A bishop from the very powerful Catholic Church in the Philippines had signified his intent to lead a rally opposing Cong. Mark Cojuangco’s House Bill 4631 which aims to re-open the mothballed Bataan nuclear power plant in the Philippines. Balanga Bishop Socrates Villegas, said that he would lead the rally which will be held at the San Jose Cathedral in Balanga on February 23.
Bishop Villegas stated that the negative effects of opening the nuclear power plant far outweighs the pro’s. Specifically on the matters of waste disposal and security. He also said that the big power plant would make an enticing target to terrorists in the country.
The Bishop has joined the ranks of GreenPeace and other environmentalist groups who are opposed to the reopening of the mothballed nuclear power plant.
A newly formed group calling themselves Network Opposed to BNPP Revival (No to BNPP!) had also come out to say that reopening of the nuclear power plant will be an additional burden to the Filipino people, in terms of environmental and economic risks.
According to them the legislators seemed hurriedly pushing for the resurrection of the nuclear plant project despite questions of safety, impact on the environment and efficiency being raised. Siting that studies conducted by an investigating body in the 80’s found more than 2,000 defects in design and construction of the plant, ensuring that it was both unfit and unsafe for operation.
Category: Nuclear
