TOWARDS A SUSTAINABLE Aquino
DEVELOPMENT: REVIVE THE
BATAAN NUCLEAR POWER PLANT
Executive Summary
The Bataan Nuclear Power Plant
(BNPP) was constructed during the
Marcos administration to address the
issue on massive oil crisis that affected
the world. The project was meant to
improve the country’s energy security by
lessening the importation of oil for
baseload power generation (SEPO
Policy Brief, 2009). It is a 620 MW
nuclear facility located in Napot Point,
Bataan (see figure 1) which is 18 meters
above sea level. It generates power by
circulating the water under high
pressure through the reactor core to
absorb the heat generated by the
nuclear reactions. The steam collected
will then drive the turbine that run the
electric generator (Sukma, 2007).
Importance of Reviving the BNPP
The construction of BNPP faced
a lot of controversies. It drew a lot of
opposition from the public and its
construction was temporarily
suspended. The negative perception
towards BNPP was further aggravated
by the Three Mile Island (TMI) nuclear
incident occurred in Harrisburg,
Pennsylvania, USA due to operator
error and some malfunction of certain
components. Following the overthrow of
Marcos regime, history’s worst nuclear
accident occurred at Chernobyl power
plant in which 31 people were killed.
These alarmed scientists as well as
different cause-oriented groups in the
country. In the wake of the Chernobyl
nuclear incidents, former President
immediately decided to
“mothball” the controversial $2.1 billion
BNPP (Cardenas, 1987).
The potentials of BNPP as an
alternative source of energy were never
realized. The historical tragedies from
the past made the policy-makers to
doubt the safety of BNPP in the country
and so it was never revived since then.
However, with the current environmental
problems such as the climate change as
well as the increasing demand in
electricity all over the country (see figure
2), there has been a focus on finding
another alternative energy source that is
safe for the environment and cheaper.
In 2016, President Duterte ordered a
study on the possibility of reopening the
American-built Bataan Nuclear Power
Plant. The following year, Duterte’s
government forged an agreement with
the Russian State Atomic Energy
Corporation (ROSATOM) for the
possible development of nuclear
infrastructure, personnel training, and
courting public support for the
technology following his visit to Moscow
(ABS-CBN News, 2017).
With the country’s fast growing
population and widespread economic
development, there government must
develop energy efficient alternate
sources of energy. Nuclear power
provides for a clean, safe, and reliable
energy source. One important aspect
that must be considered in a national
electricity policy is to choose an energy
source that has the least amount of
negative externalities. Nuclear power
does not emit the worse types of
pollutants, sulphur dioxide and nitrogen
oxides (see figure 3) (Rebet, 2005).
Another concern raised by critics is that
nuclear power is unsafe based mainly to
the Chernobyl tragedy. A study shows
that amount of deaths linked to
radioactive waste over the long term are
insignificant when compared to the
deaths caused by coal and solar power
(see figure 4). Furthermore, Philippine
Institute of Volcanology and Seismology
(Phivolcs) Director Renato Solidum said
that the BNPP is on a safe ground.
Possible hazards that the plant may
encounter are limited to minimal
shaking, which can be mitigated (ABS-
CBN News, 2018). Regarding the risk
of eruption since the structure is built
near the Mount Natib, assessments
show that the plant is far from any fault
lines and is built on a solid foundation of
hard rock. Lastly, it is necessary for the
country to have sustainable flow of
electricity. For the last decade, there
were a lot of power shortages especially
in Mindanao and these can have bad
effects to the economy in general. It is
necessary to secure the power supply in
the country so as to make the economy
to function well.
Critique of Policy Options
Currently, majority of the electric
power supply in the country come from
coal and natural gas. These sources of
power, however, are non-renewable
resource. They take thousands of years
to form and cannot be replaced as fast
as they are being consumed. Thus,
these are not sustainable source of
energy that can sustain the country’s
needs in the future. Moreover, these
sources of energy are contributing to the
degradation of the environment because
they release tremendous amount of
carbon dioxide to the atmosphere
causing increase in global temperature
and change in the climate.
Policy Recommendation
Article II, Section 16 of the 1987
Constitution provides that the State shall
protect and advance the right of the
people to a balanced and healthful
ecology in accord with rhythm and
harmony of nature (1987 Constitution).
Hence, the government shall find a new
method of producing electricity which
will reduce carbon dioxide emissions
such as the nuclear power. In order to
do this, the government shall address
first the following before BNPP can be
utilized to be a major source of power
supply:
 Legislation must be passed so as to
allow for the revival of the BNPP and
provide for the funding of its
rehabilitation. The rehabilitation of
the BNPP will cost a lot and will take
at least five years to rehabilitate the
plant’s infrastructure. The
government shall consider entering
into agreements with other countries
for assistance in the rehabilitation
and funding.
 The existing legal framework for the
regulation of nuclear technology in
the Philippines must be reviewed as
well. The current framework is
provided under the Science Act of
1958 (RA 2067) and the Atomic
Energy Regulatory and Liability Act
of 1968 (RA 5207). However, these
two laws are already outdated. The
government can also come up with
another law for the regulation of
nuclear technology that is
comprehensive and modernized
enough.
