Senator Tulfo: Philippines Should Build New Nuclear Plant, Not Revive Bataan

JAKARTA — The Philippines should abandon plans to rehabilitate the long-mothballed Bataan Nuclear Power Plant (BNPP) and instead build a new facility to ensure the safety of Filipinos, according to Sen. Erwin Tulfo. Tulfo, chair of the Senate committee on energy, said the plant is decades old and may pose safety risks, including potential leaks that could threaten nearby residents and communities. “We need to build a new one because that (nuclear) is dangerous. Nuclear power is no joke,” he told Manila-based journalists on the sidelines of Enlit Asia 2026 in Indonesia. “The storage is already very old, and we can no longer know whether it is still sturdy, including the facility itself.” The BNPP, the country’s first attempt to integrate nuclear power into its energy mix, was completed in the 1980s but was never activated due to safety concerns and political issues. To help determine its next steps for Southeast Asia’s only existing nuclear facility, the Philippines signed an agreement with South Korea to conduct a feasibility study on the BNPP. The study was expected to be completed early this year, but its findings have yet to be made public. Before moving forward with any nuclear project, Tulfo said the government must first address public concerns over safety and environmental impacts. “This is what agencies like the PhilATOM should address and study because as long as you can’t answer that, our countrymen won’t allow it,” the senator stressed. PhilATOM, or the Philippine Atomic Energy Regulatory Authority, is an independent, quasi-judicial regulatory body established under Republic Act 12305. More than a year after the nuclear safety law was enacted, however, its implementing rules and regulations and PhilATOM’s composition have yet to be finalized. While nuclear power holds promise, Tulfo said the government may have to push back its nuclear targets until it addresses all issues. “As long as there is resistance, it will be difficult to build. There will be protests left and right. Even if the law is already in place,” he added. The Department of Energy earlier identified Bataan, Palawan, Masbate, Pangasinan and Camarines Norte as potential sites for the country’s first commercially operational nuclear power plant. The government initially targeted at least 1,200 megawatts of nuclear capacity by 2032. The target has since been moved to 2038, with the capacity goal raised to 1,400 MW.