Securing Public Trust Through Blockchain Integration: The Case of the National Police Clearance System in the Philippines
Jhoanna Gracia Manlapaz Fabro | Solitaire M. Reyes | Arvin B. Fabro | Roque Q. Gelacio | Gary A. Reyes | Cedric G. Train | Yolanda Tanigue | Alrien F. Dausan
Discipline: combined, general or negotiated studies
Abstract:
This study examined the use of blockchain technology in the PNP Na-tional Police Clearance System (NPCS) to improve public trust. It first assessed trust in the current Relational Database Management System (RDBMS) based on availability, security, immutability, and transpar-ency. Using an explanatory sequential method, the research surveyed 950 applicants and 175 end-users, and conducted 20 key informant in-terviews. Findings showed that while the public generally trusts the RDBMS (Availability M=3.25; Security M=3.32; Immutability M=3.29; Transparency M=3.22), they also viewed challenges as serious (Availa-bility M=2.95; Security M=2.83; Immutability M=2.79; Transparency M=2.84). Issues included limited access, weak security, data integrity problems, lack of history logs, and poor control mechanisms. Block-chain technology was recommended as an alternative (Availability M=3.18; Security M=3.23; Immutability M=3.27; Transparency M=3.21). Statistical tests revealed significant differences based on awareness, gender, occupation, application purpose, and location. Re-gression showed a low dependency of blockchain on RDBMS (r²=0.27), but a moderate correlation between the two (0.52, t=16.75). Overall, the study recommends adopting blockchain in the NPCS to strengthen pub-lic trust.
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