An Act Establishing the Amanah Chain (a-Chain) System – a Blockchain-Based Platform for Transparent, Accountable, and Trustworthy Public Financial Governance in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, and for Other Purposes

The Amanah Chain Act of 2025, or A-CHAIN Act. It makes a blockchain ledger, the Amanah Chain, the official public record of the region's budget allocations, releases, procurement, project milestones and disbursements, with a public Transparency Portal for non-confidential entries.

Every ministry, office and agency, province, city, municipality and barangay must connect its budget, allotment, disbursement, procurement, project and audit records to the system and name A-CHAIN compliance officers. Failing to upload required records is an administrative offence. Records are verified by "validator nodes" such as the Bangsamoro Treasury Office, COA-BARMM, universities and civil society groups. "Smart Amanah Contracts" would trigger fund releases or procurement steps automatically once requirements are met.

MFBM leads, BICTO builds and runs the system, and COA-BARMM uses it for audits. It starts as a pilot in 1 infrastructure ministry, 1 social service ministry, 1 province and 1 city or municipality. The rules are due within 90 days.

It was filed on 9 January 2026 by MP Jaafar Apollo Mikhail L. Matalam, read on first reading on 19 January 2026 and referred to the Committee on Ways and Means on 21 April 2026. It remains in committee.

The explanatory note says the scale of public spending in the region needs records that are verifiable, traceable and resistant to manipulation, and ties this to Amanah, the trust placed in officials to manage public resources. It says a blockchain ledger would track every peso from appropriation to audit, record procurement and contract milestones, keep disbursement trails, and open non-confidential records to the public in real time.

The note says the measure is not a copy of any national proposal, though it was inspired by the national demand to confront corruption.

The copy filed has a missing section. Section 7 lists only MFBM's duties; the next items are numbered 8.1 to 8.4 under no Section 8 heading, covering BICTO, the Commission on Audit, all ministries and LGUs, and the public portal. Section 9 follows.

The bill assigns duties to the Commission on Audit, a constitutional body that a regional law does not direct, and names COA-BARMM as a validator node. It also makes upload mandatory for every barangay while setting no timetable beyond a pilot in 4 units, and puts no figure on what building and running the system would cost.

It was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, which handles revenue, rather than the finance committee that handles spending, 3 months after first reading. The short title says 2025, though the bill was filed on 9 January 2026.