President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. (left), House Speaker Martin Romualdez (Speaker’s office)

President Marcos is closer than ever to realizing his dream of providing Filipinos with adequate, reliable, and cheaper electricity through nuclear power. 

This, as House Speaker Martin Romualdez played up President Marcos' meeting with American proponents of nuclear energy a few hours before the latter's historic trilateral summit with United States (US) President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in Washington, DC. 

The nuclear power proponents were key executives of the Ultra Safe Nuclear Corporation (USNC), Romualdez said in a statement Friday, April 12. 

The meeting focused, among others, on the developments regarding USNC investment plans in the Philippines. 

“This follow-up meeting would sustain the momentum of this game-changing cooperative venture and move us a step closer to the realization of President Marcos’ vision of providing adequate, reliable, and cheaper supply of electricity for all Filipinos," said Romualdez, leader of the 300-plus strong House of Representatives. 

“Recognizing the vital importance of energy security to our aspirations for sustained growth and development and a better life for our people, the House of Representatives stands solidly behind President Marcos, Jr.’s endeavors to ensure ample, dependable, and reasonably-priced electricity,” he said. 

He noted that on Nov. 22, 2023, the House of Representatives approved House Bill (HB) No. 9293, or the “Philippine National Nuclear Energy Safety Act.” Last March 4, the House also approved HB No.9876 or the “Philippine Nuclear Liability Act.” 

The Special Committee on Nuclear Energy in the House was created during Romualdez's watch as Speaker. 

It was also November last year, on the sidelines of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit in San Francisco when Marcos witnessed UNSC and Meralco sign an agreement for the deployment of Micro Modular Reactors (MMRs) in the Philippines. 

Romualdez, who was one of the Philippine officials who were with Marcos during the meeting with USNC executives, noted that only 96 percent of houses nationwide have been electrified as of 2020 according to the Department of Energy (DOE). 

“As an archipelago, our country’s physical landscape presents daunting challenges in connecting remote communities to the national grid,” noted the Leyte 1st district congressman. 

“And while many island communities are served by fuel-fired power generation facilities, they oftentimes endure rotational brownouts and suffer from expensive power rates. The MMR promises to offer a viable solution to these challenges,” he added. 

Among others, he noted that MMRs are significantly smaller than traditional reactors, requiring less land for construction, making them ideal for deployment in remote areas or supplementing existing power grids in urban locations. 

The Meralco-USNC cooperative agreement will facilitate a comprehensive pre-feasibility study to assess the potential for deploying MMRs in the Philippines. 

The parallel landmark 123 Nuclear Agreement between the US and the Philippines, also signed in November 2023, provides the legal basis for civil nuclear energy cooperation and allows the export of nuclear fuel, reactors, equipment, and special nuclear material from the US to the Philippines.