Philippines' Marcos says 'perhaps time to revisit nuclear energy'

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos, who declared a national energy emergency this year, said on Monday that nuclear power might hold answers for a country paying the highest electricity prices in the region.

"Perhaps it is time for us to revisit nuclear energy production," he told a joint session of Congress in a nationally televised speech.

"We will ensure it is safe. We will ensure the good benefits of nuclear energy will be explained properly to the public."

Energy Secretary Sharon Garin said in March that the import-dependent archipelago planned to boost the output of its coal-fired power plants to keep electricity costs down as the Middle East war wreaked havoc with gas shipments.

The Bataan Nuclear Power Plant -- the only nuclear power plant in the Philippines -- was completed in the 1980s but never launched due to corruption issues and safety concerns.

The Philippines has conducted exploratory talks about nuclear energy with numerous countries including Japan, France, Russia and the United States.

While Marcos offered no specifics in his State of the Nation speech, the Philippines announced a deal with the United States in May 2024 to train Filipinos how to build and operate nuclear power plants.

The pact was aimed at helping the Philippines build "the skilled workforce needed to build a clean energy infrastructure, including the ability to operate state-of-the-art nuclear power plants", Daniel Kritenbrink, then US assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, said at the time.