'Rethink revival of Bataan nuclear plant'

MANILA, Philippines - Akbayan Rep. Walden Bello has urged lawmakers to rethink the proposed revival of the mothballed Bataan nuclear power plant in the wake of the largest earthquake in Japan’s history.

There were fears that the magnitude 8.9 quake that rocked Tokyo last Friday had damaged the reactors of two nuclear plants in Fukushima prefecture, prompting the Japanese government to order the evacuation of residents near the plants.

“Nuclear energy remains to be extremely unsafe, especially for countries like Japan and the Philippines, which experience earthquakes and volcanic eruptions periodically,” Bello said.

Pangasinan Rep. Carmen Cojuangco has reintroduced the bill of her husband, former congressman Mark Conjuangco, seeking the revival of the nuclear plant to augment the country’s power supply and bring down the cost of electricity by at least P2 per kilowatt-hour.

In the final session of the previous Congress, Mark Conjuangco got so riled up by the failure to have his bill approved that he nearly collapsed from high blood pressure. His wife has said the refilled bill has won the support of more than 150 of members of the House.   

“The nuclear emergency is taking place in the very country that has engineered the best technology to keep nuclear power plant facilities as earthquake-proof as possible,” Bello said. “Should an operational BNPP be put in a similar situation, the disaster would be simply unimaginable,” he added.