Senator Win Gatchalian on Tuesday rallied behind government efforts to put a premium on public involvement on the moves to revive the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant (BNPP), saying its possible activation should ensure safety concerns and the integrity of the plant especially among its estimated 30,000 residents.
“I am one with the President in conducting local consultations with the residents of the province of Bataan because they will be the ones directly affected in case of a nuclear disaster,” Gatchalian said.
He said the inherent risks to public welfare and its viability as a long-term solution to ensure stability of supply should be elucidated clearly to all stakeholders, most especially to the residents of Bataan.
The Senate’s Energy Committee Chairman raised the issue on the government’s capability in providing immediate aid to Morong, Bataan, residents, if and when emergency situations occur in the operations of the BNPP.
In Japan, he says, that when a tsunami disabled the power and cooling of three reactors of Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station in 2011, an estimated 100,000 residents were evacuated from their homes and it was only last year when the evacuation order was partially lifted.
Considering the many issues surrounding the BNPP, such as the cost of its utilization more than four decades after its establishment, environmental concerns and reliance as an energy source, policy makers should be open in discussing these issues to stakeholders to regain public trust, according to Gatchalian.
But before the BNPP could be fully operational, Gatchalian cited the need to enact laws addressing environmental issues related to nuclear waste and the aspect of public safety, among many other things.
“We need a number of comprehensive laws to address infrastructure issues,” he said.
Prior to President Duterte’s latest directives to the Department of Energy to consult with Bataan residents on the possible activation of the BNPP, Gatchalian called on the department, as early as October last year, to be transparent on its nuclear energy agenda.