SENATOR Imee Marcos on Tuesday urged the Department of Trade and Industry to conduct surprise inspections to ensure that sellers do not jack up the prices of school supplies.

The senator said vendors often take advantage on the first week of classes when students and teachers make last minute buys to complete their school supplies.

“Iniisnab ng mga tindera ang price guide ng DTI,” she said of the government agency’s Gabay sa Pamimili ng School Supplies sa 2023.

Random price monitoring conducted by the senator’s office in some Metro Manila markets over the weekend and Monday showed that basic notebooks cost P23 to P60 each, or up to P8 more than the DTI price guide’s range of P23 to P52.

Pad paper was also cheaper in DTI’s price guide, at P20 to P28, but cost as much as P35 particularly in markets in Caloocan City and Rizal.

Crayons in various quantities cost P30 to P100 per box, while DTI’s price guide listed them at P24 to P69 only.

However, assorted pencils and ballpens were cheaper at P7 to P11, compared to DTI’s listing of P11 to P17.

Bargain hunters buying in bulk in Divisoria will find that regular notebooks previously priced at P180 to P200 per ream now cost P250, while spiral notebooks that used to cost P180 to P220 per ream now sell for as high as P300.