House caretaker can now buy own house with P7M lotto jackpot

MANILA, Philippines– After almost a decade of looking after his relative’s house, this caretaker from Zambales province can now buy his own house by claiming on Monday, more than P7 million in jackpot prize from the government-run lotto.

The 50-year-old bachelor was the sole player to correctly guess the winning number combination 15-10-19-28-07-26 in the Jan. 30 draw of the Lotto 6/42. He won for himself exactly P7,150,756.

For security reasons, the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) does not identify lotto winners.

PCSO Vice Chair and General Manager Jose Ferdinand Rojas II said that it took only six years of playing the lottery for the winner to clinch the jackpot prize. He added that the winner started playing the lottery sometime in 2010 because “he wanted to have a house of his own.”

The winner told Rojas that prior to getting the job as the caretaker of his distant relative’s house, he stayed for several years in his sibling’s house. He, however, didn’t disclose what his previous occupation was.

With his millions, the winner said he would offer to buy the house of his relative who has been living abroad. If his relative would not agree to the proposal, the winner told Rojas that he would just look for another house and lot.

The winner said that he would also invest his winnings in a business, but has not decided on what that would be. He added that he would also share a portion of his prize with his siblings and relatives, while saving the rest for his future needs.

When he claimed his prize at the PCSO’s head office in Mandaluyong City on Monday, the winner told Rojas that he got the winning number combination from the dates of the death anniversaries of his family members and relatives. He added that he only bought three tickets to win the jackpot prize.

Rojas said another lotto player has again won the chance to live his dream.

He called on the public to continue supporting the PCSO’s games since a portion of its sales has been going to the agency’s charity fund.

For every peso earned by the PCSO, 55 percent goes to the prize fund, 30 percent goes to the charity fund and the remaining 15 percent to the agency’s operational expenses since it does not receive any funding from the national government.

The charity fund supports the PCSO’s Individual Medical Assistance Program, which disburses an average of P18 million daily to indigent Filipino patients.  SFM