AN ENVIRONMENTALIST has pointed out the disappearing cycle of natural predators as one major setback in the fight against the spread of dengue hemorrhagic fever.
Lawyer Daniel Dinopol, who was assigned by the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP)-Iloilo chapter to assist the City Government in prosecuting violators of environmental laws, said natural predators in the barangays, such as frogs, insects and spiders, are fast disappearing.
These predators, he said, could help in the battle against dengue as they are part of the natural environmental cycle that killed the dengue-carrying mosquitoes especially in stagnant and water logged areas.
The spiders spun its web to trap the flying mosquitoes, while frogs and other insects prey on the mosquito larvae as their food.
"However, the spiders have become lately a gambling commodity while young and old people bet and used the spiders to fight each other. This practice has substantially killed the natural predators," Dinopol said.
The lawyer said the situation is further aggravated by the unrestricted use of pesticide that also killed spiders and other environment-friendly insects.
Dinopol then urged the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and the Department of Agriculture to take steps in regulating the killings of the insects, especially the spiders. (LCP)