CBCP rejection of BNPP unfair, judgmental - lawmaker

MANILA, Philippines - The congressman pushing for the revival of the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant (BNPP) on Friday slammed the Catholic bishops' call for the mothballed plant's dismantling as "unfair" and based on obsolete data. In a telephone interview with GMANews. TV, Pangasinan Rep. Mark Cojuangco said it was unfair for the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) to issue its statement against the BNPP's revival without hearing him out first. "I find the statement a little bit unfair," said Cojuangco, saying that he had requested a meeting with them in the last quarter of 2008. "February inaasahan ko na bibigyan ako ng pagkakataon to explain all the points of my bill. Hindi naman ako binigyan ng opportunity tapos bigla na lang ganito ang statement [I was expecting that they would give me a chance to explain all the points of my bill this February. But they did not give me an opportunity, and now they're releasing this statement]," he said. Contrary to the CBCP's branding of the BNPP as the "most dangerous and expensive way to generate electricity," Cojuangco said nuclear power is actually "the safest way ever invented by man and the cheapest way to generate electricity," particularly for continental countries. He also said it was "judgmental" of the bishops to say that the project to rehabilitate the mothballed plant will open avenues for corruption. "Napaka-judgmental, di pa nangyayari ina-accuse na kami [That was so judgmental, nothing has happened yet but we're already being accused]," said the lawmaker. No viable option As for the CBCP's push for renewable energy instead of nuclear power, Cojuangco noted that it would be more expensive to generate 620 megawatts of instantaneous power capacity using wind power - which he said is already one of the cheaper energy options available - than if the country utilizes the BNPP. Cojuango, son of prominent businessman Eduardo “Danding" Cojuangco Jr., said the bishops did not present "economically viable options." Fossil fuel plants, which are currently being used to generate electricity, are radioactive but nuclear plants are not, Cojuangco pointed out. He lamented that the CBCP, with its statement, is preventing the country from moving forward and being at par with other countries around the world which have long been utilizing nuclear power. "Yung mga nag-aadvise dito sa CBCP mukhang obsolete yata ang kaalaman [The knowledge of the CBCP's advisers appear to be obsolete]," Cojuangco said. Calls for dismantling On Thursday, CBCP president Angel Lagdameo called for the outright dismantling of the mothballed plant and urged government to use renewable energy instead. "We recommend with other anti-BNPP Congressmen and the Greenpeace Forum that the mothballed facility in Morong, Bataan, be dismantled as its revival will be most hazardous to health and life of the people," he said in a pastoral statement posted on the CBCP website. "Multiple risks and the possibility of corruption outweigh dreamed benefits," said the bishop. In a hearing on Wednesday, lawmakers proposed funding studies on the feasibility and impact of reviving the mothballed plant before appropriating funds for its rehabilitation. But during the same appropriations committee hearing, Bataan Gov. Enrique "Tet" Garcia called on lawmakers to junk proposals to revive the plant, saying it will only create "divisiveness" and threaten the safety of Bataan residents. The BNPP, which was constructed in the 1970s under the administration of the late Ferdinand Marcos, was shut down in 1986 during the Aquino administration due to safety concerns. - GMANews.TV