Despite fears that the same severe power crisis experienced by Filipinos during his mother’s term will hit his administration, President Aquino said that he still does not intend to tap the mothballed Bataan Nuclear Power Plant (BNPP) to solve the impending critical energy supply situation.

Former Pangasinan Rep. Mark Cojuangco said that in his talk with Aquino during the presidential campaign, the incumbent chief executive aired serious apprehensions about the safety of operating a nuclear power facility in the country.

A strong advocate of nuclear energy, Cojuangco said he explained to Aquino, his cousin, his fears about the dangers of the BNPP remain unfounded, pointing out that the facility does have the same safety features as its “twin” power plants are still currently in use.

Cojuangco said the country needs at least 2,000 megawatts of electricity to head off a power crisis in 2012, adding that the BNPP, which can generate at least 620 megawatts, could help ease the power situation.

The crisis is graver than the power shortage that befell the country during the term of Aquino’s late mother, former President Corazon C. Aquino.

It will be recalled that the elder Aquino’s fears about the safety of the BNPP prompted her to mothball the nuclear facility built by her predecessor, the late President Ferdinand E. Marcos, in Morong, Bataan.

“Tama si Cory noon because of what happened to Chernobyl and the Three Mile Island (nuclear accidents).

But three decades has passed and based on the history of nuclear power use, it remains the safest form of energy,” said Cojuangco.

The former lawmaker also explained that one of the reasons cited for the Chernobyl incident was the fact that it was actually a nuclear arms facility converted into power generator.

He said a “nuclear renaissance” is now unfolding in the United States that even President Barack Obama was convinced to give a P58 billion loan guarantee and activate mothballed nuclear power plants.

According to Cojuangco at least 60 persons died due to the Chernobyl disaster but the statistics pale in comparison with deaths caused by coal-fired plants.

“At least 30,000 people already died of cancer and other respiratory ailments due to coal powered plants,” he said.