SUBIC BAY FREEPORT, Philippines — A Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) employee recently bought an endangered gecko and turned it over to Wildlife In Need (WIN) Thursday.

Information officer Carlo Andres bought a gecko for P20 from an Aeta boy at Sitio Kanawan, one of the Aeta villages inside the Subic Bay Freeport Zone.

The gecko, according to Andres, was hogtied and had a piece of wood on its mouth to prevent it from biting its handler.

Andres, who was conducting community service for the SBMA at that time, bought the gecko and went to the WIN Rescue Center at the Naval Magazine area of the Freeport zone.

“I was going to release the animal in the wild, but after seeing its condition, I opted to take it to the rescue center,” Andres said.