21/09/2026
๐ง๐๐ ๐ข๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ฆ๐ง๐๐ง๐๐ ๐๐ก๐ง ๐ข๐ ๐ฃ๐๐๐ฆ, ๐๐ก๐. ๐ข๐ก ๐ง๐๐ ๐ฑ๐ฐ๐ง๐ ๐ ๐๐ฅ๐ง๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ช ๐๐ข๐ ๐ ๐๐ ๐ข๐ฅ๐๐ง๐๐ข๐ก
DID YOU KNOW?
Nuclear energy is one of the cleanest and lowest-carbon power sources available, yielding negligible greenhouse gas emissions during operation. That being said, the Philippines' first and only nuclear powerplant, the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant, built during Ferdinand Marcos Sr. 's administration bloating from an initial US$500 million to a final cost of US$2.3 billion never generated a single watt of electricity. Projects as such were named "legacy", but for the Marcos regime, it was a leverage for personal and political gain. Meanwhile workers that built the plant were shadowed under the Marcos regime's boot: workers like Ernest Nazareno, arrested, tortured and disappeared in 1978 for organizing workers.
To implement this project, the Marcos regime displaced around 100 families and 11,000 residents lost their land and livelihoods to build the project; the project was not built to address and advance power production, but to support transnational corporations in nearby export zones. Looking beyond the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant, 100,000 individuals were arrested and tortured, of whom about 2,500 were executed, while millions were displaced, particularly in areas where military operations were conducted. In line with this, the Task Force Detainees of the Philippines (TFDP) recorded about 5,531 cases of torture, 2,537 executions, 784 disappearances and 92,607 public order violations. Not to mention those who rebelledโthe martyrdom of 219 Martial Law fighters. And this is not all of it, had the media during Martial Law not been blacked out, how much more could have been recorded? How much more can these statistics have increased?
Beyond projects within the discipline of Chemistry, this September 21, we, the Philippine Association of Chemistry Students Inc., commemorate the anniversary of Martial Lawโnot to celebrate it, but to recognize the people and workers that were exploited, abused and tortured.
In chemistry, a chemical reaction requires activation energy to yield a product. That is to say, we Filipinos must be kindled with the truth of our history in order to see progress and change. Seeing the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant as a cautionary tale, we must not allow history to repeat itself, in which the people in power exploit us for their political and personal endeavors.
As an organization that contributes to the ever-growing field of chemistry, we at the PACS Inc. stand for the truth, much so how we dedicate chemistry by knowing facts, theories and laws.
This Martial Law commemoration day, we urge every Filipino to continue to seek out for the truth, and to bond as one to combat fascism, corruption, dictatorship and human rights violations.
๐ก๐๐ฉ๐๐ฅ ๐๐๐๐๐ก. ๐ก๐๐ฉ๐๐ฅ ๐๐ข๐ฅ๐๐๐ง.
References:
Blueprint for disaster: Westinghouse brings nukes to the Philippines โ Science for the People Archives. (n.d.). https://archive.scienceforthepeople.org/vol-12/v12n1/blueprint-for-disaster-westinghouse-brings-nukes-to-the-philippines/
Melencio, G. E. (2019). Stories of the nameless: Eyewitness accounts of martial law victims and survivors. UP Los Baรฑos Journal, 17, 78โ96.
(Photo) Martial law era in the Philippines. (n.d.). OER Commons. https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/65028/student/?section=5
(Photo) Bataan nuclear power plant must be junked, says vice governor. (2026). Inquirer.net. https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/2273737/bataan-nuclear-power-plant-must-be-junked-says-vice-governor
