SG imparts nuke for energy bid

SINGAPORE — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. joined Singaporean experts to explore nuclear energy as a potential source of reliable, affordable power for the Philippines.

Accompanied by Trade Secretary Cristina Roque, Finance Secretary Frederick Go and private sector leaders, including Aboitiz Group president and CEO Sabin Aboitiz and Ayala Corp. chairman Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala, Marcos listened to a presentation by Low Xin Wei, CEO of the Singapore Nuclear Research and Safety Initiative (SNRSI), on the viability of nuclear power as a long-term energy source for the country.

In 2014, SNRSI was established at the National University of Singapore as the research arm of the Nuclear Safety Research and Education Program to concentrate expertise and knowledge in nuclear technology and safety in a single institute, and to sustain a critical mass of workforce engaged in a range of nuclear-related activities relevant to Singapore.

During his discussion, President Marcos said his father, then-President Ferdinand E. Marcos Sr., once dreamed of using nuclear energy, prompting him to establish the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant, a 621-megawatt pressurized water reactor in Morong, Bataan, initiated in 1976 to combat global oil shocks. However, his father’s dream did not materialize.