Carbon Market, small downtown shops offer cheap school supplies
JENNY Mae Hermoso is a mother of two grade schoolers from Liloan town in northern Cebu.
To get to Cebu City, she needs to endure more than an hour of travel amidst damning traffic.
But she doesn’t mind. Because she knows that the travel time and the traffic are nothing compared to the big discount that she can get if she buys school stuff in downtown Cebu City like Colon and Manalili streets and Carbon Public Market.
Days before classes open, Hermoso said she will scour the downtown area for cheap school supplies for her kids who are in Gardes 2 and 4.
“Mas barato ra g’yud kung mamalit sa Carbon compared sa mga mall. Mas maayo kanang mga gagmay nga tindahan sa Colon kay affordable kaayo,” said Hermoso. (It’s really cheaper in Carbon compared to the malls. Small stores in Colon also have very affordable stuff.)
In malls, a single notebook costs more than P15 while downtown shops sell them at less than P10, said Hermoso.
Benvinido Roa, a vendor at the South Bus Terminal agrees.
Roa is separated from his wife who left him with four kids to take care. All four are in elementary and school.
Roa said that since his earnings are just enough for his family’s daily subsistence, he could hardly afford for his kids’ school needs.
He found the Carbon Market a big help.
In Carbon, a school blouse and polo shirt costs from P80 to P95, he said, while a skirt costs P100. Slacks and shorts range from P90 to P150, depending on the size.
Some suppliers of notebooks and uniforms in the Carbon Market told CDN that they decided not to raise the prices of their merchandise this year since they understand the predicament of the buyers.
Ready for Monday
Meanwhile, the Talisay City police said they are ready for the opening of classes on Monday, June 4.
Supt. Marlu Conag, Talisay City Police chief, said that fraternities and traffic control are their main concern for this year’s ’Balik Eskwela’.
He said that more or less 100 policemen will be deployed to help man the traffic and secure schools this Monday.
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