ILOILO CITY – Panay Island is a potential site for a nuclear power plant as the national government is looking for cheaper and reliable energy for the people.

“(But) it’s your decision,” said Pangasinan second district Rep. Mark Cojuangco, chairman of the House Special Committee on Nuclear Energy, during a nuclear energy forum with the Iloilo media.

Along with Alpas Pilipinas group, Cojuangco said it is time for everyone to see the potential of nuclear energy for the people to have a reliable supply of power and cheaper source of electricity.

This comes as President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. announced during his recent State-of-the-Nation Address (SONA) it’s time to revisit nuclear energy, especially as the country is still feeling the impact of the global energy crisis from the escalating Middle East war.

There’s still no consensus whether to rehabilitate the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant in Morong, Bataan that was never operational or construct a new one.

“Unahan kayo. Kung ayaw niyo, gagawin ng Cebu. Bibili kayo ng kuryente sa Cebu. Kung ayaw ng Cebu, gagawin ng Negros. Bibili kayo ng kuryente niyo sa Negros. ‘Yung yaman niyo, doon pupunta (You can build first. If you don’t want it, Cebu will do it. You buy electricity in Cebu. If Cebu doesn’t want to, Negros will do it. You buy your electricity in Negros. Your wealth will go there),” Cojuangco said.

Cojuangco noted that Panay Island should not be dependent on coal-fired power and pointed out that its location means that Panay is at the end of the distribution line of the Visayas power grid.

For the past several years, numerous widespread outages occurred in Panay when power plants in other Visayan islands are down.

Cojuangco noted that while there are power plants generating solar and wind energy in Western Visayas, they are not highly reliable.