An inter-agency panel, led by the Department of Energy (DOE) now reviews the country’s nuclear policies and laws as the government bids to diversify energy mix, with nuclear energy capacity targeted to reach at least 1,200 megawatts (MW) by 2032.
DOE, in a statement Thursday, said the 24-member Nuclear Energy Program-Inter-Agency Committee (NEP-IAC) started its review on August 12 “to examine existing laws and identify amendments or enhancements necessary to establish a national legal framework that shall underpin the safe, secure and sustainable use of modern nuclear energy technology in the country.”
The review initiative followed the ratification by Congress in June 2025 of the Philippine National Nuclear Energy Safety Act to establish the Philippine Atomic Energy Regulatory Authority (PhilATOM). In a press release, DOE Legal Services Director Myra Fiera Roa said the review of existing nuclear laws will identify “support, constraints, and gaps” to help address these and ensure a sustainable nuclear power program.
“We want to make sure all legal hurdles are cleared before we take major steps forward in fulfilling our nuclear power objectives. From the review of the laws and issuances, we will propose enactment or amendments to laws as appropriate,” she added.
In 2018, the Austria-based International Àtomic Energy Agency (IAEA) conducted its initial Integrated Nuclear Infrastructure Review (INIR) mission in the Philippines to check the country’s capacity to develop infrastructure for a nuclear power program.
A follow-on check in December 2024 showed that the country has fully addressed nine of the recommendations, while five are still in progress. DOE identified one of the recommendations as the ratification of a comprehensive nuclear law, which paved the way for the establishment of PhilATOM.
“We want to seize every opportunity to get things done right on the potential use of nuclear energy for the benefit of our people,” Roa said. (With PNA)