Geckos just 'tip of iceberg' in illegal wildlife trade

MANILA, Philippines - Environment experts yesterday advised the Senate committee on trade and commerce that the rampant sale of tuko or geckos are reflective of the illegal trade in endangered species and wildlife in the country.

Arvin Diesmos, president of the Wildlife Conservation Society of the Philippines Inc. (WCSP), said that as a field biologist, he knows the trade in geckos, purportedly for medicinal purposes, “is just the tip of the iceberg” and represents “what is really happening in the illicit trade of endangered wildlife in the Philippines.”

Diesmos said, in the Philippines, there is not much data on the population of geckos and other species in the wild. He also said reports that gecko meat fetching as much as P500,000 for 200 grams are amusing but “twisted.” 

The Senate committee, led by Sen. Manuel Villar, ordered an inquiry into the increased capture of geckos around the country, purportedly for medicinal purposes.  

Health officials also reiterated that the geckos have no medicinal benefits, contrary to beliefs that gecko meat could cure dengue.

Assistant Health Secretary Dr. Enrique Tayag said the dengue virus, transmitted by dengue-carrying mosquitos, has four strains, none of which could be killed by ingesting gecko flesh.