PRICES of school supplies have increased minimally just two weeks before classes resume, according to the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).
Victorio Mario Dimagiba, DTI Bureau of Trade Regulation and Consumer Protection director, on Thursday said that prices of various school supplies such as spiral and writing composition notebooks, pads of paper, pencils and crayons have risen by about 5 percent or about between P0.75 and P1 for each item.
To guide consumers, the department will publish today the standard retail prices of school supplies, Dimagiba added.
The DTI has advised buyers of school supplies to make sure that the items they would purchase were safe and compliant with quality standards and labeling requirements.
For instance, notebooks and pads of paper must have information on grammage and number of leaves.
Lead pencils must bear a hardness symbol, while ballpoint pens must have a tip classification.
Crayons must be classified either as regular or jumbo, must not easily break or bend on certain pressure and temperature and must be labeled as “nontoxic” to signify that their chemical contents meet the allowed toxicity level.
Also required markings in school supplies were the name and address of manufacturer, trade or brand name, type or size, country of manufacture, quantity, toxicity warning and instruction for use. –Ben Arnold O. De Vera , Reporter, Manila Times
