Anti-nuke rallyists call for dismantling of Bataan Nuclear Power Plant

MORONG, Bataan - A group of anti-nuke protesters held a rally outside the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant (BNPP) in Morong, Bataan urging President Benigno Simeon “Noynoy" Aquino to dismantle the plant. “The nuclear reactor meltdown in Japan is a strong and categorical statement against nuclear plants. Mother Nature has spoken and we must listen," the protesters said. The breakdown of a nuclear plant in Fukushima, Japan after the magnitude-9.0 earthquake on March 11 prompted the protesters to come up with slogans that say, "Chernobyl noon, Fukushima ngayon. Hindi pa ba malinaw ang aral? Lansagin ang BNPP." (Chernobyl before, Fukushima now. Is the lesson not clear? Dismantle the BNPP.) The Chernobyl disaster was a nuclear accident that happened in April 1986 at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine. The incident is considered the worst nuclear power plant accident in history. The protesters, some wearing "masks of death," marched toward the tightly-secured gate of the BNPP and called for the dismantling of the power plant. They lied down at the pavement outside the BNPP main gate and later burned a replica of the power plant. The rallyists belong to Nuclear Free Bataan Movement Network and the Kilusan para sa Pambansang Demokrasya. Fr. Fernando Loreto, Morong parish priest, said the the priests of the Diocese of Bataan, led by Bishop Ruperto Santos, are against operating a nuclear power plant in Bataan or any part of the country. The priest said their position on the dismantling of BNPP is non-negotiable. “On the moratorium announced by former Pangasinan Mark Cojuangco, dapat sabihin niyang aatras na siya sa proposal na muling buhayin ang plantang nukleyar," Loreto said. Cojuangco on Wednesday said he and his wife, Rep. Kimi Cojuangco, have decided to hold their proposal to rehabilitate BNPP until reputable international agencies release final reports on really what happened at the Fukusima nuclear power plant. – VVP, GMA News