For 56-year old fish vendor Ruchineec Bulalong, her life’s journey is all about working hard for the family.
Taking over the family business when she was just 15 years old after her father died, Bulalong, of Sigaboy, Gov. Generoso, Davao Oriental, did not have it easy.
Through hard work and determination, she was able to successfully manage the fish vending business that her father left behind, allowing her to take care of all the needs of her mother and send four of her eight siblings to school.
“My other siblings did not want to study and went into farming instead. The rest help me in the market,” Bulalong said.
Her daily grind is no easy feat. She wakes up at 3 a.m., heads off to Tibanban to get the fish that she will be selling, then to the Shell gas station at Lapu-Lapu to fuel up their two service vehicles and then proceeds to deliver these to fish sellers at the public market in Tagum, Davao del Norte. Her workday ends at 5 p.m.
“Every single day since I was 15 years old, that was my daily routine,“ Bulalong said. Eventually, Bulalong was able to buy two farmlands in Tagum, Davao del Norte.
One fine afternoon on April 13, Bulalong’s daily routine had a happy twist.
She was informed that she was the lone winner of a P1-million cash prize, tax-free, from Pilipinas Shell as their way of thanking their loyal customers.
“I did not believe it immediately when they called me up but when I went to the Lapu-Lapu Shell station in Tagum City, I saw my name posted as the winner and that’s the only time that I believed I won and I was very happy,” Bulalong said.
Bulalong revealed that Shell has been practically a “partner” in their business because they’ve been fueling up exclusively at Shell for the last 45 years.
“Even when my father was still alive, we were already fueling up at Shell because he said it’s good for the vehicle’s engine. So even now that he’s gone, we continue to have our delivery vehicles gassed up at Shell Lapu-Lapu station,” Bulalong said.
Bulalong recalled that since January, she has been given raffle coupons at the Shell gas station and despite the other exciting prizes to choose from, she has already set her eyes on winning the P1 million.
“I was determined to win the one million because I know that it could help us a lot in our business and in my future plans,” she said. With her winnings, Bulalong plans to buy a coconut farmland.
World-class destinations
Aside from the cash prize, a number of world-class adventures were up for grabs in Shell’s Choose Your Own Adventure raffle draw. By simply gassing up with P1,000 worth of Shell Fuels from January 15 to March 15, nine other lucky customers won trips to either Disneyland USA, the South African Safari or the London F1 Grand Prix.
“The adventure of a lifetime starts with a single choice, having your tanks filled with Shell quality fuels, the truly world-class fuel preferred by millions in over 60 countries globally,” said Anthony Lawrence Yam, Pilipinas Shell vice president for retail. He said this offer was only one of many exciting offers from Shell year-round.