Published January 6, 2020, 9:56 AM By Hannah
Torregoza
Senator Sherwin Gatchalian has
pressed the Department of Energy (DOE) to publicly release its report on the
integrated work plan for nuclear power infrastructure in the country.
Gatchalian, chair of the Senate
Committee on Energy, said the DOE should release its report while it was still
waiting for Malacañang’s reply on its submitted nuclear policy.
The senator explained that ordinary
Filipinos will never understand the reason behind these nuclear talks if the
government will continue to keep them in the dark when it comes to the
Philippine nuclear plan.
“The more the public is informed
about the government’s nuclear plan, the more comfortable they become,”
Gatchalian said in a statement.
“By being transparent, we are
telling the Filipinos that the government is serious and committed in
discussing and investigating whether nuclear power might be part of the
country’s future energy policy,” he stressed.
Last year, the government concluded
a week-long discussion with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) which
gave its Integrated Nuclear Infrastructure Review (INIR) on introducing a safe,
secure, and sustainable national nuclear program.
Earlier, Energy Secretary Alfonso
Cusi called for the creation of Nuclear Energy Program Implementing
Organization (NEPIO) to comply with IAEA’s policy guidelines in conducting
research on the feasibility of nuclear energy development.
But Gatchalian noted the DOE has yet
to provide any specific details of its nuclear energy agenda, and has
repeatedly called out the agency for its lack of transparency.
In October last year, Gatchalian
probed the DOE’s ambiguity on its nuclear plan amid reports that the
Philippines and Russia signed a deal on exploring the possible construction of
a nuclear power plant in the country.
“The basic question is – is nuclear
energy fit for the Philippines? Will it deliver the promises of lower
electricity cost at very minimal risk?” he pointed out.
“Most importantly, what will we do
with the nuclear waste in the long term?” asked Gatchalian.
Gatchalian has filed a resolution
asking the Senate energy panel to conduct an inquiry on the status of the
country’s nuclear energy plan.
The lawmaker pushed for the scrutiny
of the country’s nuclear energy program after the Philippines and Russia signed
a Memorandum of Intent during President Rodrigo Duterte’s visit to Moscow last
year.
The MOI expressed the Philippine and
Russian officials intent “to jointly explore the prospects of cooperation in
the construction of nuclear power plants in the Philippines.”
According to reports, Russia has
proposed to build a floating nuclear power plant in the Philippines.
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