Scratch the Bataan nuclear plant for good!

Tomorrow, Nov. 5th, is the Annual Feast of the Holy Relics. A celebration of the Holy Mass will be presided by Bishop Oscar Florencio at 6:00 p.m. at the Chapel of the Holy Relics in Mt. Tabor Hills, Talamban Hills. Some of the newly arrived 2,045 relics of saints will be enshrined in the chapel as one of its main activities. This information was texted to me by Fr. Dennis Ruiz. Let me reiterate that God is sending us, Cebuanos, a divine message in the chapel at Mt. Tabor Hills where 4,000 Holy Relics are kept. This for me is a rare and sacred privilege granted only by the Divine in his mercy.

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One of the first things that the People's Power Revolt a.k.a. EDSA Revolution has done was under the new dispensation of then president Cory Aquino, the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant (BNPP) was to be scrapped. The BNPP was targeted by those who opposed the Marcos Dictatorship and was considered a corrupt deal with Westinghouse. But months after the "yellow army" took over the reins of power in Malacañang, they could not show any evidence of corruption in the Bataan nuclear plant deal. All that was a nasty rumor!

To add to their embarrassment a "twin" nuclear power plant which was constructed in Yongbyeon, South Korea, until now continues to provide South Koreas cheap power for their growing industries. No question, the Philippines, especially the Luzon Grid, could have benefited from the BNPP producing cheap power in large amounts. In the end, it is the Filipino people who are the losers in this political game. They believed in the lies of the Aquino Family against the Marcoses so they could take over the reins of power in this country.

But the BNPP issue is already a 30 years old and when Pres. Rodrigo "Digong" Duterte became president certain groups wanted to revive the mothballed BNPP, which we already fully paid for. Well, finally, no less than Pres. Duterte himself has put this issue to rest saying that he does not see the country having a nuclear power plant during his six-year presidency. If it was 30 years ago, I would probably go out to fight to keep the BNPP from being shut down. But then, just two months into the Cory regime, on April 26, 1986, the infamous Chernobyl disaster happened in Russia.

The Chernobyl nuclear disaster was the world's worst nuclear disaster and it gave the loyal Aquino followers ammunition to shut down the BNPP, and it has remained mothballed until this time. So with the statement of Pres. Duterte that he won't be reviving the Bataan Nuclear Plant, this means that we cannot expect the Philippine government to be spending money to restart the BNPP.

All I can say is that we wasted 30-years because of rumors that the BNPP was a corrupt deal. Yet no one could prove that Marcos was involved in any wrongdoing in the construction of the BNPP. This is what happens to our country when accusers point fingers at you before the bar of public opinion. Mind you, it is still happening to us with those Senate or Congressional investigations, which end up solving nothing, but with everyone getting all the free publicity that occurs with the circus they create.

With the nuclear plant issue right behind us, I guess it is time to move forward and at this point. Let me say, I was amazed at the new invention of Elon Musk who recently unveiled his Solar Roof. These are roof files molded to look like roof shingles, but are in reality solar panels, which store energy from the sun. Put these roof shingles on the roof of your home, it would not look like an industrial building but a home. Add on a Tesla Wall battery and you're on your way to off from the power grid with your own solar-powered house.

I strongly believe that this is the technology we should be looking at the very near future. Of course, the prices are quite steep today due to the fact that it is made in America. But when this technology comes to Asia, where manufacturing is cheaper, and then we can see the strong potential for Asian homes powered by solar energy.

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I'm sure you must have read that the Province of Cebu has been dubbed as the "richest province" nationwide with over P30 billion in assets. I'm sure that Gov. Hilario "Jun Jun" Davide III is proud of this achievement even though this would have never been possible if not for the hard work of his predecessors.  Also, what good is this report to when we see so many homeless people along the streets, living on the sidewalks of Juana Osmeña Street or along Queens Road leading to the Redemptorists Church. If only Gov. Davide walked our streets, he must have noticed that our roads are potholed and in disrepair. It means that Cebu has become rich because our officials wanted to see billions of our money inside the treasury rather than spend it on infrastructure!