Japan episode seals fate of plan to go nuke

The leading proponent of introducing nuclear energy to the country reversed his stand yesterday in the wake of a potential nuclear disaster in quake-hit Japan.

Former Pangasinan Rep. Mark Cojuangco said there was a need to rethink assumptions that nuclear power was safe following two explosions in three days at Japan’s Fukushima plant.

“In the light of Fukushima, I would like to say that now is the opportune time, the right time, for the whole world’s nuclear power industry to be in a period of introspection,” Cojuangco said in a statement. “Meaning, they should examine events like Fukushima and see if all the assumptions of safety of nuclear power are still valid, and if adjustments are to be made, what they should do.”

Last year, while he was a member of parliament, Cojuangco lobbied heavily for the reactivation of a mothballed nuclear energy plant as a means to address the Philippines’ perennial power outages.

He authored a bill proposing the funding of a feasibility study to revive the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant (BNPP) which remains pending in the House of Representatives.

“I am imposing upon myself a temporary moratorium on my advocacy for BNPP,” Cojuangco, who remains a powerful political and business figure despite being forced from the legislature by term limits, said in Monday’s statement.

President Aquino said shortly after taking office last year that his government was studying the possibility of tapping nuclear energy, although no firm commitments had been made.

Aquino’s spokesman, Abigail Valte, said that now was not the time to discuss nuclear energy, while Japan was struggling with a potential meltdown.

“That may be a heated debate,” Valte said when asked about plans to revive the Bataan plant. “As of the moment, it is better to concentrate on other proposals like alternative fuels which are less controversial.”

Local authorities also were checking for spikes in radiation levels following two explosions at a nuclear plant in Japan, but said that there had been no irregular increases.

The Philippine Nuclear Research Institute said it had been conducting tests of the air since the first explosion at the Fukushima power station on Saturday, a day after a deadly quake and tsunami struck Japan.

Parañaque Rep. Roilo Golez added the unfortunate Fukushima nuclear plant crisis should compel Congress and the government to kill the proposal to revive the BNPP.

Pangasinan Rep. Kimi Cojuangco has filed House Bill No. 1291 which proposes a validation process that would satisfy accepted nuclear power industry norms to determine whether the BNPP should be rehabilitated and operated or closed permanently.

Eastern Samar Rep. Ben Evardone and Deputy Speaker and Quezon Rep. Lorenzo “Erin” Tañada also called for an immediate permanent scrapping of the proposal to reactivate BNPP.

State forecasters and the Department of Education debunked circulating text messages warning of an alleged “acid rain” in the Philippines supposedly because of radioactive clouds from quake- and tsunami-stricken Japan.

Education Secretary Bro. Armin Luistro said that as per advice by the Department of Science and Technology, “there is no need to suspend classes based on the allegations circulating in text messages about rains that can burn or cause cancer. “

The Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said there was no basis for such claims.

The text message said: “BBC news: Japan government confirms radiation leak at Fukushima nuclear plant. Asian countries should take neccesary precautions. Remain indoors first 24 hours. Close doors and windows, Swab neck and skin with betadine where thyroid area is, because radiation hits thyroid first. Radation may hit Philippines starting 4 pm today.”

Malacañang cried foul over the circulation of the alarming text messages. Presidential Communications Development and Strategic Planning (PCDSP) Secretary Ramon Carandang belied such information as he stressed that the country remains safe from so-called nuclear threats. Quoting Secretary Mario Montejo of the Department of Science and Technology (DoST), Carandang explained that the nature of the explosion in one of the power plants of Japan did not come from a nuclear reactor itself but outside of it. Carandang, nonetheless, mentioned that “just as a precaution, imports from Japan mostly food stuffs will be checked for levels of radiation”.

Valte, meanwhile, expressed irritation over media savvy Architect Felino ‘Jun’ Palafox Jr.’s frequent appearance on television and challenged him to submit at once his recommendations to the Office of the President to prevent his seriously alarming projections for the country should a magnitude-7.2 earthquake hit the metropolis.

“For every calamity that passes, it seems that we a lot of Jun Palafox on the news and on television and so far…we still have not received his recommendations to the Office of the President. We’d like to stress that while these are projections, I guess it would be better for us to [make our pronouncements] preventive rather than alarmist,” Valte said when asked to comment about Palafox’s views.

Three days after the devastating quake that struck Japan, Philippine officials there were able to locate some Filipinos in Sendai city and found them safely sheltered in evacuation centers.

Senator Juan Miguel Zubiri yesterday urged the upper chamber leadership to take up the matter of pending bills calling for the BNPP’s rehabilitation and ascertain its operability, in the light of the recent earthquake that hit Japan , damaging a nuclear power plant.

There’s now a growing concern potential threat to the environment due to radiation leakage or contamination. “With what’s happening now in Japan, the nuclear (power plant) meltdown in their facilities, we need to scrutinize carefully plans like this, putting into operation anew the nuclear power plant.”

In particular, Zubiri wants to assess the capability of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Plan (NDRRMP), created in May last year under R.A. No. 10121 or the Philippine Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Act of 2010 which enacted into law which among others calls for the development and implementation of a comprehensive.

Sen. Loren Legarda, Senate climate change committee chairman, also called for an inquiry during a privilege speech yesterday afternoon to look into the state of earthquake preparedness in the country, particularly in Metro Manila and the action being undertaken to reduce earthquake risk in the context of the Philippine Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Law.

A Philippine embassy team arrived in disaster-stricken Japaneses town Sendai shortly before midnight of Sunday, where they touched base with 10 Filipino students from the Tohoku University, “all of whom are safe,” the Department of Foreign Affairs said yesterday.

The team went to two evacuation centers—the Tachimachi Elementary School and the Kimachidori Elementary School—where they found Filipinos there in good condition.

The team coordinated with Japanese authorities and was informed that not a single Filipino was among the recorded fatalities.

There are an estimated 4,500 Filipinos in the northeast region, including Sendai city, the area hardest hit by the quake.

Embassy personnel posted contact details at evacuation centers should there be a need to establish contact and to inform them of missing relatives or Filipinos who may have died in the incident. Michaela P. del Callar, Angie M. Rosales, Aytch S. de la Cruz, Charlie V. Manalo, Mario J. Mallari and AFP