“Having a nuclear plant is not the same as having a nuclear bomb in our neighborhood. And, a nuclear power plant will give us cheaper electricity.”
by Ducky Paredes
According to the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP), the entire Philippine grid – not just Mindanao – is unstable, with power plants bogging down one after another and hydroelectric power plants running at limited capacities due to the lack of water.
Clearly, the haphazardly put-up Independent Power Plans or IPPs during the Ramos years gave only temporary respite from the need of a large power source that the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant (BNPP) was supposed to deliver.
We never finished the BNPP; thus, we had a power shortage. This was already apparent during the 20th century. Yet, what did we do? We allowed a lot of small power plants to be built on the promise that we would pay for them in installments over several decades. We would have paid for all of the IPPs in a few more years and – what do you know? – now we are finding out the IPPs did not really solve the problem.
The Energy Secretary says that we must boost the existing capacity across the country by 16,550 MW between 2010 and 2030.
How can we do this?
The best solution may be to put up nuclear power plants in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.
Pangasinan fifth district Representative Mark Cojuangco is pushing for nuclear plants. He reasons that if other countries using nuclear power, such as Japan and the US had not met any accidents, the Philippines does not have a reason to be so fearful of nuclear power.
In fact, he wants the BNPP rehabilitated and a nuclear plant to be put up by Koreans in his province.
Mark says: “It is my firm belief that the BNPP, if rehabilitated to its original specification is a safe plan according to the current international standards of the atomic energy generating industry in the world today.”
The proposed revival of the mothballed power plant is contained in House Bill (HB) 4631. The measure also calls for the appropriation of funds in re-commissioning the plant. It has been signed by 130 congressmen.
Cojuangco, the bill’s principal author, says that, with the current source of energy the Philippines is using, eventually, electricity will be unaffordable for most Pinoys. The Philippines is sliding back in terms of per capita electrical consumption compared to its neighbors.
Mark notes that of the 4000 defects found in the Bataan plant, none were safety defects.
Having a nuclear plant is not the same as having a nuclear bomb in our neighborhood. And, a nuclear power plant will give us cheaper electricity. We ought to at least give this a proper hearing instead of reacting out of unfounded fears.
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How truly smart are we?
Noynoy Aquino said about GMA that she has been in power for almost nine years, and yet here we are facing brownouts during a crucial election season.
“They knew that Mindanao was going to have a power supply problem. They should have mapped out a plan earlier on.”
This was the President’s answer: “The brownouts are not caused by El Niño but by mechanical troubles in Sual and Masinloc. We just want to stress again that the brownouts we are experiencing now are not caused by the El Niño but by technical problems in the power plants.”
And, where in Mindanao might Sual and Masinloc be?
As for her Energy Secretary, Angelo Reyes is on record as saying that we should blame God and not his department for the dry spell, which has put out of service hydroelectric plants in Mindanao.
Perhaps realizing that He could be listening, Angelo later clarified that he was only kidding. Our energy secretary kids about energy problems? How truly dumb are we?
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I find it amazing that ninety percent of examinees flunked the Civil Service Examinations (CSE). Only 6,334 out of 62,389 individuals passed the tests that were conducted nationwide last November. Does this mean that the test this year was extra-tough or that the quality of the examinees has fallen sharply?
To work in government (unless one is elected or appointed to a an exempt position) one needs to have passed a civil service exam. The tests include questions on vocabulary, grammar and correct usage, paragraph organization, reading comprehension, analogy, logic, and numerical reasoning, general information questions on the Philippine Constitution; the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees; peace and human rights issues and concepts, and environment management and protection.
Of the 6,334 who passed, the CSC said 4,681 passed the Professional level test while 1,653 passed the Sub Professional level.
If you find yourself talking to an idiot in a government office, chances are that you could be speaking with a political appointee, who are mostly also the abusive ones. These guys can fail the CSE and stil get better jobs than those who are civil service eligibles.
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The call of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) for a ban on condom advertisements in public places, in print, and broadcast media points to a severe generational gap between the Church and the youth.
Do our bishops think that the youth get their information only from these ads.
The CPCP says hat the “multi-million dollar condom business… heavily targets the adolescent market, at the expense of morality and family life.”
“Condom advertisements should be banned on television, radio, movies, newspapers, magazines, and public places, as they desensitize the youth’s delicate conscience and weaken their moral fiber as future parents,” CBCP president Bishop Nereo Odchimar said in the same statement.
Don’t our bishops realize that even if there are no billboards, the young can go into any internet shop and get all the porn and sex instructions they want for a few pesos per session?
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hvp 04.02.10)
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