Thanks to siblings' birthdates and lucky picked numbers, a construction worker from Davao City and a hog raiser from Batangas won the multimillion-peso lotto jackpot prizes of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO).
A 35-year-old laborer, who works extra in construction sites in Davao City, told PCSO that the digits that led to him being one of the two winners of the P521-million Ultra Lotto 6/58 jackpot drawn last Dec. 30 were the birthdates of his siblings.
"Hindi po talaga ako makapaniwala na nanalo ako ng lotto. Hindi po ako nanood ng telebisyon kaya't noong makita ko sa Facebook na isa ako sa dalawang winners ng lotto di ko na maintindihan ang aking nararamdaman (I really cannot believe that I won the lottery. I do not watch television, so when I saw on Facebook that I was one of the two winners, I could not explain my feelings)," he said.
"Pinag aralan ko po mabuti kung paano ako makakarating dito upang maclaim ang premyo sapagkat di naman po ako sanay bumyahe at hindi ko rin po alam sino po pagtitiwalaan ko na sumama sa akin dito (I studied carefully how I can get here to claim the prize because I am not used to traveling and I do not know who I can trust to come with me here)," he added, recalling his worry on how he was going to claim the prize.
He plans on purchasing a house and lot with his winnings, the agency said.
The other winner is a 44-year-old government employee from Tacloban City who claimed her prize last Jan. 11.
READ: Bettors from Davao, Tacloban win P521-M Ultra Lotto jackpot
Meanwhile, the 47-year-old hog raiser from Ibaan, Batangas who won P29.7 million in Grand Lotto 6/55 last Jan. 21 revealed that four out of six numbers from his winning combination were computer-generated or lucky picked.
"Bale pag ako po ay nataya ng lotto eh ako po ay may alagang 2 kombinasyon tapos kasunod po neto ay lucky pick na. Sa tagal ko po inaalagaan ang aking numero ay nakakagulat po na ang tumama pa ay yung lucky pick (I always have two fixed numbers whenever I bet on lotto and the rest are lucky picks. For the longest time that I am betting my digits it is surprising that the lucky picks were the ones that hit the jackpot)," he said.
It was also on social media where he found out about his stroke of luck.
"Napaiyak po ako sa tuwa ng makita ko na iyong numero ko ang lumabas. Maraming salamat PCSO sa pagbibigay ng pagkakataon sa amin na kami’y maging milyonaryo (I shed tears of joy when I saw that my numbers were drawn. Thank you, PCSO for giving us the opportunity to become millionaires)," he added.
He plans on investing his money in a business and securing educational plans for his three children.
READ: Bettor from Batangas is this week’s 4th lotto millionaire — PCSO
The two winners claimed their prizes at the PCSO Main Office in Mandaluyong City last Jan. 19 and 27.
They then encouraged everyone not to lose hope and continue patronizing PCSO lotto games.
PCSO reminded that all lotto winnings exceeding P10,000 are subject to 20 percent tax by the Tax Reform Acceleration and Inclusion Law.
"All winnings should be within one year from the date of the draw otherwise the same would be forfeited to form part of the charity fund under the PCSO Charter (Republic Act No. 1169)," it added.