Why the Philippines must put eKYC on the blockchain

As the Philippines accelerates its digital transformation, the need for secure, reliable, and tamper-proof identity verification has never been more urgent.

- DONALD PATRICK LIM

From government aid distribution to online banking, digital wallets, job applications, SIM card registration, and even voting, identity is at the core of trust in the digital age. This is why the government's ongoing eKYC (electronic Know-Your-Customer) efforts — anchored at www.ekyc.gov.ph — is critical. But if we are to future-proof our nation’s identity infrastructure and truly protect every Filipino’s digital persona, it is time we take the next bold step: build the country’s eKYC system on the blockchain.

The Blockchain Council of the Philippines strongly believes that identity verification is not merely a technical issue — it is a matter of digital sovereignty, governance integrity, and national security. The question we must now ask is not whether we should have eKYC, but how we build it in a way that is secure, verifiable, tamper-resistant, and aligned with global innovation standards. And the answer, increasingly clear in other parts of the world, is blockchain.

Blockchain, at its core, is about verification. It enables decentralized, immutable records that cannot be changed without consensus. That is exactly what we need for identity: a system where no single party can alter a person’s record, where data integrity is preserved over time, and where every update, access, or authorization is transparently logged. Blockchain allows for verifiable credentials without exposing the raw data. Citizens could selectively share specific credentials — age, nationality, eligibility for aid — without revealing their entire identity record.