PRESIDENT Arroyo on Friday said private companies are free to
come up and even develop nuclear power plants in the country if they wish but
her government would not get involved in its establishment at the moment.
Arroyo said what government is doing at present is boosting
human resources to help the next administration should it decide to tap the said
energy source. "Whatever policy we take now will not really be carried out in my
administration because when many years ago we decided to do away with nuclear
energy, the nuclear manpower left. We have to build up a new set of human
resources again. We’ve made a policy to build up the human resources again so
that a future president can make a decision to have nuclear power," she said.
She added that private companies are free to visit the
Philippines to look at the possible sites where the power plants could be put
up.
Energy Secretary Angelo Reyes said the conduct of a
feasibility study alone could take up to two years and the construction of the
nuclear power plant a minimum of five years. "So, as we have continuously
pointed out, it will take a minimum of seven years. If we start from zero, it
will take about 15 years," he said.
The Philippines had embarked on a nuclear energy program
during the time of President Ferdinand Marcos by establishing the Bataan nuclear
power plant, but the facility was mothballed during the presidency of Corazon
Aquino due to safety concerns.
Arroyo also announced yesterday that those with "low
consumption" of electricity should avail of the proposed universal Social
Security System card to be eligible for a government refund on electricity
rates.
She said the use of the SSS card will make it difficult to
duplicate the coupons. "Let us have the poor who want to be the beneficiaries of
this coupon register with the SSS so that they will be the first recipients of
this universal card which should therefore contain their eligibility for the
discount of the power bill," she said.
The proposed universal card and the incorporation of the coupons into the
system is still being worked out. – Jocelyn D. Montemayor
