The Department of Energy (DOE) has identified seven potential sites across five provinces for the Philippines’ first operating nuclear power plant, as the government works toward adding 1.4 gigawatts of nuclear generating capacity within the next 12 years.
Two of the sites are in Bataan and two in Palawan, while Masbate, Pangasinan, and Camarines Norte each have one candidate site, the DOE said. The identification follows four years of study since President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. first called for a reassessment of nuclear power during his first State of the Nation Address in July 2022.
Energy Undersecretary Giovanni Carlo Bacordo said the sites passed preliminary desktop evaluations and multidisciplinary field surveys conducted by the Nuclear Energy Program Inter-Agency Committee. The evaluation criteria are based on standards set by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
“Crucially, they clear our strict exclusionary safety criteria,” Bacordo said in a message to reporters. “This means these potential sites are situated more than two kilometers away from active faults, possess ground elevations of at least 12 meters above mean sea level to clear modeled tsunami heights, and fall outside the permanent danger zones and hazard maps of active volcanoes.”
The DOE cited a survey showing public support for nuclear energy rising from 79 percent in 2019 to 82 percent in 2024. The agency is now preparing to move into the second phase of the IAEA Milestones Approach, which involves building the institutions and systems required for a commercial nuclear program, including financing structures such as public-private partnerships, consortium arrangements, build-own-operate models, and vendor-supported financing.
Energy Secretary Sharon Garin has said the department is exploring incentives to draw investors into the nuclear sector. Private companies have already begun positioning themselves: Manila Electric Co., led by businessman Manuel V. Pangilinan, formed a nuclear partnership with South Korean firms in March, while Aboitiz Power signed a memorandum of understanding with Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co., Ltd.
The government’s roadmap envisions an initial 1,200-megawatt plant, with construction targeted around 2028 and grid connection around 2032. The long-term program aims for as much as 4,800 megawatts of nuclear capacity by 2050.
In September 2025, Marcos signed the Philippine National Nuclear Energy Safety Act, establishing the Philippine Atomic Energy Regulatory Authority (PhilATOM) as an independent regulator with exclusive jurisdiction over nuclear safety and security. The DOE said its immediate priorities include operationalizing PhilATOM and completing its implementing rules and regulations.
The Philippine government has also studied the possible rehabilitation of the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant (BNPP), a 620-megawatt pressurized-water reactor completed in the early 1980s but mothballed after the 1986 EDSA People Power Revolution due safety and corruption concerns. In October 2024, the DOE and Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power signed an agreement for a technical and economic feasibility study on rehabilitating the facility. The DOE has not committed to a decision on the BNPP’s future.
“We must build the institutions, the regulatory system, the technical capability, the financing framework, and the public confidence to support it,” Bacordo said. “Our progress shows that the Philippines is putting those foundations in place.”
