Innovation begins at home. In November 2021, Liezl Pecson and Rien Lewis Pecson appeared together on CNN Philippines for the latter’s creation of iVote. The blockchain-based NFT voting platform could facilitate online voting securely from anywhere in the world.
How Rien learned programming was as remarkable as iVote itself. When government-mandated lockdowns hit in March 2020, Rien switched to homeschooling. Inspired by Liezl, who worked in information technology, Rien immersed himself into learning programming. Within a month’s time, he was already building websites and applications, including what would eventually become iVote, from scratch.
The mother-son duo have since embarked on another, even more daring project: a decentralized internet. Together, they spearheaded the creation of BLOXWeb—a blockchain-based internet core complete with native built-in payments and rewards, alongside the BLOX team. People can browse, create websites and launch their own projects on BLOXWeb, which is notably commissioned by the US-registered Decentralized Autonomous Organization.
BLOXWeb brings complete decentralization to the web by transforming the internet infrastructure to create a new internet that runs on distributed, peer-to-peer systems, removing reliance on a single intermediary or point of failure, like a domain registry.
Businesses can create decentralized analogs to Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, or other digital staples on BLOXWeb—all of which would be censorship-resistant, open for everyone, and completely open-source.
Liezl believes this solution is important not only for the Philippines but for the world.
“We need to look no further than some of the major conflicts going on overseas to see the vulnerability of our modern internet. Some states are moderating the use of their citizen’s internet in unprecedented ways. BLOXWeb addresses these abuses by giving individuals access to a decentralized internet, and in turn, information,” said Liezl.
While Liezl takes pride in the achievement of BLOXWeb, she also wishes to raise the flag for women and youth, both groups traditionally underrepresented in global technology, including in the Philippines.
“There are so many external programs in support of STEM, but what these often ignore is a simple fact: Innovation begins at home. If you nurture a spirit of science-mindedness within your family, great solutions will come. I hope our newly elected leaders start more initiatives that help families venture together into the world of science and technology,” said Liezl.
Blockchain
According to eighth-grader Rien, BLOXWeb combines four main features scheduled for a two-phase implementation. First is a blockchain internet browser that can access current global web infrastructures (Web 1.0 and Web 2.0) and is future-ready for Web 3.0 implementations. Second is a decentralized internet core equipped with cryptographic security to run on global nodes to ensure anonymity and privacy.
The third feature is a decentralized domain registry that allows limitless domain releases and uses new domain formats. The fourth is a decentralized web hosting to build blockchain-based websites initiated through a smart contract protocol.
BLOXWeb is powered by BLOX—a decentralized public chain dedicated to usher in Web 3.0.
Originally designed by developers as a systematic way to automate, facilitate and track cryptocurrency transactions, smart contracts have since been adopted to manage business and institutional direction.
“Most people associate blockchain with industry innovation, but it can work even better for public service projects. I also hope that our newly elected leaders will implement blockchain as a foundational technology for the Philippines. Doing so will increase the efficiency of our processes and workflows, and as a result, improve the quality of life for every Filipino,” Rien said.
Liezl and Rien encourage other technologists, including women, youth, and traditionally underrepresented groups to consider BLOX as their entry point into building with blockchain.
They point to the fact that BLOX is focused on providing a holistic platform to its users where they can have access to all elements of blockchain technology including smart contracts, DeFi, NFTs, and tokens under one roof at a fraction of the cost of ETH or other smart contract services.