DAVAO CITY – In order to save money for other school expenses, some parents here would opt to pack biscuits and bread for their children rather than giving them money.
Working mother, Charmaine Tevar, said she prepares biscuits or bread and juice for her children who studies Grade 3 and Grade 5 at Sta. Ana Central Elementary School. She said she also gives some money only for her child in Grade 5 because the one in the third grade does not yet know how to choose good food.
She said she would give P20 allowance for her son which will be good for his whole day class. Fare is not included in his son’s allowance since her husband would drop them to school.
Charmaine said they would spend P70 to P100 pesos per day for the meals and transportation of both students.
Like several parents and guardians, parents Bernadette Tubaon, 27, and Rosalie Ganas, 40, wait patiently outside Mintal Elementary School for their Grade 1 students who will be out for their lunch break by 11 am.
Tubaon said she does not give allowance to her 6-year old child. She said she packs him biscuit and water for recess.
The class starts at 8:00 am and ends for a break at 11:00am. They go back to classes at 1:00 pm and ends at 3:30 pm.
She said they spend P50 pesos daily including her food and fare.
“Ang P30 apil kan-on, sud-an ug biscuit ug P20 per day among pamasahe (P30 is for our viand and P20 is for our fare),” she said.
She added that even with P50 a day they still find it difficult to survive with her husband’s salary.
“Moabot og P10,000 kada bulan iyang kita pero wala pay labot ang deductions nga Philhealth, SSS ug uban pa. Molimpyo mi og 3,000 kada bulan (His salary is almost P10,000 monthly but there are deductions like Philhealth, SSS and others. We will have a net income of P3,000 a month),” she said,adding that they get their daily consumption for food and transportation fare on the remaining P3,000.
As a result, it is difficult for the family to save money, she said.
“Usahay ma-short man gud. Maayo untag inadlaw ang kwarta, dili man (Sometimes we lack budget. It would be better if we have money everyday, but we don’t),” Bernadette said.
For her part, Ganas said she also finds it hard to save.“Naay ginagmay pero makuot man gihapon (We can save a little but still it gets spent [for other expenses]),” Rosalie said.
“Kada bulan moabot og P3,000 among savings bayad man sa utang (Every month we get P3,000 savings but still it is spent for paying our loans),” Ganas lamented, adding that they pay a monthly loan in a cooperative.
The loaned money, she said, was also spent for their home expenses, including food and school needs.
Ganas has a student in high school, thus making it more expensive for her to budget her husband’s meager income. Her husband’s job as a mechanic is not a regular work.
Ganas said she would give P40 pesos daily for her daughter who is in Grade 7 at Tugbok National High School. Her high school student would also take two pieces of bread to school.
“Ang P30 niya pamiliti lang. Ang mabilin nga P10 ipalit niyag maruya o kaya pan o sud-an, depende na sa iyaha (The P30 pesos is intended for her fare and she would spend the remaining P10 for banana-cue or bread or her viand for lunch, it’s up to her),” she said.
Her total budget for both students is almost P100 a day.
School requirement list
Working on a very limited budget, Ganas said she was not able to buy all her children’s school requirements yet.
Rosalie showed the list of school requirements her Grade 7 student needs which includes eight 100 leaves notebooks, ballpens, ¼ paper, ½ paper crosswise, 24 pieces of crayons, bond paper, colored paper, plastic cover, yellow pad, two manila papers, pencil, sharpener, scissors, 24 pieces pastel crayons, and 24 pieces colored pencils.
Among the items, she crossed scissors, pastel crayons and colored pencils, as these are the most expensive.
“Ang mga colored pencils tag-P60 kapin, bug-at na baya na sa atoa (Colored pencils would cost around P60 which is expensive for us),” she said.
Meanwhile, Josephine Agyu, 38 who has to send seven students to school, has only bought four notebooks for each of the students.
In an interview with Davao Today last Monday, Josephine said her six children are in Grade 1, Grade 2, Grade 4, Grade 6, Grade 8 and Grade 9. Her niece, who is also in Grade 6, is already an orphan.
Josephine said her husband who works in a farm only earns P180 a day. She makes and sells coal to augment their family’s income.
The Department of Trade and Industry here said the supply and prices of school supplies “have remained stable” based on the monitoring conducted by DTI’s field offices in the region.
Rachel S. Remitio, chief of DTI 11’s Investment and Industry Development Division, said in an email that “prices are lower than the suggested retail price.”
The average price of notebook in the market costs P11.75 each, DTI said.
However, Rosalie said an P11.00-notebook is still expensive for a mother like her. She said she had to buy around 18 notebooks for her two children.
The total cost of the school supplies she already bought was P400. But the requirements for her children’s other subjects are not yet include.
“Usa ka subject pa lang ning listahan (This list is the requirements for one subject only),” she said.
With the additional two years in basic education, parents like Josephine and Rosalie are certain they would need more money for their children’s schooling.
But Josephine said, she would do whatever she can to send her children to school.
“Samtang buhi pa ko ako silang pa-eskwelahon (I will send them to school while I am still alive),” she said. (davaotoday.com)
