President Aquino is opposed to reviving the moth-balled nuclear power plant in Bataan but is amenable to tapping nuclear energy to meet the country’s growing power requirements.

The President has expressed concerns on the safety of operating the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant (BNPP), which was ordered closed by his mother, the late President Corazon Aquino following protests on safety defects and the plant built on an earthquake-prone area.

“I am really bothered. I have a lot of apprehensions with regards to the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant. Pinatubo is not far away. It’s an active volcano. You have questions about the fault,” he said in a press conference in Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City.

Mr. Aquino, who convened a military command conference prior to facing the press, also raised questions on the testing for the BNPP “to find out whether or not there were shortcuts made when it was done.” These tests that will be required for the 600-megawatt Bataan nuclear power plant may entail huge costs for the government, he added.