BLOCKCHAIN technology can help strengthen transparency, accountability and financial inclusion in the Philippines, but its effectiveness will still depend on ethical leadership, institutional trust and public participation, speakers said during The Manila Times Blockchain Roundtable held at the Asian Institute of Management in Makati City on Tuesday, May 19.
The forum gathered technology leaders, fintech executives, digital governance advocates and cybersecurity stakeholders to discuss how blockchain and distributed ledger technologies can support public accountability and digital transformation. The discussion followed the Philippines’ move to integrate the national budget into a blockchain-based system after public outrage over alleged corruption in flood control projects.
In her opening remarks, Anna Marie Ang-Thompson, The Manila Times chief executive officer, warned against what she described as the “superficial adoption” of blockchain systems, saying agencies must embrace the principles behind the technology rather than merely adopting its language. Blanca Calilung Mercado, TMT president and chief operating officer, said the roundtable format aimed to encourage broader multistakeholder discussions on digital transformation.
Dr. Mary Joy Abueg, National ICT Confederation of the Philippines board member, said the country’s digital economy should not remain concentrated in Metro Manila and major urban centers.
Abueg highlighted regional ICT initiatives involving agritech innovation in Bukidnon, digital freelancing programs in Iligan, ICT training academies in Iloilo and Capiz, connectivity projects in Zamboanga, and innovation ecosystems in Palawan. She said these initiatives demonstrate how technology can support inclusive regional growth.
“The digital economy cannot only be a Metro Manila story,” Abueg said, adding that regional empowerment should help drive the projected $2-trillion Asean digital economy.
She said blockchain could improve procurement transparency, secure public records and reduce corruption if implemented properly across local government units. Abueg also stressed the importance of collaboration among government, academe and industry through the organization’s “MAGI” framework, or “Making the Academe, Government and Industry collaborate.”
Gail Cruz-Macapagal, Qadena Foundation executive director, said blockchain technology can improve public trust because it creates transparent and immutable records.
“Blockchain is not a magic solution, but it is one of the most powerful tools we have today to strengthen public trust,” Cruz-Macapagal said.
She said blockchain systems could create verifiable audit trails for public funds, procurement systems, health care records and educational credentials. However, she emphasized that technology alone cannot solve governance issues.
“Trust still depends on ethical leadership, good governance, proper regulation, digital literacy and inclusive implementation,” she said.
Her remarks echoed points raised in a Manila Times editorial published after the forum, which said blockchain tools would only work effectively if public officials adopt a mindset that values transparency and accountability. The editorial warned that blockchain could become merely “a superficial solution” if genuine reforms are absent.
For his part, Sam Jacoba, National Association of Data Protection Officers of the Philippines founding president, said trust has become part of national digital infrastructure.
“If we are serious about becoming a First-World digital nation, we must recognize that truth and public trust are now critical to digital infrastructure,” Jacoba said.
Jacoba described blockchain as an “infrastructure for trust” capable of supporting verifiable records, digital identities and transparent governance systems.
He outlined what he called the “five Ts” of digital transformation — test, truth, transformation, trust and tenacity — arguing that countries cannot sustain digital growth without resilient institutions and ethical cyber leadership, as reported by Ed Paolo Salting in The Manila Times on May 20.
“You cannot have a borderless economy if you have a trust deficit,” Jacoba added during the discussion.
Imelda Tiongson, Fintech Alliance PH trustee, linked transparency issues to foreign investment and economic competitiveness.
Tiongson cited the country’s declining position in corruption perception rankings and said weak accountability systems could undermine investor confidence. She said blockchain could help improve governance if supported by both government and the private sector.
“The success of this and other integration of technologies ultimately depends on the collective will of the government and the citizens to uphold transparency, accountability and integrity,” Tiongson said in the earlier Manila Times report.
She added that blockchain should not be treated as a standalone solution but as part of broader institutional reforms aimed at restoring public trust.
Ann Cuisia, Traxion Tech chief executive officer, warned that some organizations risk treating blockchain as a branding exercise instead of a genuine accountability tool.
“Blockchain should not become a branding layer for uploaded reports or after-the-fact summaries,” Cuisia said. “A corrupt manual process simply becomes a corrupt digital process.”
Cuisia said the real value of blockchain lies in recording government transactions directly from source systems in real time, including procurement, disbursements and audit activities. She argued that verifiability — rather than merely publishing reports online — should become the goal of transparency initiatives.
Her comments aligned with concerns raised in the May 21 Manila Times editorial, which noted that only about 200 local government units have explored or implemented blockchain systems despite the technology’s potential for improving accountability.
Emmanuel Ignacio, Coins.ph business development and marketing manager, said blockchain discussions should focus less on speculation and more on financial access and participation.
Ignacio discussed the potential of real-world asset tokenization, which allows assets to be divided into smaller digital units that can be owned by more people. He said blockchain technology could help ordinary Filipinos gain access to investment opportunities that were previously difficult to reach.
“Inclusive finance shouldn’t end with giving people access to payments or digital wallets,” Ignacio said. “It should also include giving more people the opportunity to participate in wealth creation.”
Ignacio added that regulation, security and consumer education would remain essential to the responsible growth of blockchain systems and digital assets.
Meanwhile, Novare Technologies founder and Ateneo de Manila University professor William Emmanuel Yu said government agencies must improve data quality, interoperability and public participation to maximize blockchain’s benefits. Yu also stressed that technology should always be applied within the proper context and supported by usable data standards.
The Manila Times editorial concluded that blockchain is “not a silver bullet,” but said careful and incremental adoption could improve transparency and accountability if balanced against concerns involving privacy, cost and technical readiness.
