MANILA, Philippines – His wife left him and his children two years ago because he could not properly provide for his family’s basic needs. Now, this tricycle driver from Quezon City has more than enough money at his disposal after he won the Mega Lotto 6/45’s jackpot prize of over P59 million.
The 29-year-old father of two was the sole player who picked the winning combination 02-03-14-22-29-30 in the lottery’s March 20 draw, said Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) acting chair and general manager Jose Ferdinand Rojas II.
The winner claimed on Monday morning, at the agency’s head office in Mandaluyong City, the exact prize of P59,206,432.
He told Rojas that in the last two years, he took on the role of being a father and a mother to his children after his wife dumped him because of the family’s growing financial woes.
“My wife and I would oftentimes argue and fight because my earnings from driving the tricycle weren’t enough to provide for our family’s basic needs,” Rojas quoted the winner as saying.
In fact, the PCSO chief said that the winner’s income from driving the tricycle he has been renting was so meager that his two kids were forced to quit school two years ago.
“Most of the time, my kids would go to school without an allowance. They were forced to quit school because I did not have the money to buy them the necessary school supplies,” the winner told Rojas.
He added that such a situation proved to be unbearable for his wife, who decided to leave him and the kids in 2013.
Now that fate has turned and made him a millionaire, the single father said he would use his winnings to buy the family a new house and lot. He said he would also buy a car to fetch and drive his children, who would resume their studies in the coming school year.
Rojas said that the winner told him he would save in the bank a portion of his winnings so that they would never slip back to poverty.
The winner, however, kept mum when asked by Rojas if a reunion with his estranged wife could happen now that he got more than enough resources to provide for his family.
Rojas said that the winner, who started playing the lottery only a year ago, got his winning combination from his and his children’s birth dates and ages, and bought only a single ticket.
The 6/45 jackpot prize went up to more than P59 million when no lucky player guessed the correct combination in the last 16 draws, starting Feb. 16. SFM/AC