IN light of the fluctuating prices of petroleum products that has gravely affected the country’s economy amidst government’s efforts to quickly initiate economic recovery, outgoing President Rodrigo Duterte is advising his successor, president-elect Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos Jr. (BBM), to explore nuclear energy as an alternative power source to reduce the Philippines’ dependence on fossil fuels.
In a statement, Duterte, who will be stepping down soon on June 30, stressed the need to include nuclear in the country’s energy mix to cope with the severe effects of hostilities in Eastern Europe between Russia and Ukraine that has triggered disruption in global oil supply and prices.
“I hope that the next administration would at least explore the possibility of nuclear (energy),” the chief executive enthused while noting that it was under the administration of Marcos Jr.’s father, the late president Ferdinand Edralin Marcos Sr., that talks on nuclear energy prospered despite safety concerns by groups opposed to its use.
The firebrand former Davao City mayor stressed that it would be “(do much) good” for any government to transition from oil fossil fuel to nuclear because the former was not finite and likewise costly to produce.
“You know, oil is not infinite. It won’t last forever. Someday it will dry up,” Duterte pointed out.
Marcos Jr.’s predecessor also noted the risks in shifting to nuclear, recalling the April 1986 disaster at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant which was considered the worst nuclear disaster in history both in cost and casualties.
The Philippines built its first and only nuclear power station, the $US2.3 billion Bataan Nuclear Power Plant, during the term of BBM’s late father at the height of the 1973 oil crisis. It was located on a 3.57 square kilometer government reservation at Napot Point in Morong, Bataan.
Critics opposed to the use of nuclear power argue that renewable sources such as wind and solar are cheaper and safer to produce in a country hit by earthquakes, typhoons, and volcanic eruptions.
But Marcos Jr. announced that he had already met with South Korean ambassador to Manila Kim Inchul to discuss a proposal to revive the Bataan plant.
