Generation of electricity thru nuclear technology/reaction must be first authorized by law, Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel III said.
Pimentel, a former Senate President, issued the statement on the plan of the Marcos administration and the Philippine Nuclear Research Institute (PNRI) to secure possible deals with South Korea, France and the US for the construction of nuclear power plants in the country.
"The legal framework must first be approved. Then the regulatory body must be put up and should have approved the project before even a square inch of construction is started,’’ he said.
Pimentel stressed that there must also be a law on how the nuclear waste is managed.
‘’In short, the decision to adopt nuclear power generation is not for the executive branch alone to decide. Congress must be involved in formulating this policy,’’ he added.
Pimentel pointed out that the Local Government Code written by his father, the late Senate President Aquilino ‘’Nene’’ Q. Pimentel Jr., the local government units (LGUs) and their people should also now be consulted especially if their area is a chosen or potential site of the nuclear power plants.
He emphasized that the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant, is already beyond rehabilitation as a nuclear power plant.
‘’We should no longer continue wasting money on that,’’ he said.
But to Senator Robin Padilla, he is 100 percent in favor.
‘’Kasama ito sa pinalakas ng dating Pangulong Duterte (This was favored by former President Duterte) .Nagagalak ako nasa likod natin ang ating Pangulong Marcos (I am elated that President Marcos favors this,’’ he said.
‘’Sigurado ako magiging maingat ang government kung saan ilalagay ang nuclear power plant (I am sure the government would select a safe site for a nuclear power plant),’’ he added.
Reacting, Senate Majority Leader Joel Villanueva said he could not speak for my colleagues in the 24-member Senate.
‘’But we are almost sure that every one of them will have their own opinion, position and we'll have a vibrant discussion on whether the Philippines should consider using nuclear power,’’ he stressed.
‘’Although I am open to these discussions, I have reservations about this proposal,’’ he said.
‘’We are all aware that nuclear power plants contain radioactive material that is extremely harmful to humans and the environment. We also need to conduct a thorough evaluation of potential sites for the power plant and waste storage. Can this technology be efficiently utilized in an archipelagic country such as the Philippines?,’’ he asked,
Villanueva pointed out that this investment would cost billions of dollars.
‘’How we can afford these power plants, if the investment would be cost efficient, and how long it would take us to get a return on investment are questions that need to be answered,’’ he said.
‘’That being said, we are more open to exploring the use of modular types of nuclear plants for the country. Using small modular reactors could prove to be an affordable option and manageable in size and scale for the country. We have seen these in other countries but we wanted to study further,’’ he added.