the initiative was already there, and the projects on the ground were not monitored.”
Jeffrey Dy, in an interview on Bilyonaryo News Channel’s “The Spokes,” translated to English
Bayanichain Clarifies: Data Integrity, Not a Silver Bullet
Following Dy’s interview, Paul Soliman, CEO of Bayanichain, posted a statement on social media to clarify the technical scope and limitations of the initiative.
Without explicitly naming Dy or referencing his interview, Soliman emphasized that the system was designed for provenance and integrity, not as a direct “anti-corruption” tool.
- The system went live in July 2025 and was implemented only for SAROs and NCAs, not the entire budget cycle.
- It uses ERC721A tokens on Ethereum Layer 2. Soliman noted, “Ethereum and its Layer 2 are not databases. You don’t put data on-chain just because you can.”
While Soliman did not provide clarity regarding concerns related to how the project was contracted by DBM to Bayanichain, an issue raised by other blockchain experts as well as including tech columnist Art Samaniego, he addressed a comment regarding the project’s implementation:
“Our role is to provide tech infra, sir. We are like Microsoft, AWS, and GCP. To further clarify, yes, that’s DBM’s discretion.”
Dy: Do Not Mislead Public, Blockchain Won’t Solve Corruption
Regardless of the technical specifics, Dy maintained that the government must be careful with its messaging. He argued that overselling the narrative that “blockchain will curb corruption” is a “sweeping statement” that could be dangerous.
He warned that if the public blindly trusts that “if it’s on the blockchain, it’s true,” they might stop scrutinizing the actual projects:
“If people are led to believe that blockchain solves corruption… they can blindly believe what is encoded. They will not verify information anymore. But democracy works two ways.”
The Path Forward: End-to-End Implementation
Both sides seem to agree on one thing: the current implementation is just a starting point. For Dy, if the government is serious about stopping corruption, blockchain must be applied end-to-end.
This means tracking not just the release of the budget document, but the actual disbursement of funds and the monitoring of project completion:
“All agencies and all projects should be involved… If you put the payment-in and payment-out transactions on the blockchain, and there is no more physical cash involved – just digital – that is when this goal will actually happen.”
This article is published on BitPinas: Ex-DICT Official on Blockchain Hype: Flood Control Scandal Proves It Can’t Stop Corruption
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