Residents, church leaders, and environmental groups in Labrador, Pangasinan gathered on Sunday, December 4, 2025, to voice their opposition to the proposed construction of a nuclear power plant in the town, raising concerns about long-term safety, environmental risks, and the impact on future generations.
Carrying placards, participants held a motorcade and later attended a Holy Mass at St. Isidore the Farmer Parish, led by Most Rev. Napoleon Sipalay, Jr. of the Diocese of Alaminos. Organizers said the activity aimed to urge both officials and residents to look beyond short-term development benefits.
Bishop Layog stressed the need to consider what he called inter-generational justice.
“What we request to the residents of Labrador is really to see the whole picture. Not only the shortened development, mayroon tayong tinatawag na inter-generational justice. Ito ‘yung justice na hindi lamang ibigay ang nararapat sa tao ngayon. Ibigay rin ang nararapat sa generations to come. The waste materials that would stay thousands of years, future generations will also suffer,” he said.
After the Mass, residents who oppose the project signed a petition against the proposed nuclear plant. Bishop Layog said more than 50 church members also signed a pastoral letter expressing their stand on the issue.
Various groups later held a press conference to discuss what they described as the possible negative effects of the project on the environment and the community. They warned that development should not come at the cost of public safety and ecological damage.
Fr. Ed Inacay, Ministry on Ecology director of the Diocese of Alaminos, cited experiences in other countries as a cause for concern.
“Base sa karanasan, marami na pong nuclear power plant ang hindi naging maayos at nagdulot ng pinsala doon sa lugar. So possibly kung may ghost projects, baka maging ghost town itong Labrador,” he said.
The groups said they will continue to raise awareness and push for broader public consultation as discussions on the proposed nuclear power plant move forward.
