Case Study: Project Marissa

Securing the Philippines’ $94 Billion National Budget with Lumen

Client: Department of Budget and Management (DBM), Republic of the Philippines
Use Case: Secure digitization of government fund release documents
Powered by: Lumen Blockchain-as-a-Service

Overview

Project Marissa is a national initiative that reimagines how public funds are managed, validated, and secured. In partnership with the Philippine Department of Budget and Management, Lumen powers the country’s first blockchain-based budget documentation system—protecting over $94 billion worth of national budget allocations through secure, transparent, and tamper-proof records.

Named after DBM’s Central Records Division Chief, Marissa Santos, the project honors her decades of service by setting a new standard in public accountability and data integrity.

The Challenge

Each year, the Philippine government issues thousands of Special Allotment Release Orders (SAROs) and Advice of Notice of Cash Allocation Issued (ANCAI)—documents essential to unlocking public funds across departments.

Previously managed through paper and isolated systems, these critical records were vulnerable to:

• Fraud and duplication

• Delays in fund validation and release

• Lack of end-to-end auditability

• Operational inefficiencies across agencies

With ₱5.2 trillion (approx. $94B USD) at stake, DBM needed a solution that went beyond digitization. They needed trust, transparency, and traceability—by design.

The Lumen Solution

Lumen Blockchain-as-a-Service delivered a modular, secure, and compliant system built for high-stakes public infrastructure. Through a layered approach, Project Marissa ensures each document is:

• Tokenized and validated, making forgery or duplication impossible

• Secured on-chain, with public audit trails and permissioned access

• Interoperable, supporting collaboration between departments

• Privacy-respecting, with future support for encrypted computation via Prismo

Behind the scenes, Lumen’s architecture integrates:

• Private agency systems for internal workflows

• Polygon PoS for public ledger anchoring

• Role-based dashboards for real-time tracking and secure access

• BridgePass to unify document issuance, validation, and storage

Key Results

• $94B+ in budget documents secured through tokenized SAROs and ANCAs

• Zero document tampering or versioning errors since rollout

• Faster fund validation, shortening release cycles and inter-agency delays

• Paved the way for a fully digital financial management ecosystem

Stakeholder Voice

“I envision not just a permanent records center, but a facility that is both conducive and highly efficient, equipped with the latest equipment and state-of-the-art technology.”
— Marissa Santos, Division Chief, DBM

Her 41 years of service helped lay the foundation for this historic shift toward transparency, security, and continuity in Philippine governance.

Why This Matters for Your Business

Project Marissa proves that Lumen isn’t theory—it’s national-scale infrastructure already in motion. Whether you’re a government agency, financial institution, or enterprise managing sensitive data, Lumen offers:

• Secure document systems built for regulation-heavy industries

• On-chain auditability without sacrificing operational control

• Flexible deployments that fit cloud, on-premise, or hybrid environments

• Scalable architecture that grows with your organization’s needs

If Lumen can power the digital backbone of a $94B public fund, imagine what it can do for your operations.