Gov’t urged to drop all nuclear energy plans

MANILA, Philippines—The activist Freedom from Debt Coalition (FDC) urged the national government on Tuesday to drop all plans to harness nuclear energy as a way out of the country’s power shortage.

FDC president Ric Reyes said that given Japan’s terrifying experience with its nuclear energy systems, all attempts at reviving the mothballed 630-megawatt Bataan Nuclear Power Plant must be “quashed and the nuclear option indicated in the government’s economic blueprint junked.”

According to Reyes, the country should learn from what happened in Japan, noting that the Philippines, like Japan, is situated on the edge of the Pacific Ring of Fire—an area where earthquakes and volcanic eruptions occur frequently.

FDC issued the statement following explosions at Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, which was damaged by last week’s 8.9 magnitude earthquake and tsunami. Japanese officials, according to reports, were struggling to contain radioactive contamination.

FDC’s call also came after Pangasinan Representative Kimi Conjuangco had already voluntarily shelved her proposed bill to revive the controversial $2.3-billion Bataan Nuclear Power Plant.

According to FDC, the Aquino administration was still considering nuclear energy as reflected in the draft Medium-Term Philippine Development Plan, the government’s economic blueprint which identifies growth sectors for the next six years.

Under Chapter 4 (2.2) of the draft development plan for the years 2011-2017, the government is expected to pursue the strategy of alternative technologies in power generation such as nuclear power.

“The Aquino administration must remove this section of the blueprint,” Reyes said.

Another evidence that the government was seriously pursuing nuclear energy prospects was a presentation made last year by the state-owned National Power Corp. which identified possible sites for a new nuclear power plant.

“What made this government think that a nuclear plant is safe from tremors in Cavite, Negros or Zamboanga? We should consider the fact that even Japanese technology, one of the most advanced in the world, failed to prevent the breaking down of its cooling plants and to avoid possible nuclear meltdown. Indeed, no amount of modern technology can withstand extreme natural disasters,” Reyes said.