There are about 490,000 Filipino seafarers working on ships around the world, ensuring the safety and enjoyment of passengers on cruise ships, and helping make sure that cargo arrives safely to their destinations.

One seafarer who has been away from his family for most of the past 12 years—missing Christmases, New Year celebrations, his son’s first steps and birthdays—says he can now be with them full time, thanks to the PLDT Home Rewards Grand Giveaway Promo’s P5 million prize! From the simple desire to earn rewards and discounts from their PLDT Home subscription via the PLDT Home Rewards program, the 36-year-old OFW won the ultimate cash prize in the second year of PLDT Home Reward’s Grand Giveaway promo.

The Grand Giveaway Promo simply requires PLDT Home subscribers to join the PLDT Home Rewards program for free. In addition to the various perks and discounts available from partner merchants, all PLDT Home Home Rewards members are automatically signed up and eligible to win the many raffle prizes of the Grand Giveaway Promo that are up for grabs.

They plan to use part of the prize to pay for their house. “Aside from that we will set aside some of the prize money as savings because we have a four-year-old son, so it’s going toward his schooling. We also plan to use the prize as seed money to start a business,” they said as they collected the check from the PLDT head office in Makati.

A fortunate switch to PLDT Home

The winner’s partner, who works from home for a BPO company, agrees with him on starting a business. She was actually instrumental in their winning because it wasshe who signed them up to the PLDT Home Rewards program while her huband was away at sea.

“We actually switched to PLDT Home,” she says. “When we were living with my parents, their internet connection was PLDT Home. When we bought our own house, we tried to have it transferred, but at the time there were few households in the area and there was no available line yet. So, we used another service provider, pero sobrang mahal. In 2017, we switched back to PLDT Home.”

During the pandemic, her BPO company sent their employees to work from home but with a required minimum internet speed. She then upgraded their plan to P1,669, which came with a discount of P200.

“We are very happy with the internet speed and the consistency of service, like when they’re doing maintenance, we always get a notification ahead of schedule,” she says. “We also got the FamCam promo so that while he was on the ship, he could monitor our son and see what we’re doing when we’re home. That was really important to us because our son was growing up and we wanted him to feel close to his dad even when he wasn’t beside us.”

When PLDT Home announced its bigger and better rewards program, she signed them up, not knowing that the simple act of joining and earning Crystals automatically entered them into the PLDT Home Rewards Grand Giveaway raffle promo.

“We’ve never won a raffle in our life,” she says. “I got a notification with a link from PLDT Home last May. At first, we thought it might be one of those scams but we verified that it came from PLDT Home, and then we got a phone call that changed our lives.”

A well-deserved rest at home

P5 million is an enormous windfall for anyone, but for the 36-year-old OFW, it is a gift that allows him to become a full-time partner and father. Seafaring contracts in the Philippines are usually for a period of several months to a year maximum and Filipino seafarers often sign back-to back-contracts to ensure that their income is continuous and they’re able to support their families back home, especially when they are working toward goals like a house, car, business or their children’s schooling.

Now, they can enjoy the fruits of his labor and all his sacrifices as an OFW: simply being with his family in a house they bought several years ago. He is now a full-time dad to his son, and is right beside him to guide him in his early years and watch him grow up.

“Rest munasa seafaring and hopefully I never have to go back. That’s very possible if we choose the right business to invest in,” he says with relief in his voice, seemingly remembering all those years when he was abroad, lonely and missing his young family.

These days, the couple is always on the lookout for even more benefits of being a loyal PLDT Home subscriber. “We’re looking at the PLDT Home Rewards program more closely and what we can exchange for our points,” she says with a smile.

This new millionaire couple’s advice to people is to switch to PLDT Home because it’s faster, more reliable and generous to loyal subscribers. “If you’re already a subscriber, sign up for the PLDT Home Rewards. As long as you pay on time, you earn points that you can exchange for rewards,” she says.

PLDT Home Rewards ​​lets you enjoy various perks and benefits, such as vouchers for a wide variety of partner brands and merchants, as well as entry into recurring, all by paying bills and earning Home Rewards Crystals. PLDT Home customers can sign up for the Home Rewards program byvisiting thePLDT Home Rewards .

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