Manila: President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. has instructed the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) to ensure that school supplies remain affordable for Filipino families, as announced by Malaca±ang on Thursday.

According to Philippines News Agency, the DTI, following the President's directive, has released a detailed guide to help consumers identify the prices of essential school items for the upcoming academic year. Presidential Communications Office Undersecretary and Palace Press Officer Claire Castro emphasized the President's order for the DTI to maintain reasonable pricing of school supplies. Castro highlighted the President's demand for prompt action to monitor and sustain the affordability of educational items for Filipino families.

The guide, as per Castro, showcases a decrease in prices for 29 school items compared to the previous year. She urged the public to review the price list available on the DTI website to make informed purchasing decisions. The 2025 price guide includes 195 stock keeping units (SKUs) across 12 product categories, featuring more options in notebooks, pad paper, pencils, ballpens, crayons, and other writing essentials, facilitating parents and students in finding products that match their needs and budget.

The guide reveals that prices of approximately 101 SKUs, or 52 percent of the 195 listed items such as ballpens, erasers, and sharpeners, have remained stable compared to last year. Notebooks are priced between PHP15 and PHP52, while pad paper ranges from PHP15 to PHP48.75. Pencils are available from PHP11 to PHP24, and pens from PHP3 to PHP33. Crayons, offered in various box sizes, cost between PHP12 and PHP114, with erasers priced from PHP4.50 to PHP20. Sharpeners are sold for PHP15 to PHP69, and rulers for PHP16 to PHP39.

Additionally, the guide introduces 48 new SKUs, accounting for 25 percent of the total list, presenting consumers with more choices and unveiling newer brands and variants.