Opinion journalism
Bataan Nuclear Power Plant a Million Dollar project Wasted by Corazon Aquino's Administration?
The Philippine president Duterte wants to consult folks of Bataan on the possible opening of the Bataan Nuclear Power Plants.
The 36-year-old Bataan Nuclear Power Plant is one of the biggest projects of former president Marcos back in 197o's due to the lack of electricity in the Philippines. But it has been plagued by many controversies including location, welding, cabling, pipes and valves, permits, corruption, and nuclear-related incidents in various countries such as America and Russia. A year after the project was completed, it was closed by former President Corazon Aquino.
The construction began on the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant in 1976. But it was temporarily halted in 1979, following an accident on the Three Mile Island in America. As a result, a plant safety test was conducted where it was found to have many defects. Some of these are the so-called near fault line and Pinatubo Volcano. Its construction cost was US$ 2.3 billion, which was completed in 1984. With a light water reactor from Westinghouse Electric, it was designed to generate 621 megawatts of electricity.
When Ferdinand Marcos was ousted from power in February 1986 and after the Chernobyl nuclear accident in the Soviet Union, the former president Corazon Aquino's administration decided to closed the nuclear plant. A step with "mixed motives" due to the plant's association with Marcos.
In December 1988, the Philippine government sued Westinghouse Electric, the project's reactor supplier, for allegedly bribing and conspiring with Marcos, and for overpaying the cost of building the plant. It was rejected by the courts in the United States in May 1993 and Switzerland in October 1993. This was despite Westinghouse's "last offer" to the government under Fidel Ramos in December 1992 that Westinghouse would only negotiate and pay of US$ 100 million worth of money and credit, upgrading its plant, and operating the plant for US$ 40 million annually in exchange for the government's withdrawal of cases filed.
The country's had done repaying the debt in 2017 for such a nuclear plant became the Philippines ' sole biggest obligation. Since 1986, the government has spent ₱ 64.7 billion ₱ 43.5 billion on principal amount amortization, and ₱ 21.2 billion on interest in compensation for the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant.
Peoples Opinion
"We are not against of having Nuclear Power Plant since it is very beneficial to us as energy consumers as well as to our economy. But knowing the fact that we belong to a less developed country, we can't deny that having it costs a lot of disadvantages and hazards especially to our environment and our people. Can we be able to protect our people and our natural environment against its danger? Even in highly developed countries, a nuclear power plant is still discouraged. Its highly dangerous RADIOACTIVE wastes are never easy to dispose of."_Jonzike
"This is a good fight. The people of Bataan are the only ones who will decide whether to revive the nuclear monster. Show the strength of Bataeno in how we fought it during the Marcos era."_Ediso
"Just make it a tourist spot. Antique structure. It's like what happened in the film center building that is no longer used, that many people are buried alive because of Imelda's haste to finish. Justice has not been achieved and those who died there have not been excavated."_Jocelyn
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