Pinoy engineer with expectant wife wins AED100,000 in raffle draw

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates –A 44-year-old Filipino engineer, whose wife is four months on the way with their second child, is the happiest man on earth,  having won AED100,000 (approx. P1.42 million) in a raffle draw – money that he said will help secure their new baby’s future.

“I am very happy,” said Erasmo Madrona Zuniga, Jr., who has been in and out of jobs during the pandemic.

“Hindi namin nai-plano itong bagong baby. Malaki nga ang gap ng edad,” he said, referring to their daughter, their only child through the years, who is 12 years old.

“Biglang dumating. Namroblema ako kung paano tutustusan. Ngayon, secured na siya,” Zuniga said.

Zuniga’s family lives with him in Dubai. He arrived in 2008 and, in 2010 brought his wife, who was his girlfriend with whom he was sharing a long distance relationship from Manila for two years since he left.

“Parang nagsisimula kami uli. Two to three jobs nawala sa akin nung pandemic. Nag-apply then na-redundant; nag-apply uli then nag-reorganize naman. Laban lang,” said Zuniga, who hails from Bulan in Sorsogon.

Zuniga won with two other expats – who also took home AED100,000 each –  in the latest draw by Mahzooz, where he has been a loyal participant in the draws for the past two years.

Late last month, two other Filipinos won AED100,000 each in the Mahzooz draw, where participants can enter to win merely by buying a bottled drinking water. There have also been bigger winners like "Roland," an Abu Dhabi bakeshop delivery van driver, and “Antonio,” gym sales associate, who both won AED1 million each last year.

Entrants can participate in Mahzooz by registering via www.mahzooz.ae and purchasing a bottle of drinking water. Each bottle of water purchased for AED 35 provides eligibility for one line in the draw. The donation benefits the less fortunate through Mahzooz’s community partners.—LDF, GMA News