Philippine Government Agency Will Move Its Procurement Process to the Blockchain
BitPinas has verified the report to the Department of Budget and Management about its planned use for blockchain.
November 20, 2018. In a landmark statement, a Philippine government agency confirms it will move its procurement process in the blockchain to curb corruption.
Revealed by the Secretary of Budget and Management Benjamin Diokno to Gov Insider, he sees the use of blockchain as a better way of tracking procurements compared to using big data systems.
Update: BitPinas has verified the report to the Department’s Chief Information Officer Lilia C. Guillermo who confirmed to our outlet their planned use of blockchain:
“Our initial implementation of blockchain is on our stock inventory systems after procurement”
PhilGEPS – Philippine Government Electronic Procurement System is a centralized electronic portal that’s also the single source of information on government procurement. Gov Insider reveals PhilGEPS system upgrade is ongoing.
It should be noted that Gov Insider mentioned in its article that the secretary said the country will use blockchain for warehousing as an answer to a question fielded by the website to Secretary Diokno. However, it was not stated what question was that. It can be implied, however, that it was related to how procurement tracking can be faster.
Secretary Diokno also mentioned it is too early to add blockchain in its budget “because it can also affect the whole bureaucracy, so too risky,” he said in a comment to Gov Insider.
As an emerging technology, blockchain can be a way to keep immutable and transparent records and records of data, something the government can find helpful. At the moment, many government offices that have spoken publicly about blockchain in the past were almost always related to cryptocurrency – a blockchain product that can make money move faster, cheaper, and be more transparent.
For example, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas has released memorandums concerning the use of crypto. The Securities and Exchange Commission, on the other hand, is busy drafting rules for future initial coin offerings. The Cagayan Economic Zone Authority has sought out fintech and blockchain companies to the Cagayan Economic Zone.
Source: Gov Insider, Email
