MANILA - Two bettors who bagged the jackpots of two separate draws have recently claimed their prizes at the main office of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) in Mandaluyong City. In a statement on Monday, the PCSO said the 35-year-old winner from Davao City, Davao del Sur, claimed last Jan. 19 half of the PHP521-million jackpot prize drawn last Dec. 30, 2022, for Ultra Lotto 6/58. The draw that yielded a winning combination of 01-23-15-03-08-05 produced two millionaires. The other winner, a 44-year-old female government employee from Tacloban City, Leyte, already claimed her winnings last Jan. 11. "Hindi na ako mag-eextra. Sa totoo lang po gusto ko lang naman magkaroon ng bahay at lupa kaya ako tumataya ng lotto. Sobra sobra na po itong ibinigay ng Panginoon sa akin (I won't do extra jobs anymore. To be honest, I just want to own a house and land so I bet on the lottery. The Lord has already given me too much)," the winner said, who supports himself by working as an extra laborer in construction sites. Although he has been a loyal patron of the lotto games for 10 years already, he revealed that he only plays the lotto whenever he has extra money hoping that it might change his life one day. When asked about his favorite lotto combination, he said that it was from the birthdays of his siblings. "Hindi naman po maginhawa ang aking buhay kaya kahit gustuhin ko makataya ng lotto di ko rin magawa, kapag may ekstrang pera lang (My life is not easy, so even if I want to bet on the lottery, I can't do it, only if I have extra money)," the winner said. The new millionaire said that he cannot understand his feelings when he learned that he won the jackpot prize and felt uneasy about how he will be able to claim his prize. "Hindi po talaga ako makapaniwala na nanalo ako ng lotto. Hindi po ako nanood ng telebisyon kaya noong makita ko sa Facebook na isa ako sa dalawang winners ng lotto di ko na maintindihan ang aking nararamdaman. 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 can't really believe that I won the lottery. I didn't watch television so when I saw on Facebook that I was one of the two winners of the lottery, I couldn't understand my feelings. I studied carefully how to get here to claim the prize because I'm not used to traveling and I don't know who to trust to come with me here)," he said. Meanwhile, a 47-year-old swine raiser from Ibaan town in Batangas province claimed the jackpot prize of PHP29.7 million for the Grand Lotto 6/55 drawn on Jan. 21, with the winning combination 03-44-10-13-23-11, at the PCSO main office last Jan. 27. A swine raiser for the majority of his life, the new millionaire said he has been a diligent lotto player for almost 10 years. "Nakakapagod po, umikot na ang buhay ko sa pagbababuyan. Mahirap, mabaho. Kung hindi sisipagan walang pambiling pagkain. Pinangarap ko talagang yumaman para magbago naman ang aking pamumuhay. Maraming salamat po sa Panginoon at dininig po ang; aking panalangin (It's tiring, my life has revolved around in piggery. It's hard, it stinks. If you don't work hard, you won't buy food. I really dreamed of getting rich so that my lifestyle could change. Thank you very much to the Lord for hearing my prayer)," he said. He revealed that his combination came from the system's lucky pick, and he was very grateful upon learning that the combination came out "Bale pag ako po ay nataya ng lotto ako po ay may alagang dalawa kombinasyon tapos kasunod neto ay lucky pick na. Sa tagal ko po inaalagaan ang aking numero ay nakakagulat na ang tumama pa ay yung lucky pick. Nakita ko sa isang post sa social media na ang tumama daw ay taga Ibaan, kaya tsinek ko ang aking tickets. 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 (It doesn't matter if I bet on the lottery, I have two favorite combinations, then the next one is the lucky pick. As long as I've been taking care of my number, it's surprising that the lucky pick is the only one that hits. I saw in a post on social media that the person who got winning combination was from Ibaan, so I checked my tickets. I cried out of joy when I saw that my number came out. Thank you very much PCSO for giving us the chance to become millionaires)," he said. As a father of three, he said he will utilize his winnings in preparing for the future of his children. "Gagamitin ko po ang aking napanalunan para sa kinabukasan ng aking pamilya. Maglalaan po ako para sa educational plans ng aking mga anak at mamumuhunan sa pagnenegosyo (I will use what I have won for the future of my family. I will allocate for the educational plans of my children and invest in business)," he said. The winners both appealed to the public to continue patronizing PCSO games. Lotto results and other details of the PCSO games, products and services can be viewed on the PCSO Official Website, PCSO FB Page and PCSO GOV Channel in YouTube. To avoid forfeiture of winnings, winners have one year from the date of the draw to claim the prize, as specified in Republic Act No. 1169. All lotto jackpot prizes must be claimed at the PCSO main office along Shaw Boulevard in Mandaluyong City. To claim prizes, winners must write their names and sign at the back of the winning ticket, and present two government-issued IDs. The public is also reminded that prizes over PHP10,000 are subject to a 20 percent tax as provided in the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion law. The PCSO is urging the public to patronize its games to generate more funds for health programs, medical assistance and services, and charities. Through its mandatory contributions, the PCSO not only helps individuals in need of medical assistance but also provides funds to government institutions. (PNA) }