SEN. Bam Aquino renewed his call for the House of Representatives to approve the Citizen Access and Disclosure of Expenditures for National Accountability (Cadena) Act, saying full transparency in government spending is urgently needed as severe flooding again battered communities across the country.
Aquino said Senate Bill (SB) 1506, which seeks to establish a digital platform where Filipinos can track government budgets and expenditures, has remained pending in the House for seven months after being approved by the Senate on third and final reading in December 2025.
The measure was approved 17-0, with no negative votes or abstentions, and remains listed as pending in the House.
It was also among the legislative priorities endorsed by the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council (Ledac).
“It has been pending for seven months. A number of colleagues in Congress are pushing it also. But for some reason, it has not been passed by the House,” Aquino said.
He noted that the measure, previously ranked third among Ledac priority bills, has since dropped to 41st but remains on the priority list.
“I have a commitment from our leadership that doesn’t mean that from 3 to 41 it’s no longer on the list. It’s still on the list,” Aquino said, urging lawmakers to work for its passage.
The Cadena Act would require government agencies to upload and regularly update detailed records of public spending — including contracts, project costs, bills of materials and procurement documents — through a centralized digital budget platform.
Under the Senate-approved version, the system would make government budget transactions publicly accessible while ensuring that records are tamper-resistant, traceable, interoperable and independently verifiable.
The measure evolved from Aquino’s earlier Philippine National Budget Blockchain Act, which was consolidated with another proposal and became the Cadena Act.
Aquino said the system would give citizens, journalists and oversight bodies a way to follow public funds from allocation to actual disbursement, making it more difficult to conceal irregular transactions or fabricate supporting documents.
He said the need for such a mechanism has become more apparent amid renewed flooding and continuing public scrutiny of alleged irregularities in flood-control projects.
“Now that the flood is serious again and people are remembering the misuse of the budget in previous years. The best way to address corruption is to have full transparency,” Aquino said.
His call comes as other senators have also sought greater accountability for billions of pesos allocated for flood-control projects.
Sen. Francis Pangilinan recently called for a comprehensive national flood-management plan and a full accounting of flood-control funds amid widespread flooding caused by heavy monsoon rains.
The government has faced sustained scrutiny over flood-control spending following allegations of irregularities in projects, prompting investigations and calls for reforms.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has said the administration would continue pursuing those responsible for alleged corruption in flood-control projects.
Aquino said Cadena would complement efforts to prosecute those responsible for wrongdoing by addressing weaknesses in the system that allow questionable transactions to occur in the first place.
“One possible way to fight corruption, to stop corruption in our country, is to make the use of money fully transparent,” he said.
For Aquino, the proposed law represents the reform component of the broader response to the flood-control controversy: holding those responsible accountable, recovering public funds and changing government systems to prevent similar abuses.
“The job of the Senate and the House is this third, to change the system,” he said. “We have a chance to actually change the system, make it stronger against corruption, make it more transparent and hopefully safeguard the people’s money.”
The People’s Budget Coalition and BetterGovPH echoed Aquino’s call for the House to pass the Cadena bill.
The group called on organizations, professional groups and individuals to sign a statement in favor of the bill.
Cadena is designed to use blockchain technology to create a digital record of government budget and spending transactions.
Supporters say the system could make it easier for citizens, journalists, auditors and watchdog groups to trace public funds and identify potential irregularities.
Its proponents argue that making financial records more difficult to alter and easier to examine could strengthen existing transparency and accountability mechanisms.
The proposal comes amid concerns over the accessibility of government budget and procurement information.
BetterGovPH and civil society groups have worked to consolidate government spending and procurement data and present it in a form that citizens can examine.
The campaign said transparency should go beyond simply making information publicly available and should include making government data understandable and usable.
The issue has gained greater relevance amid controversies surrounding flood-control spending.
Supporters of Cadena said systems that allow the public to monitor spending could help identify potential red flags before they develop into larger controversies.
The campaign is accepting signatures for its joint statement, available through an online form, until noon on Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2026.
The proposal is based on the premise that taxpayers should have greater access to information on how public funds are appropriated, obligated and disbursed.
