Duterte orders Energy dept., agencies to recommend steps on possible use of Bataan power plant

(FILE PHOTO)

The Duterte administration is looking into the possible revival of the mothballed Bataan nuclear power plant, according to a new executive order.

The policy is under Executive Order 116 issued by President Rodrigo Duterte that ordered the Department of Energy and other government agencies to suggest “necessary steps” on the possible use of the country's first and only nuclear power facility.

The EO created the DOE-led Nuclear Energy Program Inter-Agency Committee, which will “review the legal framework, study the viability of nuclear energy, and recommend steps in the utilization of nuclear energy as well as existing facilities such as but not limited to the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant.”

The administration of then President Corazon Aquino mothballed the facility over corruption and safety concerns, compounded by fears after the Chernobyl nuclear fallout in Russia in 1986.

Duterte noted in the EO signed on July 24 that the committee must take into account in its feasibility study the economic, security, and environmental implications of nuclear energy as a power source, as well as perspectives from stakeholders.

The committee must also evaluate and formulate “a national strategy to include a roadmap and timeline in preparation of a National Energy Program.”

Duterte said funds for the research could be pooled from the Energy department’s budget, adding that if necessary, the Department of Budget Management would identify other sources of funds.

He noted that the the initial report on the study should be submitted to the Office of the President, through the executive secretary, in six months, with the succeeding reports to be handed out every six months thereafter.

By CNN Philippines Staff

Source: Peso Economics