Remulla: RP-US nuke power accord legal
THE Department of Justice (DOJ) has cleared the way for the possible ratification of the Agreement for Cooperation between the Philippines and United States Concerning Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy also known as 123 Agreement.
In a legal opinion signed by Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla, the DOJ held that the 123 Agreement which was entered into by the Philippine and US governments on November 16, 2023 in San Francisco, California, does not violate any existing laws as well as proposed laws bending before the Congress.
“Considering the foregoing, it is clear that this bilateral accord does not preclude the application of the national laws of the parties, especially of the Philippines, but rather gives way to their enforcement instead,” the DOJ stressed.
The 123 Agreement covers the exchange of information, knowledge, and technology, and the transfer of nuclear material, equipment and components.
The DOJ issued the legal opinion upon the request of Department of Foreign Affairs-office of American Affairs (DFA-OAA) Assistant Secretary Jose Victor Chan-gonzaga.
Chan-gonzaga sought the DOJ’S legal opinion on the 123 Agreement in order to determine the next steps for its ratification.
The DOJ is a member of the Nuclear Energy Program-inter Agency Committee (NEP-IAC).
The DFA official, in particular, asked the DOJ on whether the implementation of the 123 Agreement can be covered under existing legislation including Republic Act 5207 or the Atomic Energy Regulatory and Liability Act of 1968, as amended by RA 10697 or the Strategic Trade Management Act of 2015, and RA 11479 or the Antiterrorism Act of 2020.
Chan-gonzaga also asked the DOJ if the provisions of the 123 Agreement do not violate existing laws and bills pending before Congress.
In response, the DOJ ruled that the implementation of the 123 Agreement can be covered by RA 5207, in relation to Executive Order 128, series of 1987 which clearly empowers the Philippine Nuclear Research Institute (PNRI) to license and regulate activities relative to production, transfer, and utilization of nuclear radioactive substance.
The DOJ also noted the similarity of the 123 Agreement between the Philippines and the US with the nuclear cooperation agreement between the Philippines and Canada, which took effect in 1983.
“They similarly cover the safe and secure use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes while parties undertake to transfer information, nuclear material, equipment, and components directly or through authorized persons,” the DOJ pointed out.
At the time the Philippinecanada nuclear agreement was entered into, the DOJ noted that the existing law was RA 5207.
The difference observed is that the 123 Agreement has been entered into under the 1987 Constitution while the cooperation agreement between the Philippines and Canada was entered into under the 1973 Constitution, the DOJ stressed.
Another difference is that the Philippine-canada agreement includes specific provisions that it will take effect only when ratified.
The justice department also stressed that although RA 5207 can be considered as an old law, it is complemented by recent laws including RA 10679 of 2015 for the strategic goods control, such as in their importation, exportation, transit, as well as transshipment, and RA No. 11479 of 2020 which, despite its silence on nuclear terrorism, punishes acts of terrorism in general.
“Secondly, it has also been observed that, in general, the provisions of the 123 Agreement are not in conflict with the aforementioned existing laws, as well as with the pending nuclearrelated bills before Congress for which this Department has been involved, such as the proposed measures seeking to amend RA No. 5207 on atomic energy regulation and nuclear civil liability,” the DOJ added.
“It is also significant to note that the 123 Agreement is consistent with the state policy against nuclear weapons under Article II, Section 8 of the 1987 Philippine Constitution..,” the DOJ said.