Sharon Garin, Secretary of Energy of the Philippines, and William D. Magwood, IV, NEA Director-General
NEA Director-General William D. Magwood, IV, visited the Philippines on 30-31 July 2025 to meet with government and industry representatives and to take forward discussions about co-operation initiated during the first visit to the country in February 2025.
“During the first NEA visit, we found that the Philippines has a very strong intellectual infrastructure,” said Director-General Magwood. “We believe that the country can deploy new nuclear build in the 2030s and the NEA is looking forward to developing close co-operation with Philippines as the country progresses with its nuclear energy plans.”
The Senate of the Philippines passed legislation in June 2025 to establish the Philippine Atomic Energy Regulatory Authority (PhilATOM). This bill sets a comprehensive framework for regulating civil nuclear energy in the country, marking a milestone for nuclear energy governance in the country.
In this context, potential future co-operation in the areas of nuclear regulation, capacity building and experience exchange with NEA member countries was discussed with Sharon Garin, the recently appointed Secretary of Energy of the Philippines, and senior government officials from the Department of Energy of the Philippines. As the government explores the option to deploy small modular reactors (SMRs) as part of its long-term energy strategy, Director-General Magwood presented the latest NEA analysis on the global progress in developing SMRs, which is documented in the third edition of the NEA SMR Dashboard.
Meeting with the delegation from the Philippine Nuclear Research Institute (PNRI), led by Director Dr Carlo Arcilla
Director-General Magwood also met with Dr Carlo Arcilla, Director of the Philippine Nuclear Research Institute (PNRI), and his team to discuss the future nuclear regulation and potential collaborative activities with the NEA.
During a meeting with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) officials, Director-General Magwood presented the NEA activities, current state of nuclear energy around the world and discussed potential collaborative activities with the ADB on international development finance for nuclear energy projects in the Asia-Pacific region.
The mission also included a site visit to Bataan Nuclear Power Plant. Completed in 1984 and never commissioned, the site is now under consideration for the construction of a small modular reactor.
Visit to Bataan Nuclear Power Plant
