MANILA, March 3 (Reuters) - The Philippines' only nuclear
power plant cost more than $2 billion and has never been used,
but moves to reopen it are sparking fresh protests against a
symbol of corruption during dictator Ferdinand Marcos's rule.

Congressman Mark Cojuangco, son of prominent Marcos ally
Eduardo Cojuangco, is seeking $1 billion in government funds to
revive the 620-megawatt plant in Bataan province, northwest of
Manila, to meet an expected rise in power demand, he said.

"I am willing to withdraw my proposal if it could be proven
that it would be hopeless to rehabilitate and safely operate
the plant," Cojuangco told Reuters, adding the country
desperately needs additional power.

Hundreds of activists have been holding almost daily
protests outside the House of Representatives as lawmakers
deliberate on funding Cojuangco's proposal.

Groups from environmentalists to the Catholic Church argue
the plant is unsafe and will cost too much to rehabilitate and
run.

Critics also say reviving the plant could end up being
advantageous to the Cojuangco family because of the clan's
interest in the power sector.

Marcos ordered the Bataan nuclear plant built in 1976 in
response to an energy crisis, convinced nuclear energy was the
solution to the Middle East oil embargo of the early 1970s.

Construction was completed in 1984 but the facility never
produced a single watt of electricity after it was declared
unsafe and inoperable because it sits on a major earthquake
fault line and lies near the Pinatubo volcano, which was
dormant at that time.

Pinatubo erupted in 1991, but there was no effect on the
Bataan plant, 70 km (45 miles) away.

Loans taken to build the unused plant were finally paid off
in 2007, more than two decades after its construction. The
government spends 30-40 million pesos ($610,000-$810,000)
annually for maintenance and salaries.

"I just need to convince my colleagues to fund this
project," Cojuangco said, adding he was sure of securing 196
votes from the 238-member lower house.

The energy panel of the lower house, chaired by the son of
President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, has already approved funding
for the project. A faction of Cojuangco's political party is
aligned with Arroyo.

POWER CRISIS

The Department of Energy created a task force in 2007 to
study nuclear power as a long-term alternative to imported fuel
oil, which accounts for over one-third of the country's energy
mix.

State-owned National Power Corp, the country's biggest
power producer, entered into a memorandum of agreement with
Korea Electric Power Corp (KEPCO) to conduct a feasibility
study on the possible reopening of the Bataan plant.

The study is expected to be completed in January 2010, said
Rolando Bacani, general manager at KEPCO Philippines.

KEPCO, the power monopoly in South Korea, operates 20
nuclear reactors there, with a total capacity of 18,000
megawatts.

The structure of the Bataan plant is identical to KEPCO's
Kori 2 that has been in operation since 1983, said Bacani,
although there have been many changes to the Korean plant
since.

Proponents say nuclear energy should be seriously
considered in the Philippines.

"Nuclear energy is a reality. People have to get over Three
Mile Island and Chernobyl, as if every nuclear power plant was
a ticking time bomb, when in fact they're not," said Scott
Harrison of risk consultancy Pacific Strategies and Assessments
(PSA).

But Giovanni Tapang, head of an activist group opposed to
reopening the Bataan nuclear plant, said the country has vast
alternative energy resources such as geothermal and solar
energy that would be much safer and reliable than nuclear
power.

"The Bataan nuclear power plant is defective, almost
obsolete and is not safe to operate," Tapang said in a
statement.

SAN MIGUEL INTEREST

Even Church leaders have joined growing opposition to the
reopening of the nuclear facility. The influential Catholic
Bishops Conference of the Philippines has said the plant should
be dismantled because "multiple risks and the possibility of
corruption outweighed dreamed benefits".

Cojuangco's father, also called Danding, is chairman of San
Miguel Corp, Southeast Asia's biggest food and drinks company
that is selling out of its core business and moving steadily
into the utilities sector.

Danding was key ally of Marcos and fled with him into exile
in 1986 after Marcos was overthrown.

Last month, San Miguel sold more than a 40 percent stake in
crown jewel San Miguel Brewery <SMB.PS> to Japan's No. 2 brewer
Kirin Holdings.

In October, it agreed to acquire 27 percent of Manila
Electric Co, the Philippines' largest power distributor, and
has an option to take a majority stake in oil refiner Petron
Corp. Petron announced last week it was also diversifying into
power generation.

PSA's Harrison says the Cojuangcos are clearly eyeing the
Bataan nuclear plant.

"I'm sure that's the basis for it. Otherwise it doesn't
make any sense why Danding's son would be the one to introduce
this bill. It obviously reflects the family's interest in
further diversification into the utility sector," he said.

But the younger Cojuangco was quick to dismiss the
speculation.

"I am against any move to privatise the operation of the
Bataan nuclear power plant," he said.

"The people would be assured of much cheaper power rates if
the government would run it. I would not allow any foreign or
local company, including San Miguel, to operate it."
(Editing by Valerie Lee)