Bataan political leaders not in favor of BNPP’s revival

CITY of BALANGA, Bataan – Top political leaders in the province are closed to the idea of reviving the mothballed Bataan Nuclear Power Plant (BNPP) but are open for further study and other options.

Rep. Joet S. Garcia, Bataan, 2^nd district, said during press briefings with Bataan newsmen that reviving the BNPP will only do more harm than good to the community and the neighboring provinces.

“Our position (with Gov. Abet Garcia) is, we are not in favor of BNPP’s revival but are open to other options and further study,” pointed out Rep. Garcia.

He said other countries like South Korea have been decommissioning their nuclear power plants due to the incident in Japan.

“Based on study, there will be 18 percent reduction in the demand on electricity if we are going to utilize solar and geothermal power plants in the country and that geothermal can in fact last for more than 100 years of operation,” pointed out the neophyte solon.

“In fact, we were able to talk with Pres. Duterte over the weekend and he also told us to further study the safety of BNPP,” stressed Rep. Garcia.

Garcia’s action came following reports that Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi had convinced Pres. Duterte to revive the BNPP after foreign experts voluntarily offered their expertise for the revival of the BNPP.

Garcia said that if the BNP operates, all the beautiful resorts and tourism programs in Bataan will be affected, “mas malaki ang mawawala satin, maliban sa delikado pa, no matter how safe the facility is.”

Earlier, Balanga Bishop Rupeto Santos and the Nuclear-Free Bataan Movement (NFBM) stand firm in their opposition to the rehabilitation of the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant (BNPP) located in Morong, Bataan, 164 kms. away from Manila.

They cited the incident in Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant which has been continuously leaking contaminated water into the Pacific Ocean.

Recent published reports state that despite measures, Japan failed to chemically-treat the surrounding soil to serve as barrier to the water tainted with dangerous radioactive materials, according to nuclear watchdog, Japan’s Nuclear Regulation Authority.