By Leonardo Micua

 

A news item posted on Facebook on October 3, 2025, quoted Second District Rep. Mark Cojuangco as saying that more than 65 percent—or about 12,000 residents—of Labrador, Pangasinan, are in favor of constructing a nuclear power plant in their town.

However, the post drew numerous negative reactions—and not a single positive one.

Among the most relevant comments came from Alexander Dumas, who argued that it is unsafe to build a nuclear power plant near population centers such as Lingayen, Bugallon, Sual, and Alaminos. He warned that if the plant releases radioactive gases, these could drift toward nearby towns and cities.

Dumas explained that even though radioactive effluents should only be released when winds blow toward the sea, a nuclear plant normally emits noble gases such as Cesium-137 or Iodine-131 during regular operations. These gases, he said, could rise into the atmosphere, mix with clouds, and return to the ground through rainfall.

He added that radioactive particles could contaminate grasses eaten by cows and goats. When these animals are butchered for food, the radioactive materials could enter the human body. Dumas then asked: “Who will buy bangus and fish contaminated with nuclear radiation?”

Another concerned resident, Reynaldo Mercado Alcazar, said a nuclear power plant should be built on a separate island, far from populated areas. “In case of a meltdown,” he warned, “Labrador and nearby areas will be erased from the map.”

One De Yani questioned where the proponents’ families actually live—“certainly not in Pangasinan,” he said. He pointed out that if something goes wrong with the plant, Rep. Cojuangco could simply fly away to safety, leaving the people of Labrador behind to suffer the consequences.

He also cast doubt on promises that residents would enjoy free electricity if the plant is built, asking whether people living near nuclear plants in the United States or Japan actually get free power.

The question surrounding Rep. Cojuangco, it seems, is his persistent desire to make his own legislative district—particularly Labrador—the site of the first operational nuclear power plant in the Philippines.

Labrador, part of Pangasinan’s second district, lies along the western side of Lingayen Gulf, just a few kilometers from the provincial capital of Lingayen and the commercial hub of Dagupan City.

Many Dagupeños also oppose the proposal, fearing that if Lingayen Gulf becomes contaminated with nuclear waste, it could destroy the province’s world-famous bangus industry.

Reports say Rep. Cojuangco is holding another consultation in Labrador to gauge public sentiment on the proposed plant. But this seems premature, considering that the Philippine government has yet to decide what to do with the mothballed Bataan Nuclear Power Plant in Morong, built by Westinghouse during the administration of President Ferdinand Edralin Marcos.

Residents fear that the people of Labrador might once again be misled by promises of free electricity if they agree to host the facility.

Let us not forget:

Before the construction of the Sual Coal-Fired Power Plant in the 1990s, residents of Sual were given the same promise—that they would enjoy free electricity.

Decades later, the plant remains operational, but the promise of free electricity has yet to be fulfilled.