Developing PublikoPH has been an incredible journey. This system is designed to help filipinos see and track where their money goes, with a focus on transparency and accessibility. In this post, I’ll walk you through the development process, the challenges I faced, and the solutions I implemented. I wanted to make something simple but powerful, something that even people with little technical knowledge can use and understand.
Where the Idea Came From
The idea for this actually started with my hackathon group, my classmates. We were supposed to join a hackathon, but things did not go our way. College has been very busy lately, and the hackathon itself was rushed, fast paced, and output based as usual. As the leader, I decided not to continue with the hackathon because I knew we could not give it the time and effort it deserved.
But even if we did not continue, I did not want the idea to die there. I decided to continue it on my own as a personal project.
My goal has always been simple.
Is to always create an application that will always benefit the public. Make it free, Learn modern technologies, Save knowledge for my future, and Build something that actually matters.
I did not want this to be another project that just looks good on the surface. I wanted it to be useful in real life.
Using AI-Assisted Programming
One big part of this journey is that I did not do everything alone. I used AI-assisted programming, specifically GPT-5.3-Codex, to help me move faster and solve problems that would normally take me much longer. It helped me not just in one area, but across both backend and frontend development.
Here is how it helped me:
- Debugging errors that I could not immediately understand
- Suggesting better ways to structure my code
- Generating starting points for features
- Speeding up repetitive tasks
- Assisting in both backend logic and frontend implementation
- Helping generate and refine most of the UI and UX based on how I write and think
It was actually surprising how it could adapt to my style. The more I worked with it, the more it started to match the way I write code and design flows, which made everything feel more natural and faster to build.
Of course, it was not perfect. There were times when the suggestions did not work or needed adjustments. AI is a tool, not a replacement. I still had to understand the code and make the final decisions. But overall, it made development much more efficient and helped me stay productive even during difficult parts.
Challenges I Faced
1. Working with Government Data
At the start, I underestimated the complexity of working with government data.
- Many datasets were hard to access or incomplete
- Some were outdated or inconsistent
- A large portion of the data was unstructured or in heterogeneous formats
- The volume of data was massive, requiring extensive normalization, transformation, and schema alignment before it could be ingested into the system
To handle this, I had to implement custom pipelines, validate data integrity, and standardize formats to ensure consistent and reliable analysis. The combination of scale, inconsistency, and structure complexity made this one of the most technically challenging parts of the project.
2. Technical Problems
There were a lot of moments where things just did not work.
- Bugs that made no sense at first
- Features that broke unexpectedly
- Parts of the system that needed to be rebuilt
I made a lot of mistakes, but each one helped me improve.
3. Design and Simplicity
I wanted PublikoPH to be:
- Clean
- Easy to use
- Not overwhelming
That meant removing unnecessary features and focusing only on what actually matters.
Realizations
There were times I felt stuck and honestly thought about giving up.
Especially when:
- Progress felt slow
- Problems kept stacking up
- Nothing seemed to work
But I kept reminding myself why I started. This is not just about coding. It is about making information accessible.
Current State and What’s Next
PublikoPH is still not perfect.
There is still a lot to improve, a lot to fix, and a lot to build. But it is slowly becoming what I envisioned it to be, and I am continuously working towards that.
But that is part of the journey.
- I am learning as I build
- I am building as I learn
PublikoPH is now available and you can access it directly in your browser:
For Android users, you can download it here:
As of now, the Android version is distributed as an APK and is not yet available on the Google Play Store. I do have plans to release it on both the Play Store and the App Store for iOS, but I still need to think it through since publishing there comes with costs that are not easy for me as a student. (lowkey looking for sponsors btw, jk)
Also, special thanks to my mom for sponsoring the domain. Domains are not that expensive, but I jokingly asked her to sponsor this one and she actually did. my mum ftw :)
At the end of the day, this project may not be perfect yet, but it is getting there. And if it can already help even a few people understand where public money goes, then it is already worth it.
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