00:00President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. has thrown his full support for nuclear technology as an effective tool to substantially reduce the existential problem of plastic pollution, ravaging the planets, rivers, seas and oceans.
00:13This as he led the opening of the New Tech Forum organized by the International Atomic Energy Association, or IAEA, earlier today.
00:22Again, I have more details care of this report from our Kenneth Pashente.
00:26President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. underscored that it is time to use nuclear technology as a modern tool against the worsening plastic pollution.
00:36A problem, he said, that is being felt in different parts of the world and is affecting the economy, the environment and the lives of communities.
00:43At the opening of the International Atomic Energy Agency, or IAEA, High Level Forum on Nuclear Technology for Controlling Plastic Pollution in Pasay City,
00:52the chief executive outlined the significant role of the New Tech Plastics Initiative.
00:57The IAEA program, led by the Philippines, aimed at turning plastic waste into useful materials through radiation technology.
01:04The president identified the Post-Radiation Reactive Extrusion, or PREX, project where the DOST-PNRI and its partner agency succeeded in transforming low-value plastic waste into durable and commercial materials.
01:17Included in this is the well-known PREX prototype house, which he described as a model of the future circular economy.
01:23It is providing a solution, a very important solution to a very difficult problem that we face, not only here in the Philippines, but in the rest of the world.
01:34Aside from the prototype house, the president also praised the Marine Microplastics Monitoring Laboratory of the UP Marine Science Institute,
01:42established with the IAEA to measure and track microplastic pollution in the ocean using scientific data.
01:48At the same event, the Philippines and the IAEA also launched the New Tech Plastics Investment and Partnership brochure,
01:55a roadmap to expand investments in nuclear science for the environment and industry.
01:59The chief executive stressed that science does not advance on its own, but through wide cooperation among regulators, scientists, industry leaders, and international partners.
02:08In line with this, the president reminded the public of his signing of the Philippine Nuclear Law in September,
02:13the country's first-ever comprehensive law in nuclear safety, security, and the peaceful use of nuclear technology.
02:20It gives our scientists now and industries as well a stable, predictable environment to innovate responsibly.
02:29As the Philippines prepares to become ASEAN chair in 2026, the administration aims to raise nuclear science literacy.
02:35We intend to expand its work, enhancing nuclear science literacy, laboratory networks, and regulatory harmonization across the region.
02:45The president also called for continued collective action from laboratories to communities to ensure that technology is utilized for the environment,
02:52the economy, and the broader development of the country.
02:55This is Sharm Zespina from the National TV Network for a new and better Philippines.
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