THE prices of flowers in Cagayan de Oro City has started to increase days ahead of All Soul’s Day.
Flower vendors in the area near Saint Augustine Metropolitan Cathedral in the city said they increased the prices of their flowers as the flower planters also increased their rates.
Evelyn Torralba Macapanas, the owner of ETM Flower Shop in the said area, said there was an increase in their prices but just for a little bit.
“Gamay ra pud, kay ang mga planters kay magtaas man pud sila. Kung dili pud mi moapas pud, wa mi bulak [na mabaligya] (Only for a little bit, since the planters also increased their rates. If we will not keep up with the price increase, we will run out of flowers to sell),” Macapanas said.
Macapanas said even with the rise in prices of flowers, they still have products with the same rates as before but the amount of flowers in its arrangement will be reduced.
“Naa man pud gihapon nga mao ra gyapon nga mga price. Butang nato nga naman tay tag P500, siguro mao ra gihapon sya nga presyo pero medyo minus-minusan nato ang iyang flowers (We still have products which has the same price as before. For example, a flower arrangement worth P500, it will stil have the same price but we will lessen the flowers in its arrangement),” she said.
In Macapanas’ flower shop, they also have potted flowers worth P150, which, Macapanas said, was priced P100 before. The potted flower is the cheapest product they have in the shop.
Macapanas said with Undas just a few days more, the orders they receive from customers also increase.
“Wa gyu’y time nga kung kalag-kalag mga ingon ana nga dili mo-increase ang mga mamalitay. Mo-increase gyud sya, daghan gyud sya. So ang volume pud sa among gina-order nga bulak daghan pud sya, dili sa mga ordinary nga adlaw (There was no time when there will be no rise in customer orders during Undas. So, the volume of flowers we order from our planters will also increase in contrast to ordinary days),” Macapanas said.
Annie Iglesia, a flower vendor of Daisy Duran Flower Shop, said they increased the prices of their flowers and it will continue to rise on the day of the celebration of the dead.
From a regular price of P15 for a single rose, Iglesia said, it increased to P20 per rose and continue to rise at P30 per rose on All Soul’s Day.
“Magpataas sa presyo sa kalag-kalag kay ang planters magpataas man pud sila (We will increase the price of the flowers on All Soul’s Day because the planters will also increase their rates on that day),” Iglesia said, adding that before, they only pay P60 for the roses they ordered from the planters but on days when nearing All Soul’s Day, they bought the roses at P100.
The centerpieces, Iglesia said, will cost P500 during the day of the dead, twice the price of its regular rate which was P250.
In other flower shops, however, they did not increase the cost of their flowers during the day of the dead but rather reduce the amount of flowers they will use in a single arrangement or there will no changes at all.
Maria Diosa Ofredo, flower vendor of Ma. Diosa de Oro Flower Shop, said there’s no rise in the prices of their products, both flowers and candles.
“Mao ra gihapon. Silbi libre na lang ang arrangement basta mahalin lang (It's the same. The arrangement of flowers will just be free of charge just so we can have sales),” Ofredo said.
Ofredo said the rate of all their products will remain the same even on the All Soul’s Day.
Candle vendors, meanwhile, said there will be no rise in the prices of their products, adding that even if they increase the cost of their candles, it will only rise a bit.
The annual Kalag-kalag or Undas to the Tagalog-speaking, typically celebrated in the first two days of November, is traditionally about visiting the grave of departed love ones in the cemetery, offering flowers, candles and prayers and remembering memories spent with them.