Bishop warns vs Russia-PH pact to build nuke plants

Bishop Ruperto Santos (Photo from a video of the Diocese of Balanga)

A Catholic bishop warned that the agreement with Russia to develop a nuclear energy infrastructure in the country would not be beneficial to the country.

Balanga Bishop Ruperto Santos said the partnership, which would also look into the possibility of constructing land-based or floating nuclear power plants, would just be another “white elephant.”

“It will be useless and will be another example of a white elephant as the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant (BNPP) was,” the prelate said.

The bishop was reacting to the Department of Energy’s partnership with Russia’s State Atomic Energy Corp. Rosatom  to develop the country’s nuclear power infrastructure.

The two parties will also assess the mothballed BNPP to see if it can still be reopened.

The agreement was signed by Rosatom deputy director general Nikolay Spasskiy and Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi on the sidelines of the Association of South East Asian Nations Summit this week.