‘Toko,’ an endangered specie is no cure for cancer, AIDS
By Fayette C. Riñen
‘DOH7, DENR-7 warns public against such myth’
CEBU CITY, July 15 (PIA) -- Amid the hullabaloo over the medical benefits that geckos or commonly known in the dialect as ‘Toko’ bring particularly in treating terminal illnesses such as cancer and HIV-AIDs, two government agencies here put their foot down warning the public against such a myth.
The Department of Health (DOH) -7 firmly negated circulating reports that geckos, belonging to a family of lizards, can be a cure for life-threatening diseases such as HIV-AIDS and cancer as well as for respiratory problems like tuberculosis and asthma.
“There is no truth to such information. They say that the gallbladder of the ‘toko’ is a medicine for certain diseases such as cancer and HIV-AIDS but this has no scientific basis,” DOH-7 Regional Director Susana Madarietta said.
Madarieta told the public not to believe such rumor and that “we do not even know that it could bring more danger to our health rather than benefit.”
Geckos as medical treatment for certain illnesses have caused an uproar as reports state that these type of lizards can fetch a price from P7,000 to P10,000 and even as high as P50,000 depending on the size.
“Akong amiga nanawag nako sa telepono nangita kun naa ba miy toko sa balay kay naa daw mukuha ug bayran ko depende sa kadak-on,” (My friend called me up asking whether we have a gecko in the house because somebody will get it and will pay me depending on the size) Gigi de los Reyes, a plain housewife said.
The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) here also warned that those caught snaring this family of lizards face imprisonment and will be slapped with a fine.