Baguio adopts blockchain to boost government transparency

BAGUIO CITY, Philippines — Mayor Benjamin Magalong on Monday, Sept. 8, announced that the city government will adopt blockchain technology to strengthen accountability and transparency in public service by securing key government documents.

The system, developed in partnership with BayaniChain Tech Inc. (BYC Ventures), will cover financial records, bidding processes, and infrastructure reports.

Magalong said the move will make records accessible to the public, immutable, and tamper-proof, helping to curb corruption and foster citizen trust.

City Management Information Technology Division (MITD) chief Francis Camarao described blockchain as a digital system that stores information in a way that is transparent, immutable, and resistant to hacking.

The mayor earlier signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with BYC to formalize the city’s adoption of blockchain.

The initiative is also part of Baguio’s commitment to the Open Government Partnership (OGP), a program promoting open and accountable governance in which only four local governments in the Philippines are currently members.

Magalong said the measure supports Baguio’s long-term vision of becoming a livable, inclusive, and creative city by 2043 while ensuring that public interest remains central in governance.

At the national level, the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) recently launched a blockchain system using Polygon to track public spending and improve transparency in government finance, according to AInvest.

Developed with BYC via Lumen Blockchain-as-a-Service (BaaS), the DBM system records budget documents on an immutable ledger, allowing real-time verification through blockchain.dbm.gov.ph.

The platform also uses the Prismo Protocol to filter financial data for public disclosure and is supported by Project Marissa, which aims to build secure digital governance.

AInvest reported that the DBM initiative is designed to prevent document fraud and may expand in the future to cover procurement and inventory management.