Senate President Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III, Senate Energy Committee Chairperson Senator Sherwin “Win” Gatchalian (7th and 8th from right), DOE Undersecretary Donato Marcos (extreme right) and PNRI Director Dr. Carlo. Arcilla (5th from right) with PNRI Technology Diffusion Division Chief and National Liaison Officer Ms. Ana Elena Conjares (6th from left) and PNRI Nuclear Regulatory Division Senior Science Research Specialist Ms. Teresita De Jesus (2nd from right) and members of the Philippine delegation at the IAEA headquarters in Vienna, Austria on May 2. (Photo by Dean Calma, IAEA)
Senators Visit IAEA and European Nuclear Facilities with PNRI Officials
Bearing witness to the diverse applications of nuclear science and technology, Senate President Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III and Senate Energy Committee Chairperson Senator Sherwin “Win” Gatchalian joined officials of the Department of Science and Technology – Philippine Nuclear Research Institute (DOST-PNRI) on a trip across Europe early in May this year to meet with officials of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) as well as to visit various nuclear science facilities and laboratories.
Speaking during their scientific visit, Senate President Pimentel encouraged the use of nuclear technology “not just to generate electricity, but also for pest control, food & environment protection, plant breeding and genetics, soil and water management, animal protection and health, and dosimetry, or fighting cancer."
The Senate President also looked forward to future collaborations with PNRI in bringing these beneficial applications closer to Filipinos.
"We should not deny the benefits of this technology to Filipinos. I will be working closely with PNRI to see how the Senate can help them improve the quality of life of our countrymen," the Senate President said in a press statement.
Accompanying the senators are Undersecretary Donato Marcos of the Department of Energy (DOE) and PNRI Director Dr. Carlo Arcilla, along with officials and staff from PNRI and the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).
Beyond highlighting the benefits of nuclear science, the tour provided the senators with a deeper perspective on crafting a more comprehensive nuclear legislation, which will take into consideration the Philippines’ obligations to nuclear safety and security treaties and conventions, regulatory functions and civil liability for damages, to name a few. A bill on the Comprehensive Nuclear Regulations Act, which is currently filed before both houses of Congress, aims to create an independent nuclear regulatory body, as well as to update and strengthen the country’s nuclear legal and regulatory regime in line with international standards.
To this end, the Philippine delegation first visited the IAEA headquarters in Vienna, Austria on May 2 for a meeting with Deputy Director General Dazhu Yang and several IAEA experts on treaty law and legislative frameworks. This was followed by a scientific visit to the IAEA laboratories in Seibersdorf, Austria. There, the senators saw firsthand the latest innovations on nuclear science and technology in agriculture, medicine, industry and the environment.
After Austria, the senators and officials also visited Slovenia on May 3 to 4, where they met with officials of the Slovenian Nuclear Safety Administration and the Krško Nuclear Power Plant in Krško, Slovenia. A twin plant of the Philippines’ own Bataan Nuclear Power Plant (BNPP), the Krško Nuclear Power Plant will potentially serve as a model plant for training future nuclear engineers and other human resources necessary should the Philippines engage in a nuclear power program.
