A video posted on a Facebook (FB) page claimed that operating the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant’s (BNPP) is feasible, but it’s just being stopped. This needs context, as there are operating costs in billions of dollars to be considered as well safety concerns.
The video, posted on Oct. 19, appeared two days after the Senate’s finance committee held a hearing on Oct. 17 about the Department of Science and Technology’s funding. Its title and in-video text partly read:
“Pwede naman pala paandarin yung bataan Power plan (sic) hinaharang lang ninyo para mag hirap tayo (So the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant can be operated but you are blocking it so we will suffer)! ”
Philippine Nuclear Research Institute (PNRI) Director Carlo Arcilla explained during the Senate hearing that the national government and the people of Bataan would have to decide about operating the BNPP.
Arcilla added that fuel for the BNPP would cost US$30 million, which would be enough to last for one and a half years.
South Korea did propose to rehabilitate the BNPP for US$1 to 1.2 billion dollars, the PNRI director disclosed as early as December 2021.
On May 24, President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos said that he sought guidance from South Korean Ambassador Kim In-chul about the prospect of nuclear energy production.
Former president Corazon Aquino ordered the mothballing of the BNPP in 1986 due to safety and economic concerns.
The video that needs context was posted by FB page 𝓑𝓪𝓰𝓸𝓷𝓰 𝓟𝓲𝓵𝓲𝓹𝓲𝓷𝓪𝓼 (created June 17, 2020), garnering a total of over 250,211 interactions.
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(Editor’s Note: VERA Files has partnered with Facebook to fight the spread of disinformation. Find out more about this partnership and our methodology.)
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