BACOLOD CITY – A high school teacher won a brand-new car in the New Year’s countdown raffle at the Bacolod City Government Center (BCGC) on December 31.
“It’s very overwhelming to win such a blessing for the first time,” said Darlene Grace Aurelio of Barangay Vista Alegre.
In a media interview at the BCGC on Tuesday, January 2, Aurelio said that she was busy preparing for Media Noche (New Year’s Eve repast) when she received a call from an unknown number.
Aurelio did not answer the call and received another call later on, prompting her to answer as it could be an emergency.
The person at the other end of the line told her that she won the grand prize in the countdown raffle.
Aurelio said that she was talking to her husband through video call at her in-laws’ house in Sagay City, Negros Occidental when she received the good news.
Aurelio is a Grade 10 adviser at Teofilo Gensoli Sr. National High School in Barangay Vista Alegre while her husband is a seaman based in South Korea.
She registered for the raffle on December 27 after receiving a series of shared links from her co-teachers.
Aurelio was the third resident here called for the grand prize as the first two was unavailable that time.
At least 20,000 individuals registered for the raffle, with many coming from Romblon, Quezon, and Cebu, among others. However, the raffle is only exclusive for Bacolod residents.
Aside from the brand-new car, cash and motorcycles were also raffled.
Comedians Petite, Negi, and Jeffrey Tam entertained the people who also witnessed synchronized fireworks display at the BCGC, public plaza, and the Old Bacolod Airport during the countdown.