⚠️ HRF CBDC ⛓️🪙 alert from HRF for Philippines (14-FEB-2024)
🗝️ℹ️ (Key Information)
CBDC Status: Pilot
CBDC Launch: n/a
CBDC Model: n/a
CBDC Issued: n/a
Inflation Rate: 5.82%
One-Sentence Summary:
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas is piloting a wholesale Central Bank Digital Currency, amidst concerns surrounding its potential impact on human rights and civil liberties in the nation.
✅🇵🇭 is test running a wholesale Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) under the name of Project CBDCPh to promote payment stability.
✅ This venture was initiated by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas in 2022 and is primed for larger financial transactions.
✅ News in 2024 revealed an expected issuance for the wholesale CBDC by 2026.
✅ In 2022, Governor Benjamin E. Diokno expressed cautious optimism about the project but highlighted that CBDCs do not address financial exclusion's root causes.
✅ The test phase of Project CBDCPh concluded with Governor Diokno expressing reservation towards the CBDC, favoring pre-existing digital payment systems.
✅ In 2023, Project Agila was initiated using Hyperledger Fabric, with focus on payments efficiency and stability. Key stakeholders include BDO Unibank, Inc., Land Bank of the Philippines, and SeaBank Philippines, Inc among others.
✅ The International Monetary Fund and the Bank for International Settlements played a significant role in this pilot initiative.
✅ In 2024, Governor Eli Remolona Jr. opted out of blockchain technology due to past failures in other central banks, and focused solely on wholesale CBDC, rejecting a retail CBDC.
✅ In 2023 Freedom House’s global report, 🇵🇭 scored a 58 out of 100, raising concerns over the potential misuse of CBDC, given the country's restricted opposition voices and persistent government corruption.
✅ Amnesty International has reported cases of harassment against journalists and blockages on independent news sites – a CBDC can be used to intensify this suppression.
✅ There are fears of CBDC policies amplifying government corruption and political favoritism via direct citizen surveillance, control, and targeted financial restrictions.
#CentralBankDigitalCurrency #CBDC #FreedomHouse #BangkoSentralNgPilipinas #AmnestyInternational #GovernmentCorruption #FinancialStability
Question: What ethical safeguards need to be put in place to ensure that the development of a Central Bank Digital Currency in countries like 🇵🇭 does not feed into the systemic issues of censorship and corruption?
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