"Gone up."

That’s the phrase we hear from practically all the sellers in town, whether they offer food, medicine, supplements or utilities. With the cost of living going up so fast, many of us can hardly keep up. What to do? Make the wise decision of considering changing to less popular brands but with comparatively good quality and correct weight, buying what is just enough for family, and limiting shopping days.

We went to the Buendia end of the South Luzon Expressway to visit the Cash and Carry supermarket. We expected to spend hours on the highway because of the road work being done on the SLEX. We have been irritated by traffic almost every day since construction started. This time, it took us less than an hour to reach our destination. A counter traffic flow, Northbound from Alabang to Sucat exit, was in effect and buses and cargo vehicles were confined to the right lane. However, we suggest that barriers be put up between the entrance to Skyway and the other lanes to prevent hard-to-discipline drivers from making a sudden swerve onto the Skyway though they have not paid the toll fee.

The re-structured Cash and Carry is a pleasant place to shop. There are restaurants (such as French Baker, from which we tried to find the whole grain bread) and food stalls on the ground floor area. For those who relish a bite of lechon, there’s Lydia’s. Fresh cow’s and goat’s milk are available. We saw big (almost the size of a dinner plate) siopao at P120 per. There’s a vendor selling tamales at P20 each. Our finds of the day were the sinaing na tulingan and tawilis for which our daughter paid a bit more than P200 for two pieces of the former and five packs (each with seven pieces) of the latter.

Inside the supermarket, it was easy to find what we wanted because of clear and prominent signs. The garments are a bit expensive and as usual in the food section, some items are priced lower than in other places while some are more expensive. Bottles of sardines from Dipolog sell at P100 per. Salmon head goes for P250 a kilo, tilapia at P135, bangus at P150. They have the Magnolia Chicken Station where whole dressed chicken goes for P115, breast at P133 and drumstick at P140. Seasoned chicken parts are also available. From the meat section, baby back ribs are at P339 a kilo, pork chops for P244 and camto at P319. Monterey has an array of prepared food including Italian and Hungarian sausages. Cash and Carry sells ox tail for P402 a kilo, lamb shoulder for P264.50 and leg for P408.50. We got a pack of sukiyaki beef for a bit more than P200. US tenderloin is tagged at P300. We must say these meat prices are very reasonable.

Peanut oil is sold at P218.50 for a bottle of 600ml. For those who cook Chinese dishes often, they can get Chinese cooking wine. Also in the freezer are imported packs including buffalo wings. The packed soup section includes the a Vietnamese mushroom concoction at P72. Take your pick from other bottled items – Filipro Berio pesto, Chinese products – pickled cucumber, bamboo shoots, Ayam line of spreads and sardines, plus roasted eel. That should give any shopper a fruitful day of really examining what are in the racks and what she/he actually needs.

We could not resist commenting on some very disturbing television ads that influence the minds of young viewers. There is one that shows a customer asking a hamburger chain server what he could get for P20. The rather uncouth server takes two bites off the burger, then gives it to the astounded young man. The punchline is that you buy the advertised product for P20. The same campaign shows a barber cutting only half of the bangs of a young man. We don’t appreciate the humor in these ads and we are aghast that such have been passed by the regulatory board. Then there’s this senator, the supposed guardian angel of OFWs, shown talking to an emaciated woman who needed help because in the difficult job she held, she suffered from what she graphically described as a feminine illness, using words that have been banned a long time ago by our elders. Again, will someone monitor the likes of these debasing advertisements?  

Protect the OFWs, but protect the sensibilities of the rest of us, as well.

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