[Philippine Commission on Elections Removes Blockchain Component from 2028 Election Budget] According to BitPinas, the Philippine Commission on Elections has removed blockchain technology and the voter verification system from its proposed budget for the 2028 elections, reducing the initial budget of 25 billion pesos by approximately 6 billion pesos. The Commission's chairman stated that this decision follows recommendations from the Department of Budget and Management, as the removed features are not essential for the elections. Budget optimization and data privacy risks were the primary considerations. The chairman noted that even without these features, the elections can still proceed as evaluated. The implementation of such systems may be considered in the future, but for now, the priority is to reallocate the saved funds to other government agencies.