‘NO, NOT EVER’: Senator rejects nuclear power plant plans in Antique

By Rjay Zuriaga Castor

Sen. Loren Legarda has strongly opposed any plan to build a nuclear power plant in Antique, following reports that the province has been identified as a possible site for nuclear energy development.

Legarda, who served as Antique’s lone district representative from 2019 to 2022, said she was “shocked” by the province’s inclusion and warned that Antique is already highly vulnerable to flooding and other environmental risks.

“I am not in favor, and I am not alone. I will block it every step of the way,” she said.

“It should be in Antique. Antique is not suitable. There is no science in it,” the senator added.

She made her position clear during the Senate’s deliberations on the proposed 2026 budget of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) on Thursday, Oct. 9.

Legarda also urged the government not to waste public funds on feasibility studies for a nuclear facility in Antique and warned she would block the budget of agencies pursuing the plan.

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS) recently reported that Antique is among several provinces being assessed as potential nuclear power plant sites.

DENR Secretary Raphael Lotilla explained that the Nuclear Energy Program Interagency Committee (NEPIAC), chaired by the Department of Energy (DOE), oversees the national nuclear program.

PHIVOLCS is a NEPIAC member and plays a key role in identifying safe and viable locations for nuclear development.

Lotilla, who hails from Sibalom, Antique, said he had no access to the basis for Antique’s inclusion when he was DOE secretary.

“What they had was just a survey all over the country of what are the suitable sites,” he said.

“I have had no access to the specific studies that came up with Antique as one of the possible sites.”

He added that NEPIAC would “take into account all of the science involved” before any construction proceeds.

Lotilla also assured that if the government moves forward with nuclear energy development, the DENR would enforce strict environmental safeguards, including the requirement for an Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC).

The ECC, issued by the DENR’s Environmental Management Bureau, confirms that a project has undergone an Environmental Impact Assessment and includes a commitment to a mitigation plan.

“To be able to conduct the ECC in accordance with international standards, then we will have to build up the capacity within our EMB to be able to respond to that challenge,” Lotilla said.

While firm in her opposition to a nuclear plant in Antique, Legarda clarified she is open to the idea of nuclear power development in other areas under strict conditions.

“We will see. It will depend on where it will be or the type,” she said.

“But the way Filipinos, generally speaking, do things, we need to be more safety conscious and do more complete staff work.”