Senate approves CADENA Act for digital budget disclosure

The Senate has approved on third and final reading Senate Bill 1506, the Citizen Access and Disclosure of Expenditures for National Accountability (CADENA) Act, with 17 affirmative votes.

This legislation mandates the full disclosure of government transactions through a digital budget portal, requiring all national government entities to record and publish comprehensive data related to the budget process.

Authored by Senator Bam Aquino, the bill ensures that all published files will be publicly accessible, traceable, open-source, verifiable, and tamper-resistant.

Senator Aquino highlighted the importance of the transparency measure, noting that it has a better chance of passing due to public focus on corruption and the need for systemic change.

The CADENA Act will require agencies to upload and maintain detailed budget-related documents, including contracts, project costs, bills of materials, and procurement records.