ITALY –Filipinos based in Italy are ready to help farmers and Palawan’s indigenous people against irresponsible mining and other forms of destruction of the environment.

“Dapat suportahan ang campaign na ito against the irresponsible mining. Ang consequence nito ay masyadong long term irreversible,” said Msgr. Jerry Bitoon.

As this developed, Italian anthropologist Danilo Novellino is also spearheading a signature campaign to appeal to Malacañang and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to do something about their concern.

“What we are doing at the moment is that we are collecting thumb marks and signatures for a petition to be sent to Malacañang, President Gloria Macapagal [Arroyo] and to Secretary [Lito] Atienza of the DENR to let the politicians know that Filipinos in Europe ay tutulong sa problema ng pilipinas,” Novellino said.

Novellino recently held the 2nd batch of the leadership and social entrepreneurship training in Italy.

He spent 20 years in the Philippines documenting the life and culture of farmers and indigenous peoples in Palawan. According to him, miners and illegal loggers are big problems to farmers. Irresponsible miners build companies that ruin the lands, while illegal loggers damage the forest which they depend on for daily sustenance.

The anthropologist believes that OFWs play a big role, particularly when they are united.

“The voices of these people in Italy, England, America are very powerful, they can make a difference. And also the other message is, we have to pay a lot of money for lawyers just to support a legal fight against irresponsible mining. To pay lawyers in the Philippines is expensive, that’s why farmers, katutubo (tribes)--these people, concerned citizens--they need some economic support to lead the legal struggle,” he said.

Filipinos abroad are now preparing to donate 1 Euro to support the campaign and the affected tribes.

To further drive his point, Novellino showed a short film to OFWs that shows a Palawan board member disagreeing with the fact that mining will bring economic gains to the province.

Palawan is one of the best tourist spots in the Philippines and is included in the best islands in Asia.

Meanwhile, Novellino will continue his campaign to preserve the environment in Palawan and help the indigenous people and farmers by appealing for help from OFWs in Europe and America.