To me, Nuclear Energy is not a good option for the Philippines because we are in the earthquake belt. But way back in the early 80s under President Ferdinand Marcos the Bataan Nuclear Plant was built in the Philippines. At that time, there was an energy crisis and the President thought that nuclear power would be the solution for us. This plant, however, was mothballed and with the Fukushima nuclear disaster, there were less chances of it ever going operational.

But with the new government and the unstable energy supply, the new Department of Energy Secretary Cusi says he is open to ?going nuclear?.  The DOE will continue to develop other sources of energy including coal, solar, wind, hydro, ocean waves etc, but they have also included nuclear power in the list so the country can have a more stable supply of power.  

The government continued to maintain the Bataan Nuclear Plant for about 4 decades now, but understandably the technology has improved and to operationalize this plant would mean having to make major changes.  The International Atomic Energy Agency will help the country decide whether it should move towards use of nuclear power.   

For our safety, the government has many requirements to make this major decision. Among them are: 

-        Forming a national position on this matter

-        Having wide participation of stakeholders

-        Having a sound legal and regulatory framework

-        Most importantly, to look at the safety and security issues

Just last month, in June 2017, our Department of Science and Technology signed a memorandum of cooperation with the Russian State Atomic Energy Coporation to seek the ?development of nuclear infrastructure, personnel training and public acceptance of nuclear technologies?.