Tuko threatened by trade? Senate to probe

The Senate committee on trade and commerce will conduct an inquiry this coming Monday on the alleged massive trading of tuko or geckos, believed to have medicinal properties by some people. The Senate inquiry stemmed from Sen. Manuel Villar's Senate Resolution No. 538 seeking to conduct an inquiry into the alleged massive trading of geckos and craft measures that will protect the species. “Although geckos are not classified as critically endangered, endangered or vulnerable, [they are] under threat from over collection, which can ultimately lead to vulnerability or extinction," Villar said in a statement released Friday. Officials of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) said they have been receiving reports that geckos are being sold in different parts of the country for a minimum price of P50,000 per 300 grams. Reports have also indicated geckos are primarily being sold or bid out online through networking sites and other Internet-based marketing networks. Villar, chairman of the Senate committee on trade and commerce, said geckos have been drawing much interest because of claims this type of lizard can serve as aphrodisiac and as cure for cancer, asthma, tuberculosis, impotence and even Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS). Environment Sec. Ramon Paje, however, had said there is no scientific basis for such claims. “The public must be guided accordingly on the medicinal worth of geckos if there’s any. Baka sa halip na gumaling sila ay lumala pa ang kanilang karamdaman dahil sa kumakalat na bali-balita," Villar said. Also, the senator expressed fears that the hunting of geckos, which feeds on insects such as mosquitoes, might hurt the government's drive to control dengue. “Recent reports stating that the rise in the sales of [tuko] in the international wildlife market coincide with the rise in the number of dengue patients now being monitored by the Department of Health (DOH)," Villar said. Villar said data from the latest Disease Surveillance Report of the DOH-National Epidemiology Center (NEC) from January to June 2011 estimated dengue cases nationwide at 27,000. Under Republic Act 9147 or the Philippine Wildlife Resources Conservation and Protection Act, catching and selling of protected animals are illegal. Geckos are known in the Philippines for making sounds at night, which scientists say are used by the reptiles for social interaction. They are carnivorous, usually nocturnal, and possess sticky footpads that allow them to climb vertical surfaces. — LBG, GMA News