[Straits Times] THE Philippines may turn to nuclear energy to solve power shortages in the impoverished nation, President Benigno Aquino said on Monday.'We are studying the possibility of using nuclear energy as a source of power,' Mr Aquino, who took office on June 30, told reporters. 'I'm awaiting the department of energy secretary's recommendations.' He said the technology could come from South Korea, without elaborating.
But he said he was reluctant to rebuild a plant completed a quarter of a century ago under the Marcos regime but never used.
Mr Aquino's statement came four months after a cousin, House of Representatives member Mark Cojuangco, inspected a turbine generator and other nuclear equipment being auctioned by South Korea.
Mr Cojuangco has also said the government should seriously consider reviving the Bataan nuclear power plant, which was completed in 1984 after eight years of construction by the government of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos.
Built 100 kilometres north of Manila at a cost of US$2.3 billion (S$3.2billion), the plant was hounded by controversy and has never produced power.