AFTER extensive committee and plenary deliberations, the House of Representatives (HRep) under the leadership of Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez on Wednesday approved on Second Reading House Bill (HB) 9293 aimed at creating the Philippine Atomic Energy Regulatory Authority (PhilATOM), and establish a technological and legislative framework to guarantee nuclear energy is used safely in the country.
HB 9293 shall ensure that the country complies with the international obligations pertaining to the utilization of nuclear energy, as recommended by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The proposed PhilATOM will have a complete and exclusive authority to regulate and control the peaceful, safe, and secure utilization of nuclear energy and radiation sources.
The proposed PhilATOM will assume all regulatory tasks currently held by the Philippine Nuclear Research Institute (PNRI).
Special Committee on Nuclear Energy Chairperson and Pangasinan Rep. Mark Cojuangco, sponsor of the measure, thanked his fellow lawmakers for supporting the passage of the landmark legislation.
He stated that HB 9293, once enacted into law, will help facilitate the country’s economic development, as well as the proper utilization of nuclear energy, resulting in cost-effective, dependable, and clean electricity.
Other proponents of the measure are Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, Albay Rep. Joey Sarte Salceda, Marinduque Rep. Lord Allan Velasco, Zamboanga del Sur Rep. Divina Grace Yu, AKO-BICOL Party-list Rep. Elizaldy Co and KABAYAN Party-list Rep. Ron Salo, among others.
The House also approved HB 9153 or the “Contraband Detection and Control Act” on Second Reading. In his sponsorship remarks, House Committee on Dangerous Drugs Chairperson and Surigao del Norte Rep. Robert Ace Barbers stressed that the bill’s enactment is necessary to enable concerned government agencies to impose the appropriate penalties for persons and syndicates who commit crimes in correctional detention and custodial facilities.
The House also passed on Second Reading HB 9320, which seeks to establish a reform in the regulation of the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), and thereby amend the Labor Code of the Philippines (Presidential Decree No. 442, as amended).
