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.

But 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.

“Yung iba kong kapatid ayaw mag-aral at nagsipagsaka na lang. Yung iba, katulong ko sa palengke (My other siblings did not want to study and went into farming instead. The rest help me in the market),” Bulalong said.

She wakes up at 3 am, 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 day ends at 5 pm.

“Araw-araw ganyan ang trabaho ko mula noong kinse anyos pa lang ako (Every single day since I was 15 years old, that was my daily routine),” Bulalong said. Eventually, Bulalong was able to buy two farm lands in Tagum, Davao del Norte.

One fine afternoon last 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.

“Hindi pa ako agad naniwala nung tinawagan ako pero pagpunta ko sa Shell Station sa Lapu-Lapu, sa Tagum City, nakita ko nga na nanalo ako! Nakapaskil na dun ang pangalan ko kaya tuwang-tuwa ako! (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.

“Buhay pa ang papa ko, sa Shell na kami nagpapa-krudo dahil sabi nya maganda raw sa makina ng sasakyan, kaya kahit wala na sya, lagi pa din kaming sa Shell gas station sa Lapu-Lapu nagpapa-krudo ng mga sasakyan naming pang-biyahe ng isda (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 adds.

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.

“Yung one million talaga ang gusto kong mapanalunan dahil alam kong malaki ang maitutulong nun sa aming negosyo at sa iba ko pang plano sa hinaharap (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 farm land.

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