Blockchain and Smart Cities: How the Philippines Sees Its Future

Blockchain and cryptocurrencies could help develop smart cities in the Philippines, says an industry panel.

Amor Maclang, the convenor of Digital Pilipinas and the World Fintech Festival, was speaking at the launch of the Digital Pilipinas Innovative Cities initiative.

“Collectively, cryptocurrencies and the blockchain have the potential of creating a future where there is no more use of physical money to cover everyday essentials,” Maclang said.

Maclang cited Irish professor and software researcher Dr. Hitesh Tewari who sees the blockchain managing self-driving cars.

Blockchain could allow owners to rent out their vehicles without supervision and accept payment in cryptocurrency. Vehicles could even drive themselves.

“The blockchain could store the vehicle usage requests and reservation information or even create carpools, while people pay for using the vehicle with cryptocurrency,” she said.

Innovative Cities initiative to tech up one city at a time

In her opening remarks, Maclang said the primary objective of the Innovative Cities initiative is to tech up one city at a time.

By linking local government units, academia, and the private sector, multiple centers of excellence will be created.

The city of Makati was chosen as the program’s pilot in collaboration with the Resiliency Innovation Sustainability & Entrepreneurship (RISE) Program.

The program aims to raise the Philippines’ innovation and technology awareness, strengthen local economies by growing their industries, and focus on making the country relevant in digitalization and Web 3.0.

“We look forward to creating regionally-relevant solutions for everyone, at city and provincial level, that can plug into a more extensive national and international ecosystem,” she continued.

“Technology will not wait for anyone – and the Philippines has left the station. We need to keep track,” Maclang added.

Yani de Guzman, CEO, and co-founder of investment holding company RONIN, said the program was created to gather creative minds and provide them financial access through funding and mentoring.

“What we hope to do is to provide them [startups] the P500,000 ($9,500) financial aid when they reach certain milestones to ensure that the grant is helping them create a sustainable business, develop their structures, and form a solid legal foundation for their businesses. We will show and allow them to pitch [their ideas] in front of qualified investors.”

Fita Aldaba, from the Department of Trade and Industry, underscored the critical role of technology in building a city or a nation, adding that the government views emerging technologies “as drivers to achieve sustainable development”.

“We can create new products and solutions in smart building, digital health, and vehicle tech. The acceleration of digital innovation paved the way for the digital economy in the Philippines, with revenues projected to reach $25B by 2025,” she added.

Abigail Binay, mayor of Makati City, noted that the startup route is the best way to explore opportunities.

“I hope for the Philippines to rise higher in the global economic scene. We believe that we can enable the startup ecosystem to help businesses thrive and get ahead of the curve,” she said.

Smart city developers using blockchain technologies

According to Maclang, smart city developers worldwide are already using new technologies like the internet of things or IoT.

Data gathered using cloud-based infrastructure by a smart city could be stored through a blockchain system to guarantee security and privacy, she said, adding that the potential of blockchain to improve the quality of life across cities is endless.

“Smart cities could employ blockchain technology for identification and assist in voter registration, proof of citizenship, tax information, as well as security and fraud measures. The technology could eliminate paperwork and enable smart cities to reduce waste and pollution,” Maclang said.

Blockchain could also play a critical role in general repairs, road maintenance, home utilities, and healthcare services. In all these uses, smart cities could use cryptocurrencies as a mode of exchange or payment.