Bataenos: Plan to revive Bataan Nuclear Power Plant is ‘dead’
BNPP’s REVIVAL IS 'DEAD' - Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque, 3rd left, poses the ‘1bataan’ sign, with Bataan Gov. Abet S. Garcia, 2nd left, Mayor Jocelyn P. Castańeda and administrator Emmanuel Pineda during Thursday’s press conference in Freeport Area of Bataan.
By Mar T. Supnad
MARIVELES, Bataan – The plan of the Department of Energy to revive the mothballed Bataan Nuclear Power Plant is definitely “dead” because local leaders and the Bataeńos are, since from the start, strongly opposing it.
This latest development came after Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque quoted President Rodrigo Duterte as having instructed authorities to consult the residents of Bataan on the possible revival of the country’s mothballed nuclear power plant located in Morong, Bataan.
During a press briefing at the Freeport Area of Bataan, Roque said the President wanted to consult first the “ground level” meaning the Bataeños, if they are willing or not to revive the $2.3 billion BNPP.
But Bataan leaders led by Gov. Abet S. Garcia, based on the sentiments of Bataeños, have vehemently opposed BNPP’s revival for fear of the accident and pollution it may cause once it operates as what happened in the Chernobyl disaster in Russia.
Duterte, in a meeting with Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi, directed discussions to “start from the ground”, said Presidential Spokesman Roque.
“Tatanungin ang taong-bayan ng Bataan kung ano ba talagang gusto nila. Hindi pupuwedeng sa taas nanggagaling ang desisisyon,” Roque told reporters in a press briefing held in Bataan province.
The Philippines spent $2.3 billion on the 621-megawatt Bataan Nuclear Power Plant, but decided not to operate it after the collapse of Pres. Ferdinand Marcos’ rule.
But the Philippine power rates, which are not state-subsidized, were ranked the 16th most expensive out of 44 countries surveyed in a 2016 study commissioned by power retailer Manila Electric Co. Japan topped the list.
News reports said some Nuclear reactor builders such as Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co Ltd and Russia’s Rosatom submitted plan to rehabilitate the BNPP, at costs, it was learned, ranging from $1 billion to more than $3 billion.
But if the Bataeños were to be consulted about it, definitely, the BNPP’s plan to revive is “dead,” Garcia said.
