Human rights, Catholicism, poverty and nuclear power

By Fr. Shay Cullen

We recently celebrated International Human Rights Day on Dec. 10, and we all know that every person deserves to be born and live free. Everyone has the right to life, food, clean water, freedom and security, and to live free from harassment, threats, false imprisonment, slavery, abuse and torture. All people deserve equality under the law, and freedom from discrimination, especially from racism and marginalization.

Civil and church leaders of integrity and true faith are challenged to campaign and act to defend human rights and stand with the poor and exploited. “Faith without action is dead,” wrote Saint James. Besides, we possess these rights, no matter our nationality, ethnic origin, race, or religious belief. Other vital and essential rights are freedom of expression, thought, conscience and religion without censorship and rejection. These rights are enshrined in the 1987 Philippine Constitution and human rights laws, yet they are frequently violated by the state.

According to the World Justice Project’s (WJP) 2023 Rule of Law Index, the Philippines ranked 100th out of 142 countries and 13th out of 15 countries in East Asia and the Pacific region — only Myanmar and Cambodia fared worse — for failing to respect human rights. For Christianity to be relevant, every believer should be active in defending human rights, challenging corrupt government officials, and helping and empowering the poor. This is what Jesus of Nazareth expects of those claiming to be his followers.

Many Filipino rights defenders have been killed protecting human rights and the poor over the years. One report counted 208 such defenders slain between 2015 and 2020. Many more have been killed since then, including 162 journalists for reporting the truth. Dedicated rights defenders are helping thousands of young women and children escape captivity. They are prisoners of debt bondage and held by traffickers and pimps in brothels; many are victims of child abuse.

Many brave social workers strive to alleviate poverty. Many in the country’s 117-million-strong population suffer from hunger. The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said in a report that there were 17.5 million living in absolute poverty in 2023. They were unable to meet their most basic food and nonfood needs. Of these, 4.8 million Filipinos, or 4.3 percent of the population, were in “dire poverty,” with almost nothing to eat. They were begging and likely eating scraps or leftover food from restaurants. A survey this year found that 14.2 million Filipinos rated themselves as poor. Their children do not attend school. In a 2020 survey, out-of-school youth numbered 10.7 million. No Merry Christmas for them.

Forbes reported in April 2025 that there were 15 Filipino billionaires with a combined net worth of $53.7 billion, and an estimated 12,800 Filipino millionaires. Very few of them, it seems, are working to help alleviate poverty and uphold human rights. Only a few committed Christians of integrity working for justice continue to question and protest government wrongdoing. Since the trillion-peso flood control fund scandal broke out, many corrupt politicians who got millions of pesos in kickbacks from contractors have yet to be made accountable. Meanwhile, many of the poor lost all their possessions and livelihoods in the recent typhoons.

This shameless inequality is the result of a group of super-rich families dominating Congress and the business world that pass laws to benefit themselves and their cronies. The corrupt politicians continue to be unchallenged by the Church and civil society.

Power plant in Pangasinan

Now, we have a proposed nuclear power plant to be built in Alaminos, Pangasinan, by the corporations of these mega-wealthy families, their cronies and their partners. The project costs at least P225 billion (approximately $4 billion to $5 billion), but for sure, overruns of P10 billion more will arise. Uranium fuel for an 18-month operation costs $40.5 million. Electric power is generated from a controlled nuclear fission chain reaction to boil water, generate steam and turn turbines, and make electricity, which we all need. However, nuclear fission also creates radiation that will damage and kill living cells and lead to all kinds of cancer. The resulting nuclear waste is highly dangerous to all life forms and lasts forever. Getting rid of it safely is almost impossible, and very dangerous and costly.

By contrast, renewable sources of energy like solar, wind, geothermal, and others are delivered free by nature and harnessing them is only a fraction of the cost of nuclear, coal and oil. A group of seven bishops, led by Archbishop Socrates Villegas of Lingayen-Dagupan, has urged “government officials, policymakers and all Filipino people to choose the path of prudence and sustainability. We must invest in renewable energy infrastructure that ensures safety, resilience, and true long-term development for our people.”

Nuclear plants are prone to disasters, as proven too many times all over the world due to equipment failure; operator error; or floods, earthquakes, tsunamis, typhoons, terrorist attacks or bombings that could knock out a plant’s power supply. Besides, Pangasinan, since it is in the country’s north, is close to Taiwan, and any conflict between the United States and China over Taiwan will affect the Philippines, where the US has facilities inside Philippine military bases. In a conflict, these are all prime targets for a Chinese attack, and drones that can go off course and hit a nuclear plant are always possible.

A power failure would disrupt the flow of vital cooling water to the intensely hot, dangerously radioactive reactor core that could result in the fuel melting. Even if only one backup generator fails, the water pumps could fail, and that could be disastrous. That is what happened at Japan’s Fukushima nuclear power plant in March 2011. The powerful earthquake and the resulting tsunami knocked out the facility’s backup power supply, resulting in water pumps failing. A meltdown and explosions followed. Radiation leaked out and contaminated a huge area from where 150,000 people were evacuated immediately. There have been 2,313 disaster-related deaths among the evacuees, while the number of cancer-related deaths has not yet been released. The world’s best-trained nuclear engineers failed to foresee this disaster. How much more dangerous would that be in the Philippines?

The Philippines is on the so-called Pacific Ring of Fire, where powerful earthquakes are common. On Oct. 11, 2025, a 5.1-magnitude earthquake struck near Botolan, Zambales, 120 kilometers from Alaminos. A 7-magnitude quake could damage a nuclear plant, causing a disaster.

The seven Filipino bishops who have taken a stand against the nuclear plant said: “The message is clear: The long-term consequences of nuclear accidents and waste management pose a threat that overrides the perceived short-term benefits of this energy source. We must heed this warning.”

The right of the people to a safe, nuclear-free environment is possible when the people say no. Committed and courageous leaders must strive to bring social justice to the poor; they are first among the People of God. We do well to recall what Jesus of Nazareth said, “Whatsoever you do to these, the poorest of my brothers and sisters, you do to me.”