House approves bill creating nuclear regulator

By Beatriz Marie D. Cruz – November 22, 2023 | 8:32 pm
from Business World

HOLTEC

THE House of Representatives on Wednesday approved on third and final reading a bill seeking to establish an independent agency to regulate the nascent nuclear industry.

With 200 yes votes, seven no, and two abstentions, legislators approved House Bill (HB) No. 9293.

The proposed Philippine National Nuclear Energy Safety Act seeks to establish the Philippine Atomic Regulatory Authority (PhilATOM), which will “have the sole and exclusive jurisdiction to exercise regulatory control for the peaceful, safe, and secure uses of nuclear energy and radiation sources,” according to a copy of the bill.

The measure proposes to transfer the regulatory functions of the Philippine Nuclear Research Institute to the new entity, with the latter relegated to research and development activities related to the use of nuclear science and technology.

“This is the first step toward realizing our dream of energy security,” Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez said in a statement.

Party-list Representative Raoul Danniel A. Manuel, who voted against the measure, noted that various countries have removed nuclear power from their energy mix.

Germany closed down its last nuclear power plants in April in a transition to renewable energy. Switzerland in 2017 voted to phase out nuclear energy and Italy decommissioned its last reactors in 1990.

“In the current global context, world powers like the US have also used partnerships for nuclear energy as a tool to root themselves deeper in countries like ours and make us more dependent on them,” Mr. Manuel said.

The Philippines and the US last week signed a deal that would allow the export of American nuclear technology and materials.

“The US will be able to share equipment and material with the Philippines as they work to develop small modular reactors and other civilian nuclear energy infrastructure,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said.

“We see nuclear energy becoming a part of the Philippines’ energy mix by 2032 and we are more than happy to pursue this path with the US,” President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. said last week.

Mr. Manuel cited the risk of the Philippines becoming “a potential dumpsite for the US and other countries’ nuclear waste and the negative effects it might have on our communities and environment.”

Bataan Rep. Albert S. Garcia, who also voted no, cited the lack of local government units’ authority to accept or reject nuclear facilities.

“All developments and all disasters are also local,” he told the plenary.

He added that while the bill allows PhilATOM a measure of independence, it does not establish its accountability in the event of nuclear disasters.

Bataan Rep. Maria Angela S. Garcia, who also opposed the measure, said it places the public at a disadvantage by passing on to consumers the cost of generating nuclear power.

HB 9293 also seeks to allocate P0.06 per kilowatt hour (kWh) of electricity generated to the Radioactive Waste Management Fund, which will finance the disposal of spent fuel. It will be held in trust by the Development Bank of the Philippines.

The regulator will collect a fee not exceeding P0.02 per kWh to support its operations. Funds will also come from the budget, and contributions, grants, bequests, and donations from domestic or foreign sources.

Environmental groups have said that renewables like solar, wind and hydro are cheaper and readily available, being indigenous resources.