Marcos-Duterte tandem to push nuclear power 

PHILIPPINE presidential frontrunner Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos, Jr. and his running mate Sara Duterte-Carpio have vowed to push nuclear power if they win this year’s elections. 

The pro-administration tandem issued the statement after President Rodrigo R. Duterte signed an executive order allowing the country to tap nuclear power as an alternative energy source. 

In a statement on Tuesday evening, the tandem said incorporating nuclear power in the country’s energy mix would lower electricity rates and help secure a steady power source. 

“Our vision for the country is to have at least one nuclear power plant so we can finally produce cheap energy and for us to lower our electricity rates,” they said. Mr. Duterte’s order is a “good springboard” for the next administration to pursue its nuclear energy objectives. 

Under the executive order, a Nuclear Energy Program Inter-Agency Committee will study the use and viability of the mothballed Bataan Nuclear Power Plant (BNPP) and the establishment of other nuclear facilities. 

The $2.2-billion BNPP was completed in 1984 but was mothballed in 1986 after the ouster of the late dictator Ferdinand E. Marcos, Marcos Jr.’s father. — Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza