This early, surprised and irate residents are already opposing his suggestion, in glaring contrast to the swift though reluctant go-signal given by the provincial board last week.

To Cojuangco, who represents the fifth congressional district, building two nuclear power plants would give an unprecedented progress to the province, the country?s third most populous. Pangasinan also had the most number of poor people in the Ilocos region, according to 2006 data of the National Statistical Coordination Board.

?For allowing the nuclear plants to locate in Pangasinan, we will ask them to lower the power rates in the province by P3 per kilowatt-hour (kWh),? Cojuangco said.

In addition, he said, Pangasinan would also ask to be declared a ?national brownout-free zone.?

?If this happens, the province will attract investors. If power is cheap in the province, compared to the rest of the country, every business you can think of will locate here,? he said.

Nuclear components

Cojuangco?s nuclear plants will have main components from South Korea. These were intended for two light water reactors (a type of nuclear reactor that uses ordinary water as coolant) being built in North Korea.

In 1994, North Korea signed a document called ?Agreed Framework? with the United States under which North Korea would freeze and ultimately dismantle its nuclear program in exchange for the construction of the light water reactors.

In support of the agreement, the Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organization (Kedo), a group of countries initially composed of the United States, Japan and South Korea, was established in 1995. Several other countries, including the European Union, eventually joined the group.

Kedo, according to its website (www.kedo.org), suspended the construction of the project in 2003, saying North Korea had not met the conditions necessary for continuing it. In 2006, Kedo decided to terminate the project.

As a result, Cojuangco said Kedo started bidding out these assets to the international community.

No consultation

?So, there was no time to conduct consultations [with the people]. I think the leaders were elected by the people so that in situations like these, they can decide for them, for their welfare,? he said.

Board Member Raul Sison, who voted against the resolution expressing the willingness of the province to host the nuclear plants, said the people should have been consulted first. This was also the sentiment of other local officials.

Board Member Von Mark Mendoza, who abstained, said those living in the coastal towns and cities, where the nuclear power plants would be built, should have been at least consulted. These areas include the cities of Dagupan and Alaminos, and the towns of San Fabian, Binmaley, Lingayen, Labrador, Sual, Bani, Bolinao, Agno, Burgos, Dasol and Infanta.

Mendoza said he feared that the resolution might be construed as a minimum compliance with the acceptability of the project. ?They might just attach the resolution and say this is minimum compliance with social acceptability, of which I beg to disagree,? he said.

Environmentally critical

Margaret Celeste, chair of the Bolinao Marine Ecological Fund Foundation Inc., said the construction of the nuclear plants would adversely affect the coastal areas and resources.

?Our coastal areas are already environmentally critical, especially in western Pangasinan,? said Celeste, who led the opposition to a proposed cement plant project in her town in the 1990s.

But Cojuangco dispelled these fears as baseless and products of lies that had long been circulating in the country.

?Nuclear power is the safest technology man has ever invented on earth,? Cojuangco said. He said he was willing to build a rest house near the nuclear plants.

Archbishop Emeritus Oscar Cruz, former archbishop of Lingayen and Dagupan, said that unquestionably, the nuclear plants would reduce power rates. But, he said, human lives and health, especially of children, should not be compromised ?just to have cheap electricity.?

?Human life and health have precedence over and above everything else,? he said.

Cruz said the government should instead focus on tapping and developing renewable energy sources, such as wind and solar power.

?It?s true, renewable energy sources are expensive. But as I said, if we just want to save money and put ourselves and our lives at stake, I think the equation is not acceptable,? he said.

Cojuangco, son of tycoon Eduardo Cojuangco Jr., also denied insinuations that he had been pushing hard for his nuclear proposal because his family?s San Miguel Energy Corp., an investment arm of San Miguel Corp., had a stake in it.

?That?s unfair and uncalled for,? Cojuangco said. But he said that if the company would want to enter into the venture, he would have no power to stop it.

The company has a legal personality and has a right to enter into any business venture in the country, he said. ?Besides, it?s not just owned by the Cojuangcos but by many other people.?

Armed with the provincial board resolution, Cojuangco said he would seek an audience with President Macapagal-Arroyo to convince her to ask the South Korean government to locate the Kedo assets to the country.

But as Pangasinenses become increasingly aware of the dangers of having nuclear power plants in their backyard, the fight against it is just beginning. And it will be a long one.