The bill to re-commission the BNPP to the Committee on Rules was passed as expected and may undergo marathon hearings in the weeks to come.
Nograles, others withdraw support for BNPP’s revival By Gerry Baldo
05/26/2009
Speaker Prospero Nograles led some 60 lawmakers in withdrawing support for the bill pushing for the rehabilitation and opening of the mothballed Bataan Nuclear Power Plant (BNPP) even as the House of Representatives is set to deliberate and is expected to approve the measure on second reading this week.
Aside from Nograles, among the 60 lawmakers who had initially signed the bill as its co-authors and have withdrawn their endorsement of the proposal were Ilocos Norte province Rep. Roquito Ablan, Cavite province Rep. Joseph Emilio Abaya, Camarines Sur province Rep. Diosdado Arroyo, Camarines Sur province Rep. Luis Villafuerte, Batangas province Rep. Eileeen Ermita-Buhain , Iloilo province Rep. Janette Garin and House Minority Leader Ronaldo Zamora.
The measure to revive the BNPP, filed as House Bill 6300 or “An Act Mandating the Immediate Rehabilitation, Commissioning and Commercial Operation of the BNPP,” was proposed by Pangasinan province Rep. Mark Cojuangco in July last year.
In January, it hurdled the House committee on energy headed by presidential son and Pampanga province Rep. Juan Miguel “Mikey” Arroyo, without due consideration to concerns about the bill’s many faults.
Last week, the proposal passed the committee on rules and has now been put down in Congress’ order of business, meaning it will most likely be taken up in plenary in the next two weeks.
Concerns have been raised that the bill will be railroaded before the House adjourns on June 5.
HB 6300, a consolidated bill which lists only 125 co-authors, calls for the “immediate rehabilitation and commissioning” of the BNPP. The original bill, HB 4631, listed 185 co-authors.
The Freedom from Debt Coalition (FDC), one of the lead groups opposing the revival of the nuclear plant in Morong town, Bataan province, alleged that in order for the bill seeking the revival the mothballed plant to obtain support and eventual approval, its authors have kept from the public its cost and the dangers it poses on people.
“There has been no recent feasibility study concerning the rehabilitation of the plant, and the bill does not make reference to any of the feasibility studies that were conducted before or after the plant was mothballed 22 years ago,” FDC media campaigner Bobby Diciembre said.
According to the National Power Corp. (Napocor), The government will need around $800 million, or an estimated P40 billion, to rehabilitate the mothballed nuclear power plant.
According to Napocor senior vice president Pio Benavidez, the state-owned firm would also need to spend an additional amount to put up new and additional transmission lines to connect the plant to the Luzon Grid.
Benavidez said the Napocor has sought a budget of P1 billion under the national budget to be used to restart the BNPP. He said for the feasibility study on the revival of the plant, Napocor has allotted a P100-million budget.
Benavidez said the Napocor has started undertaking a “systems verification review” to determine if all the parts of the plant can still be used. He said the Napocor early this year signed a memorandum of agreement with Korea Electric Power Corp. (Kepco) for the conduct of a pre-feasibility study of the BNPP. He said the study is expected to be completed by October.
Energy Secretary Angelo Reyes has, though, said the Philippines is not yet ready for nuclear power.
“Let us not get into it (nuclear power) unless we are dead sure that we are ready. We don’t want another situation where we put an expensive power plant and we can’t use it. The most expensive nuclear power plant is one that you set up but is not operational. We don’t want another one like that. Thus, if the country is not ready, then it should not proceed with it,” Reyes said at a recent forum that had as a topic energy.
Reyes, however, said the Department of Energy was still keeping its options open on harnessing the BNPP since it is the cheapest source of power.
“We are keeping the nuclear power option as an option. But right now (I believe the country is) not ready for it,” he said.
The Catholic Church and non-government organizations have been airing opposition to the proposal to revive the BNPP, warning of the possible risks it poses to the public’s health and safety.
May 28, 2009 Yesterday afternoon, elements of 303rd PMG nabbed anti-nuke activist Archie Betan in Samal Bataan, while waiting for an anti-nuke youth forum. In the process, the military ‘discovered’ arms and subversive documents allegedly in his possession.
We strongly condemn the attack against anti-nuke activist Archie Betan, a leader of Youth for Nationalism and Democracy (YND) in the province of Bataan, a province once again gaining prominence with Congressman Mark Cojuangco’s bid to re-commission the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant (BNPP).
