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Donald Lim, lead convenor of Integrity Chain and founder of the Blockchain Council of the Philippines, said that aside from the blockchain itself, the initiative will also rely on a “human blockchain,” with representatives from stakeholders as validators.
He made the statement on September 30, 2025 as the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) formally adopted the Integrity Chain transparency platform at the Asian Institute of Management (AIM) in Makati.
Read: DPWH Adopts Integrity Chain Blockchain to Boost Transparency in Public Infrastructure
“Human Blockchain”
DPWH’s first test of the Integrity chain transparency platform is on its foreign-assisted projects (FAPs), covering the process from budget release to project completion.
According to Lim, unlike earlier blockchain pilots, the platform involves validators from multiple sectors, including 57 trade organizations, NGOs, media, and academic groups, ensuring independent oversight beyond government offices.
“As of last night, we have 57 trade organizations, NGOs, academe, and media groups… After today, we will organize. We will ask each organization to give us a representative because we will convene a technical working group between us, between the DPWH, the Blockchain Council, and also each of the organizations. You will sit in that working group as we identify the rules of engagement. And we hope that every month we will be able to publish this, the results and the work that is being done.”
Donald Lim, lead convenor, Integrity Chain
Moreover, in an interview, he said that the system combines both a technical blockchain and what they described as a “human blockchain” involved in approving and monitoring processes.
“Kailangan mo i-convince lahat ng organisasyon na i wag i-approve or i-approve. So, there’s a technical blockchain, but there is also a human blockchain ang ginawa natin.”
Donald Lim, lead convenor, Integrity Chain
[Translation: You need to convince all the organizations whether to approve or not approve. So, there’s a technical blockchain, but we also created a human blockchain.]
Lim said the Integrity Chain platform is being implemented with speed and practicality in mind, noting that while the technology is already proven, the real focus is on people and organizations serving as validators rather than relying solely on nodes.
“From a tech perspective we’re using the ones used by the DBM, the Bayanichain pero over sight of the Blockchain Council. So para mabilis kaagad kasi we want speed and we want to reassure. Hindi ako worried sa tech. If you look at cybercrime [still] nahahack; it’s the people rather than the technology. The tech is there. We want the people, ang validator dito ang mga organisasyon.”
Donald Lim, lead convenor, Integrity Chain
[Translation: From a tech perspective, we are using the same system adopted by the DBM through Bayanichain, but with oversight from the Blockchain Council. This allows for faster rollout while ensuring trust. I am not worried about the technology; if you look at cybercrime, hacking usually exploits people rather than the tech itself. The technology is solid; what matters is that organizations serve as the validators.]
He emphasized that the system is designed to ensure accountability through human oversight, unlike purely technical models such as Bitcoin.
When Integrity Chain live?
Lim stated that within the next 60 days, they are targeting that the technical working group will be convened to begin passing the first transactions into the chain and start monitoring activities.
During the event, representatives from the multi-sectoral stakeholders also signed a statement of support for the Integrity Chain.
“The best part of web3, of what you call a decentralized system, is all of us are now working together. And the only way, I will tell you already, the only way this would fail is for those who are here and who supported it will not play the role. That’s why I always say you have to play an active role in this. We can run this.”
Donald Lim, lead convenor, Integrity Chain
Lim stressed in his opening remarks that the initiative is still in its early stages, but emphasized that broad participation and transparency are key to building public trust and making government spending more accountable.
He noted that once established, the system will be expanded to other budget items and eventually to other government agencies.
Funding
Funding will come from an independent blind trust supported by private corporations to avoid political or business influence.
“We will create what is called the blind trust. So, we will now go to different corporations. We will ask for funding… Pero in order for us to have what we call walang undue influence, blind trust siya; no one will know who’s contributing. So, wala ring makakasabi na, ‘Di ba pag korporasyon Okay, ako iyung malaking share. Ako dapat pwedeng magsabi. Ito, wala.”
Donald Lim, lead convenor, Integrity Chain
[Translation: We will create what is called a blind trust. We will approach different corporations for funding… But to make sure there is no undue influence, it will be a blind trust; no one will know who is contributing. That way, no corporation can say, ‘I gave the biggest share, so I should have a say.’ Here, that won’t happen.]
Lim explained that the initiative will not be costly, with the main expense coming from blockchain gas fees, similar to transaction costs in cryptocurrencies.
He noted that “blind trust” will ensure that no single corporation can exert influence based on the size of its contribution.
What is Integrity Chain
Integrity Chain, a civic-led initiative spearheaded by Donald Lim, is designed to record project budgets, milestones, and compliance reports on a decentralized ledger to enhance accountability in public infrastructure projects.
Powered by BayaniChain’s Lumen and Prismo technologies, the platform will begin with Foreign Assisted Projects (FAPs). Key features include a decentralized ledger operated by validators from NGOs, academe, media, and trade organizations, providing independent verification of records.
On September 30, 2025, the DPWH, in partnership with BayaniChain (BYC Ventures) and the civic initiative Integrity Chain, formally launched a blockchain-powered transparency platform in Makati City. It was first introduced on September 24.
Government data on the Blockchain
Just this month, GoodGovChain, a blockchain-powered governance platform, was piloted by Baguio City in partnership with BayaniChain. The platform records budgets, procurement data, and infrastructure projects on a hybrid public-private blockchain, making key government records immutable, auditable, and publicly verifiable.
In addition, since 2024, the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) has operated a blockchain-based platform which publishes immutable versions of Special Allotment Release Orders (SAROs), Notices of Cash Allocation (NCAs), and related budget records on the Polygon network.
This article is published on BitPinas: Donald Lim: Integrity Chain to Use “Human Blockchain” for DPWH Transparency
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