Government told: Go slow on planned BNPP rehab

By Marvin Sy (The Philippine Star), November 13, 2016

MANILA, Philippines – Senate Minority Leader Ralph Recto yesterday called on the government to go slow in its plan to rehabilitate the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant (BNPP) and wait for feedback from experts and stakeholders before making any decision.

After stating that he was not open to the development of nuclear power during his term, President Duterte has reportedly changed his mind and gave the Department of Energy the green light to rehabilitate the mothballed BNPP.

Recto said that any move to revive the plant, which was constructed in the 1970s but never produced a single megawatt (MW) of power for the country, should not be decided by the DOE or a single person alone, but by scientists or the experts on nuclear power “based on an unassailable study whose conclusion is that a dead plant can be safely resurrected beyond reasonable doubt.”

“It should be a science-based decision, and not because someone has a ‘light bulb’ moment and then immediately orders that the plant be switched on,” Recto said.

Apart from the technical and safety issues that must be addressed, Recto said the financial aspects of reviving the plant must also be studied carefully before any decision is made.

Among the questions that Recto said should be asked are if the rehabilitation and operation of the plant would actually be cheaper in the long run and how much the taxpayers would have to shoulder for the project and how much in contingent liabilities will be guaranteed by the government.

Recto recalled that the government shelled out P70 billion for the overpriced BNPP and never got to utilize it.

“If restarting the plant would require another P50 billion, then it is but proper that all financial transactions related to the project must be placed under the glare of a powerful spotlight,” Recto said.

“If it would require taxpayers’ money, then put the details in the national budget. Both debt ledgers and safety blueprints must be FOI (Freedom of Information)-compliant,” he added.

Recto said the proponents of opening up the BNPP to service the country’s energy requirements should take into consideration the increase in demand for the next decade.

Meanwhile, Rep. Tom Villarin of party-list group Akbayan opposed the planned revival of the BNPP.

“We are afraid this administration is on a roll in reviving the ghost of Marcos, first by allowing a hero’s burial for the dictator and now reviving the dictator’s corruption-laden pet project,” he said.

“But the risks to the safety, health, livelihoods of millions of Filipinos are not worth it,” he said. – With Jess Diaz