Lacson-Sotto tandem backs nuke inclusion in country's energy mix

Presidential candidate Senator Panfilo Lacson, and his running mate Senate President Vicente Sotto III said Thursday they are in favor of the inclusion of nuclear power as among possible sources of the country's energy needs, if safety is assured.

“Ang nuclear kasi cleanest tapos cheapest. Ang makikinabang diyan ‘yung consumers, mura kasi" (Nuclear is the cleanest and cheapest energy source. Also, consumers will benefit from it because it is cheap),  Lacson said in a press conference in Sorsogon City.

On Wednesday, the Department of Energy (DOE) said the Philippines is set to enter into a cooperation agreement with the United States to study the viability of including nuclear power in the country’s energy mix.

Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi said the DOE is awaiting President Rodrigo Duterte’s approval of the proposal to include nuclear energy in the country’s power mix, after it submitted the study conducted by the Nuclear Energy Program Inter-Agency Committee (NEP-IAC) in 2020.

Asked if the tandem would push for nuclear energy inclusion in the power mix, Lacson said: “Yeah, definitely.”

He noted that the country is harnessing 57% energy on coal-fired plants, 21% on renewable, 19% on geothermal, and 1.2% on biomass.

“Ang dami nating pwedeng i-harness and ‘yung nuclear is also one. Ang consideration lang natin do’n talaga is the safety" (we have so much to harness and nuclear is one. The only consideration is safety), he said.

Speaking in Filipino Lacson said, foremost of our concerns is safety. The Philippines is within the earthquake belt, and it is 4th among counties most vulnerable to the effects of climate change.

If we would go nuclear, let’s ensure that the Chernobyl in Russia, and the Fukushima, Japan nuke tragedies would not befall us, he added. 

In February, Lacson also said he is open to the safe and science-based revival of the mothballed Bataan Nuclear Power Plant. —LBG, GMA News