Pallade Veneta - Philippines' Marcos says 'perhaps time to revisit nuclear energy'

Marcos made the suggestion in a wide-ranging State of the Nation speech that placed spiralling energy costs and inflation, driven by the war in the Middle East, centre-stage.

"Perhaps it is time for us to revisit nuclear energy production," Marcos told the joint session of Congress.

"We will ensure it is safe. We will ensure the good benefits of nuclear energy will be explained properly to the public."

The Bataan Nuclear Power Plant -- the only nuclear power plant in the Philippines -- was completed in the 1980s but never launched due to corruption issues and safety concerns.

The Philippines has conducted exploratory talks about nuclear energy with numerous countries including Japan, France, Russia and the United States.

Marcos offered no specifics about his atomic energy plans, the Philippines announced a deal with the United States in May 2024 to train Filipinos how to build and operate nuclear power plants.

Carlo Arcilla, former director of the Philippine Nuclear Research Institute, told AFP reintroducing nuclear energy into the conversation was a "no-brainer".

"While it's true that we have hydro and geothermal, these are not enough. We've experienced a lot of brownouts, especially in the Visayas," he said, referencing a region of the central Philippines that is home to more than 20 million.

"I hope the president follows this up with concrete action," Arcilla said.

Energy Secretary Sharon Garin said in March that the import-dependent archipelago planned to boost the output of its coal-fired power plants to keep electricity costs down as the war wreaked havoc with gas shipments.

Marcos separately unveiled a raft of measures aimed at providing relief for the country's embattled middle class, including exempting those earning up to 350,000 pesos ($5,670) from income tax entirely. The previous threshold had been 250,000 pesos.

- 'No big fish' -

Three kilometres away, a crowd of about 3,000 protesters unable to approach the House of Representatives waved banners and called for accountability over a corruption scandal tied to bogus flood control projects believed to have cost taxpayers billions of dollars.

A year removed from a speech that first put the issue in the spotlight, Marcos -- whose approval rating sits at 38 percent according to recent polling -- insisted that the wheels of justice were turning, confirming that his own cousin would soon face charges.

"Even though this is painful for me, we need to do what is right," he said of charges the country's ombudsman are preparing against former House of Representatives speaker Martin Romualdez.

But critics have bemoaned the lack of arrests over the past year.

To date, the scandal has seen just one sitting politician arrested on charges tied to the scandal. A second was charged after first resigning his position, then fleeing the country.

Iya Trinidad, a 25-year-old activist among the protesters, slammed the pace of investigations, saying "no big fish have been caught".

"Last year, Marcos said, 'Have some shame,' but up to now, no one is ashamed," she said.

J.Lubrano--PV