The Department of Energy (DOE) will be reviewing "siting standards" for planned nuclear power facilities in the country according to the new and stricter parameters set forth by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the world’s center of cooperation on the nuclear field. “We’ll have to do our part in the Executive side to prepare all the other requirements – like preparing the studies on siting,” Energy Secretary Raphael P.M. Lotilla noted. As an aftermath of the 2011 Fukushima nuclear tragedy in Japan, he indicated that “the IAEA came up with new and stricter regulations, so pursuant to the President’s instruction, we will observe those instructions and we will review all the potential sites if they conform with the requirements of the IAEA.” The target of the Marcos administration is to solidify within this decade the framework for the targeted ‘nuclear renaissance’ investment pathway for the country - primarily on the Executive Brach’s policy domain; then on the realm of legislation. “Within the decade, I am sure that we can place ourselves on track for that,” Lotilla said; while asserting that “we’re not sleeping on these requirements, there is a nuclear energy program inter-agency committee that is constantly meeting on this.” The energy chief expounded the DOE will work with Congress on the passage of a law that will comprehensively govern the country’s renewed plunge into nuclear power builds – be it with the deployment of conventional reactors or on the rollout of the more innovative small modular reactor (SMR) technologies. “Congress is our highest policymaking body and it is for Congress to determine not only the decision on whether or not we should go for nuclear power, but even the time would be determined by them. And we fully respect the role of Congress on this,” he stressed. The energy chief declared “we intend to work with them; and in the meantime, we are making sure that when that decision is made - should Congress gives the green light, that we won’t be starting from scratch.” Infrastructure buildup in the nuclear power sector could be encumbered by array of concerns – from regulatory and policy framing, shoring up human knowledge and expertise on nuclear power development and operations; social acceptance within targeted sites; whopping upfront capital investment; recycling and storage/disposal of spent fuel; safety and equipment redundancy installations to prevent nuclear disasters, as well as nuclear liability and compensation coverage. For the country, ‘social acceptance’ is a major hurdle that the government has to address, with many targeted host communities still taking on that “not in my backyard” mindset. And in the restructured sphere of the Philippine energy sector that is now largely private sector driven, nuclear power facilities would also have extreme struggle finding their place under merchant market conditions. Another prescriptive tone set by energy markets with existing nuclear power facilities is for the country not to rely solely on the knowledge and competence of foreign experts, hence, technical competence development must be strategically planned and integrated in the education system of a country and must also be institutionalized as a discipline in relevant agencies and government systems. As emphasized, engaging foreign experts for a country still developing the prowess and mastery of its people on nuclear power program could help, but it does not serve as the ultimate solution for the long-term. In the experience of United Arab Emirates (UAE), in particular, they initially imported human resource on their nuclear power facilities’ operations, but in the end, they encountered challenges when the foreign experts already moved to other energy markets. That then made the country realize that it needed to produce its own set of capable people on nuclear engineering and other facets of nuclear power operations. On the aspect of regulation, it was specified that the officials involved must have deep knowledge on nuclear operations and systems. And while any individual cannot be an absolute expert on nuclear operations, at the very least, regulatory officials must be knowledgeable enough on the subject and on the technological sphere of nuclear facilities’ operations.