CLARK FREEPORT – Trade and Industry Sec. Jesli Lapus said he has ordered the confiscation of school supplies with toxic elements or with designs what are lewd or too violent.
This, even as Lapus also assured parents they have nothing to worry about the cost of school supplies for their children.
He said manufacturers of basic school needs have assured him that they will observe the suggested retail prices (SRP) of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).
Lapus said the SRP in the last school year have not been altered.
But in an interview with Punto here the other day, Lapus also warned: “Yung mga toxic na supplies, yung mga masasagwang cover ng notebooks, bawal yan. (Those toxic supplies, those inappropriate covers of notebooks, these are prohibited).”
Lapus noted that some notebooks being sold for school use have almost naked photos of women, while others exhibit violent pictures.
“Yung mga ayaw nating ipakita sa mga anak natin, huwag natin ibenta. (What we don’t want our children to see we should not sell). We will make the rounds and confiscate these,” he said.
He urged parents to buy products indicating their manufacturers so as to avoid buying toxic ones, such as crayons.
Lapus also said that parents have “nothing to worry on the cost of school supplies.” He said that manufacturers have assured to maintain the same suggested retail prices (SRP) of pencils, ballpens, notebooks, pad papers and other basic school supplies that prevailed last year.
“Two months before the school opening, I want all these school supplies positioned in all channels of distribution,” he said, adding that he has already required the posting of prices at school supply stores nationwide.
Lapus also reminded manufacturers to make sure that their pad papers and notebooks indicate their manufacturers’ name, address, and the number of leaves or pages of their products.
“Those without these information would be presumed as smuggled and would be up for confiscation, too,” he noted.
At the same time, Lapus also said that the next president of the Philippines would not have problems in terms of foreign investments, as the Arroyo administration has already firmed up commitments of many foreign companies.
Lapus noted that already, the government has approved for this year’s second quarter alone a 700 percent increase in investments over the same period last year. At export zones, committed investments have also increased by a hundred percent, he added.
He cited the case of a Japanese firm as Subic Bay freeport where it has committed an expansion project worth $300 million. “We’re talking of billions of pesos in investments this quarter,” he noted.
This, even as Lapus also assured parents they have nothing to worry about the cost of school supplies for their children.
He said manufacturers of basic school needs have assured him that they will observe the suggested retail prices (SRP) of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).
Lapus said the SRP in the last school year have not been altered.
But in an interview with Punto here the other day, Lapus also warned: “Yung mga toxic na supplies, yung mga masasagwang cover ng notebooks, bawal yan. (Those toxic supplies, those inappropriate covers of notebooks, these are prohibited).”
Lapus noted that some notebooks being sold for school use have almost naked photos of women, while others exhibit violent pictures.
“Yung mga ayaw nating ipakita sa mga anak natin, huwag natin ibenta. (What we don’t want our children to see we should not sell). We will make the rounds and confiscate these,” he said.
He urged parents to buy products indicating their manufacturers so as to avoid buying toxic ones, such as crayons.
Lapus also said that parents have “nothing to worry on the cost of school supplies.” He said that manufacturers have assured to maintain the same suggested retail prices (SRP) of pencils, ballpens, notebooks, pad papers and other basic school supplies that prevailed last year.
“Two months before the school opening, I want all these school supplies positioned in all channels of distribution,” he said, adding that he has already required the posting of prices at school supply stores nationwide.
Lapus also reminded manufacturers to make sure that their pad papers and notebooks indicate their manufacturers’ name, address, and the number of leaves or pages of their products.
“Those without these information would be presumed as smuggled and would be up for confiscation, too,” he noted.
At the same time, Lapus also said that the next president of the Philippines would not have problems in terms of foreign investments, as the Arroyo administration has already firmed up commitments of many foreign companies.
Lapus noted that already, the government has approved for this year’s second quarter alone a 700 percent increase in investments over the same period last year. At export zones, committed investments have also increased by a hundred percent, he added.
He cited the case of a Japanese firm as Subic Bay freeport where it has committed an expansion project worth $300 million. “We’re talking of billions of pesos in investments this quarter,” he noted.
