DUMAGUETE CITY, June 4 -- The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) in Negros Oriental is closely monitoring big retail stores in the province to ensure that prices of school supplies and other commodities remain at acceptable levels, an official said Thursday.

Krystle Jade Bato, DTI spokesperson and officer-in-charge of the Consumer Protection Division, said in a media interview that they have teams visiting these retail outlets and keeping track of the prices of school supplies.

"As early as April, we already started our monitoring and surveillance of Balik Eskwela items, such as notebooks, ballpens, pencils, and others, to establish a price guide that we will be releasing soon," Bato said.

The price guide will assist consumers in ...