A YouTube video claims that the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant (BNPP) will now be opened. This is not true. The Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) to study the possibility of restoring the mothballed nuclear power plant to its operating state has not yet even been signed.
Uploaded on March 5, the video bore the following text on its thumbnail:
“BATAAN NUCLEAR POWER PLANT. SOUTHEAST ASIA’S FIRST NUCLEAR POWER PLANT. WOW! FINALLY BUBUKSAN NA… ITO NA ANG SAGOT SA MAHAL NA KURYENTE (Will be opened finally… This is the solution to expensive electricity).”
Contrary to the video’s clickbait claim, the video narrator merely translated news articles from the Philippine News Agency and Palawan News about the BNPP and other proposed nuclear energy projects in the country.
There has been no announcement from the Department of Energy or any government agency authorizing the operation of the BNPP. The MOA with Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) for a validation-study is still going through a vetting process.
In a March 7 interview, Energy Undersecretary Sharon S. Garin reportedly said that the MOA has already been endorsed by Malacanang to the Finance Secretary for concurrence while they are determining who should sign on the part of the Philippine government.
The MOA with the South Korean government seeks to complete a new feasibility study to re-assess the technical elements and the economic viability of repowering the BNPP.
Completed in 1984, the $2.3 billion nuclear plant in Morong was never operated due to safety concerns and allegations of corruption. (Read: A sleeping power giant, Bataan Nuclear Power Plant explained)
Uploaded by YouTube channel ChikoyTV, the video has drawn 22,940 interactions. Facebook users also reposted the links.
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