Toxic, lewd school supplies to be seized

MANILA, Philippines - Trade and Industry Secretary Jesli Lapus ordered yesterday authorities to seize school supplies tainted with toxic materials and notebooks carrying lewd or violent phorographs on their covers.

“Those toxic supplies, those inappropriate covers of notebooks, these are prohibited,” he said.

Speaking during a forum at the Subic-Clark freeport corridor, Lapus said some notebooks being sold to students have photographs of almost naked women or exhibit violent pictures.

“What we don’t want our children to see we should not sell,” he said. “We will make the rounds and confiscate these.”

Meanwhile, Lapus said manufacturers have assured him that they would maintain the same retail prices of school supplies that prevailed last year.

He has already required the posting of prices at school supply stores nationwide, he added.

Lapus reminded manufacturers to make sure that their pad papers and notebooks indicate their names, addresses, and the number of leaves or pages of their products.