Magpakailanman: The woman who can’t stop winning the lottery

Kathelyn Dupaya may have an unlimited supply of four-leaf clovers.

While most people would consider winning a prize from the office raffle a rare treat, this woman has struck gold in actual lotteries—a highly improbable event even if it happens just one—multiple times.

But before she got lucky, Dupaya went through a lot of hardship.

Rough start

As long as Kathelyn remembers, it was her grandparents who raised her and her older sister in Jolo, Sulu. Her mother, she was told, died giving birth to her. Meanwhile, her father was too busy womanizing to care about his children.

Despite everything, she still managed to graduate cum laude with a degree in office management.

After college, Kathelyn's uncle and aunt brought her to Manila to help her look for a job, which became her gateway to work abroad in 1994. Although she was only 17 then, a Chinese couple helped her process her passport and other papers. In two weeks, she was already on her way to Brunei.

In Brunei, she first worked as a waitress but was later transferred to the office after her bosses noticed that she was good in accounting. This did not stop her from working harder and took laundry jobs as a sideline.

Not long after, she met her future husband, a Filipino was working for the royal family's electrical company. Mariano started courting Kathelyn right after her 18th birthday. Two years later, they got married.

All was going well for Dupaya until an uncle told the authorities that she faked her age so she could work abroad. She was detained in Brunei's Philippine immigration office for two days, but luckily, her bosses helped her smooth things out. In the end, the Philipine Embassy in Brunei agreed to correct her passport and other documents.  

String of fortunate events

When Kathelyn gave birth to her first child, she and her husband were in the middle of building their home in the Philippines. Then the company Mariano was working for shut down. Worried for the remaining balance of their project back home, Kathelyn thought of joining the lucky draw.

She bought a lottery ticket, using the numbers of a vehicle her child pointed out. To her amazement, she won the grand prize, an amount equivalent P1 million.

Since then, Dupaya started her seemingly endless winning streak—she did not even have to buy appliances for her home since most of them were prize items.

The highly unlikely winning streak naturally raised suspicions, and in 2009 the Dupayas' home was raided by the authorities, who suspected her of illegal activities. Her husband was even suspended from his job.

But not one to give up, Kathelyn decided to gamble her last 50 Brunei dollars and joined the lucky draw once again. The next day, her 50 turned into P3 million.

With the odds growing ever more improbable, Kathelyn then decided to join the lucky draw—and apparently won again, this time taking away P10 million.

In 2010, her family went to Malaysia to join the lucky draw. It was her two daughters who played the winning numbers. Their prize? P33 million.

Because of all their winnings, the family has had the luxury to put up businesses both in Brunei and Philippines. — Trisha Macas/BM, GMA News

Get to know the woman who can't stop winning on Magpakailanman, airing on Saturday, March 21. The episode stars Sheryl Cruz, Carmi Martin, Tessie Tomas, Jeric Gonzales and Thea Tolentino.