SENATOR Panfilo Lacson is open to exploring safe atomic power and renewable energy to address the rising prices of petroleum products.

Lacson, who is the chairman and standard bearer of Partido Reporma in the coming 2022 elections, made the statement during the Meet the Presidentiables forum where he laid out his future-proof economic strategies for the Philippines if he gets elected as president.

“Nuclear? Yes. Provided all the safety measures are in place, then, why not? Because other countries are into nuclear power plants, putting up nuclear power plants,” he said.

“Because of our experience in the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant, medyo negative ang dating. But we should take a second look at this opportunity to reopen provided all the safety measures are in place. That is my position. The answer is yes,” he added.

Despite earning mixed to generally negative reviews among stakeholders over the years, nuclear energy remains one of the popular ways to generate maximum electricity at relatively lower cost to the consumers.

Unlike coal-based power plants and other non-renewable energy sources, nuclear reactors do not pollute the air or emit greenhouse gases.

However, they produce extremely toxic radioactive waste materials in the process that are challenging to manage and contain.

While keeping his mind open on the adoption of alternative energy sources, Lacson maintained that he would learn from the past as well as the experiences of other nations when it comes to his energy policy and with respect to his position on climate change.

Lacson said he is aware that many countries in Europe are having difficulty in striking a balance between their energy and environmental policies since it is unrealistic to rely purely on renewable energy sources alone.

“You know, this is a complicated problem because there are dangers, there are risks involved… We don’t have the technical expertise to analyze all these, and we should learn from the mistakes of other countries,” Lacson said.

“But, yes, climate change is one thing that we should really address. We already experienced its negative effects during ‘Yolanda,’ the Typhoon ‘Haiyan’ that wreaked havoc in central Philippines. I myself, saw the devastation and the suffering of our people there,” he added.

Lacson oversaw the rebuilding efforts of the government post-Yolanda when he led the Office of the Presidential Assistant for Rehabilitation and Recovery under former President Benigno Aquino III from December 2013 to February 2015.

“We should learn from the lessons of other countries who have the wherewithal to really go deep into analyzing the effects of climate change and the introduction of renewable or alternative energy,” he stressed.