As the Philippine government accelerates its use of blockchain in public finance and governance, the country’s main industry group is acknowledging a critical gap in its own ranks: it does not yet have enough technical builders to keep pace with the scale of reforms now underway.

Speaking during a BitPinas-hosted discussion on government blockchain on February 4, 2026, Blockchain Council of the Philippines (BCP) President Luis Buenaventura said the organization needs to significantly expand its pool of blockchain developers as the technology moves from pilot projects into core government systems.

“We don’t have enough of them,” Buenaventura said, referring to blockchain developers within the Council. “We should definitely have more blockchain developers within the council.”

The admission comes at a time when blockchain is no longer confined to fintech experiments or proof-of-concept projects. The Department of Budget and Management has begun recording key budget documents such as Special Allotment Release Orders (SAROs) and Notices of Cash Allocation (NCAs) on blockchain, while the proposed Cadena Act seeks to institutionalize the technology’s use across public administration.

Buenaventura said the Council’s early years were largely focused on organizing the ecosystem, building awareness, and coordinating industry players—a role that was sufficient when blockchain adoption in government remained limited.

“The first two, three years of the Blockchain Council was kind of fine. The most that we were doing was organizing things… suddenly the stakes are very high. We were not expecting it. I can guarantee that we were not prepared for it,” he said.

He added that the group now faces a compressed timeline to adapt as government deployments move faster than the industry’s coordination structures had anticipated.

“Maghahabol talaga kami. I don’t think there is any other way to do it,” Buenaventura said.

Industry observers say the remarks highlight a broader shift in what is expected from groups like the BCP. As blockchain becomes embedded in systems that handle budgets, audits, and inter-agency records, industry bodies are increasingly expected to provide not just advocacy and coordination, but also technical depth, architectural guidance, and input on standards and interoperability.

For the BCP, Buenaventura’s comments point to a turning point: from being primarily an ecosystem organizer to becoming a more technically grounded stakeholder in shaping how blockchain is used in national digital infrastructure.

In practical terms, as the government’s use of blockchain becomes more consequential, the institutions around it are being forced to mature just as quickly.

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