Panelo said Duterte would study the energy chief's proposal. In the 1960s until the mid 80s, the late president Ferdinand Marcos adopted a nuclear energy program and built the Bataan Nuclear Plant.
The nuclear plant was mothballed after Corazon Aquino became president in 1986. There have been calls to revive the nuclear plant, saying it would help address the Philippines' energy supply issues. Some groups, however, said such move would be expensive and would endanger the lives of people living near the facility.
Panelo said proposals to revive the Bataan Nuclear Plant were not discussed during the Cabinet meeting. Indigenous energy sources natural gas, hydro, coal, oil, geothermal, wind, solar, biomassand ethanol constitute more than half or 59.6%of the Philippines' energy mix.
Imported oil make up 31.7%while imported coal contribute about 8.7%.
Imported ethanol make up 0.1%of the energy mix.
In 2018, Duterte said safety should be the priority when deciding whether to tap nuclear energy for the country's power needs.