Days before the start of classes, the Office of Senator Bam Aquino and concerned government agencies conducted a joint test-buy operation Thursday (May 29) to check prices and ensure quality of school supplies in Divisoria, Manila.

The group, led by Aquino and Trade Secretary Gregory purchased school supplies from different stores in Tutuban to check on their prices and quality.

Also, Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) officials joined the operation and inspected several school supplies, including crayons, for safety issues.

“As we all know, Divisoria is a favorite destination for budget-conscious shoppers of school supplies so we want to know if stores follow the suggested retail prices set by the DTI,” said Aquino, chairman of the Committee on Trade, Commerce and Entrepreneurship.

“Aside from checking prices, there is also the need to check the labels of school supplies being sold to ensure that consumers are getting their money’s worth down to the last centavo,” Secretary Domingo added.

Aquino warned that violation of existing quality standards and labeling requirements is punishable under the Consumer Act.

School supplies covered by PNS are crayons, wood-cased black lead pencils, pencil sharpeners, writing chalk, bond paper, notebooks, grade school pad, ruler, white board marker, correction fluid, paper clips, glue, ball point pen and refill, and, eraser.

The Trade Secretary said that stalls that sell non-conforming school supplies would be issued a show-cause letter and given 48 hours to respond.

“If they are found to have a violation, a notice of violation can be immediately issued,” Domingo said.