Five major stores in Pangasinan are offering discounts on school supplies as part of the Department of Trade and Industry’s (DTI) Balik Eskwela Diskwento Caravan, aimed at easing back-to-school expenses for students and parents.

“For us to preempt the possibility of increases in prices of school supplies, we have the Diskwento Caravan (in) five malls provincewide to help parents or the students buy school supplies at discounted price,” DTI Ilocos Region assistant director Natalia Dalaten said in an interview on Monday.

Discounts range from 5 to 15 percent and are available at the following stores: CSI The City Mall, Unitop Merchandising (from May 15 to June 15), Magic Department Store (May 16 to June 16), SM Center Dagupan (May 30 to June 1), all in Dagupan City, and Magic Department Store in Calasiao town (May 16 to June 15) and Magic Mall in Urdaneta City (June 1 to June 15).

Dalaten said that based on their monitoring, most of the prices of school supplies are still stable with adequate stock levels.

DTI Pangasinan also reported an early increase in purchases, with store managers expecting sales to grow further as families prepare for the 2025–2026 school year.

“Store managers have already observed an early surge in purchases, with sales expected to rise even more as families prepare for the 2025–2026 school year,” she added. (PNA)