We believe that the military planted the arms and subversive documents in order to implicate Bathan.
Unfortunately for us, this is not the first time that the military has attacked young human rights defenders, like Bathan, we have not forgotten what happened to Audie Lucero, a nineteen year old member of YND found face down in a rice field, summarily executed a day before Valentine’s Day in 2006. He was last seen in the company of military and police in Balanga, Bataan.
As for two others who were said to be with Bathan, surely they were talking about the campaign. We as anti-nuke activists talk with anyone on the basis of the anti-BNPP campaign. We believe that Archie has no knowledge of the alleged identity and affiliation of the two.
We are not surprised that many have lost faith in our law enforcement agencies when they dirty their hands with human rights violations.
For the record, Youth for Nationalism and Democracy (YND) is a national mass organization of youth and students committed to upholding genuine freedom and democratic rights and welfare, taking their inspiration from national hero Jose Rizal and the First Propagandists.
YND has made concrete its nationalist stance in various issues since it was formed. It has taken up student concerns like tuition fee increase, rationalization of state colleges and universities (SCUs), commercialization of education, campus repression. Also, its commitment to unite the youth and serve the people extend to taking on issues of a broader perspective like the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA), the on-going war in Mindanao, Charter Change, E-VAT, oil deregulation law among others.
Bathan has been with YND during his student days in Baguio, organizing the University of the Cordilleras ( formerly known as Baguio College Foundation), and in coming back to his home province, organizing for YND at Bataan Heroes’ Memorial College and in the Bataan Peninsula State University.
His anti-nuke engagement is only a logical offshoot for a socially-involved individual like him.
We believe that this is the beginning of a crackdown aimed at cooling the fiery protest of the people of Bataan and other advocates perpetuated by the GMA government and its military as well as pro-nuke forces deeply entrenched in the present system.
Force of might and guns are their answer to the irrefutable facts surrounding the BNPP and the bitter reality of nuclear energy, still the most expensive and damaging energy alternative known to man.
Indeed, the pro-nukes have every right to be concerned, since in just a short time, the anti-nuke debate was quickly elevated as a national concern, with veterans and an ever-growing younger crop of anti-nuke advocates galvanized into action.
We demand the immediate and unconditional release of Bathan, the authorities have no reason to hold him. We will not be cowed not silenced by such brute attacks, but remain resolute and steadfast in our stance to uphold youth and students’ democratic rights and welfare as well as continue our efforts in raising awareness of young people against the falsehoods of nuclear power. ####
A LOOMING energy crisis is threatening to bring back the operation of the mothballed Bataan Nuclear Power Plant (BNPP).
A proposed measure, which is aimed at operating the power plant for commercial purposes, was submitted in Congress.
But just like the opposition it earned 35 years earlier, plans on reviving operation is beginning to earn resistance.
Very recently, the Nuclear Free Bataan Movement Network (NFBM-Net) launched a nationwide signature campaign opposing House Bill 4631.
The Youth for National Democracy is leading the campaign here in Baguio. Liza Gobrin, the group’s spokesperson said city residents should be involved in this project because allowing government to operate the power plant is an issue not only of the people of Bataan, but the whole country.
Having been left unused for more than 30 years, refurbishing the plant is estimated to cost US$1 billion. Facilities of the BNPP are said to be obsolete.
Gobrin said there are more important projects where the amount can be used.
Contrary to claims the country would be less dependent on fossil fuels, the NFBM-Net said nuclear power plants are costlier because the country would have to import uranium to make the reactors work.
“There are no logical reasons to revive the BNPP. The reasons for its rejection in the past still stand today,” the NFBM-Net said in a position paper.
Separately, Gobrin said there is a danger of the power plant to explode because it is located in a geologically hazardous area.
“The risks and danger posed by the BNPP to the public has not been dimmed by the passage of 35 years. The plant is riddled with defects from its cover design, construction, quality assurance, workmanship and project management. It sits on a geologically unsafe location and poses a very high risk to the lives and livelihood of underlying communities and provinces,” the NFBM-Net added.
Also, the NFBM-Net said the country does not have a technology to store or dispose nuclear waste. The only alternative is for the Department of Energy to explore all possibilities of maximizing the natural and renewable sources of energy such as solar, geothermal, wind, and hydro.
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