Vice President Binay visits Holland for the 2014 Nuclear Security Summit.

Vice President Jejomar Binay is in the Netherlands to represent President Aquino in the 2014 Nuclear Security Summit (NSS). The summit opens today and ends on Wednesday.

The vice president joins world leaders from 52 other countries in this year’s NSS, where the main topic of talks is about global uranium and plutonium supply. Uranium and plutonium are types of metals that are used to power nuclear reactors to generate energy. But both are radioactive and pose a health hazard when misused.

As representative of our country, Vice President Binay re-affirmed the Philippines’ commitment to the NSS’ goal of securing global nuclear material. He said in a speech that ‘the Philippines [is committed to make sure] all nuclear and radiological materials will never be used for evil ends.

‘We are also moving forward with our contributions to strengthening the nuclear security legal framework, by taking steps towards enacting domestic legislation and pursuing the ratification of relevant international instruments.’

The Nuclear Security Summit, what is it all about?

The Bataan Nuclear Power Plant is the only nuclear reactor in the Philippines. It was completed in the 1980s but has never been powered because of risks in its location. But despite not having nuclear weapons or the ability to operate nuclear material, the Philippines should still be involved in NSS because, as the vice president pointed out, many Filipinos abroad are vulnerable to nuclear terrorism.

‘With over 10 million of our kababayans living and working overseas, any act of nuclear terrorism in any part of the world will inevitably victimise scores of Filipinos,’ said Binay.

Aside from meeting with NSS delegates, Binay is scheduled to have a bilateral meeting with His Majesty Willem-Alexander, King of Netherlands; hold talks about migration at the International Institute of Social Studies in The Hague; meet with ship owners in Rotterdam and talk with the Filipino community.

Binay’s busy week ahead reflects his mission statement as vice president: ‘Hindi po ako magiging spare tire na titingin-tingin sa langit… I’ll be a working vice president.’

The vice president had also represented the country in 2012 for the second NSS held in Seoul, South Korea, where he met American President Barack Obama.

Aside from his role as vice president, Aquino had appointed Binay chairman of the Housing Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC) and head of Task Force OFW. Binay has close ties with the president’s mother as he was a staunch supporter of Corazon Aquino during her presidency.