DAVAO CITY, Philippines – BUILD Mindanao: AI & Blockchain Week 2025 concluded with major announcements that move Davao’s AI and blockchain work from “concepts and training” into institution-level deployments across education and city services.
The organizers thanked the event’s partners and sponsors for making the free public program possible: Gold Sponsors – Peaq, CoWorq, and SUMEX; Silver Sponsors – OpenxAI and Caffeine AI; and Media Partners – Max Media and Reverion Studios.
The week ran on two tracks: a government-exclusive hackathon and build sessions at Davao City Hall (Dec 17-19), and a free public program at The Royal Mandaya Hotel (Dec 19) focused on practical AI workflows, blockchain fundamentals, cybersecurity, and a mini-hackathon format (grouping → build → pitch → winners).
1) Davao’s college registrar-issued transcripts are going on-chain
Reverion Technologies announced that Davao Central College (DCC) and the University of the Immaculate Concepcion (UIC) will move forward with putting official academic transcripts on the blockchain through the kick-off by Maubert Yretarino with support of Reverion Technologies founder, Rod Albores, positioned as a permanent verification layer for credentials, designed to reduce fraud risk, eliminate manual back-and-forth for verification, and modernize how schools prove records are authentic.
This places Davao’s higher-education institutions in a small global cohort operationalizing verifiable academic records via blockchain. BUILD Mindanao’s announcement emphasizes broader institutional momentum in Davao, with other partner schools already preparing to follow through on their own MOUs with Reverion.
2) DCitizen ID: from a completed build to cross-department adoption conversations
Following the build of DCitizen ID, Reverion shared that additional city departments have begun discussions to integrate AI and blockchain into their programs, signaling a shift from a single flagship system to a wider city modernization pipeline.
DCitizen ID has been publicly positioned as a unified identification system to streamline access to local government services and transactions, with rollout plans discussed by the Davao City LGU. City Government of Davao+1
3) National visibility: Davao’s AI and blockchain push recognized at major ICT gathering
Organizers highlighted that Davao’s direction is getting higher-level attention, citing the Vice President’s remarks calling for digital transformation in government at a major ICT gathering in Davao. Tribune+1
Reverion Technologies also noted that Rod Albores of Reverion Technologies was recognized in connection with the city’s push toward AI and blockchain adoption.
4) Free public AI + blockchain events will continue with the U.S. Embassy-backed American Corner
Reverion Technologies confirmed it will continue hosting free AI and blockchain programs with the American Corner (the U.S. Embassy’s educational and cultural arm), keeping public access to upskilling as a standing commitment, not a one-off event cycle. Luma+1
5) LGU developer capacity milestone: Davao City developers are now proficient in Rust
From the government-exclusive track at City Hall, organizers announced that Davao City LGU developers are now proficient in Rust, a security-oriented systems language widely used across modern infrastructure and increasingly common in blockchain engineering, an upskilling milestone framed as a practical foundation for building safer, more reliable systems over the long term.
Speaker recognition
The organizers also recognized speakers and facilitators who delivered practical, grounded sessions, including: Rjay Solamo (Core DAO Philippines), Christian Macion and Niel Recinto (Ledger 51), Ravin Chavez (DOST Scholar), John Forfar (OpenxAI), Nina Laluna (CoWorq), Ferdie James Nervida (international cybersecurity expert and TEDx speaker), Harold Banggay (USGAA Davao), and Maubert Yretarino (Edu Seal unveiling).
Special mentions were also given to Christine Erispe (ETH PH) and Kevin Gutierrez (American Corner Davao–ADDU). Also, thanks to our partner ConnectWeb3 Philippines and sir Ken Berry for helping us make this event possible.
About BUILD Mindanao: AI & Blockchain Week
BUILD Mindanao is a Davao-based event series by Reverion Technologies focused on builders and upskilling initiatives that accelerate the practical adoption of AI, blockchain, and cybersecurity across public institutions, academia, and the general public. The 2025 edition ran Dec. 17–19 with a government-exclusive track at Davao City Hall and a public program at The Royal Mandaya Hotel.
