A former member of the House of Representatives is pushing for the opening of the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant as the best option in solving the power crisis in Mindanao and the country.

Mark Cojuangco, former representative of the 5th District of Pangasinan, who was in Dumaguete City recently, said he made a study on the safety of the nuclear power plants built during the first nuclear era, one of which is the BNPP, which is 70 percent more updated than the longer running nuclear power plants in America today.

He added that the decision of Malacañang not to open the BNPP will not stop him from going around the countryside informing the people about the country’s potential for nuclear energy.

Operating a nuclear power plant will need only a very small amount of fuel, so an equally small amount of the so-called waste can be released, to allay fears of contaminating water sources, Cojuangco said.

In his meeting with city and provincial officials, headed by Gov. Roel Degamo and Dumaguete City Mayor Manuel Sagarbarria, Cojuangco said that nuclear energy is clean, conforms to the non-polluting nature that environmentalists are clamoring for, gives cheap power, and is economically proven.*JG

back to top