Lawmaker seeks end to 'tuko' trading

MANILA, Philippines - Expressing alarm over what he described as the “over-hunting” of geckos in the country for medicinal purposes, a lawmaker yesterday urged the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to look into the massive and indiscriminate trading of gecko or what is known locally as “tuko.”

Western Samar Rep. Mel Senen Sarmiento said the practice might result in the extinction of the animal, which is known to feed on insects such as mosquitoes and flies, and cause irreversible effects on the environment.

Sarmiento said the Internet and even some of the country’s top buy-and-sell magazines are flooded with classified ads on gecko trading, some of which even claim to be agents of the World Health Organization (WHO).

They claim that geckos have potent medicinal properties and are being bought by pharmaceutical companies that are developing medicines for cancer and even the dreaded Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS), he said.

He added that in some of these ads looking for geckos, they offer to pay as much as P3 Million for a single live gecko that weighs 400 grams and up. Because of this, “tuko” hunting has become a nationwide fad, although there is not a single proof showing that one had become a millionaire for selling geckos, he said.