For a returning Overseas Filipino Worker in Negros Occidental, investing her only jewelry changed the way of how she earned income for her family.
After years of regularly availing MLhuillier’s Quick Cash Loan, she will not only get her jewelry back this time, but also the million peso check she won in the MLyun MLyon Raffle Promo of MLhuillier Financial Services Inc.
“This is more than what I prayed for… this is an unexpected surprise from God,” Elsie Ricablanca said, an OFW turned goods trader from Toboso, Negros Occidental when she received the P1 million check from MLhuillier.
 |
| Ricablanca (center) with Regional Systems Technician Ireneo Lastimosa, Area Manager Area B of Neg. Occ. Maria Clarice Erojo, Marketing Head for Events and Promotion Claudine Clarin, and Branch Manager Reyflor Magan turned over the P1M check (tax-free) to Ricablanca on March 14 at ML Toboso Branch (l-r). |
She is one of two new millionaires through the MLyun MLyon Raffle Promo, the grandest raffle draw of MLhuillier happened during the Holiday season last year.
Ricablanca’s win is because of her many transactions under the Quick Cash Loan (QCL) service of MLhuillier where she regularly pawns her jewelry to add up in her capital for growing her small trading business.
ML’s Marketing Head for Events and Promotion Claudine Clarin said this is the grandest raffle of ML so far, as they do these promos every quarter. With this raffle, more transactions were made in QCL and Kwarta Padala.
“Before we only give minor cash prizes to winners. But when we started the MLyun MLyon raffle last November, more transactions were made,” she said.
The raffle was drawn January 23 this year and picked two lucky millionaires from QCL and Kwarta Padala services of ML. This moment made Ricablanca, a 48 year-old OFW turned businesswoman from Sagahan, Toboso town, a millionaire.
Clarin, together with Regional Systems Technician Ireneo Lastimosa, Area Manager Area B of Neg. Occ. Maria Clarice Erojo and Branch Manager Reyflor Magan turned over the P1M check (tax-free) to Ricablanca on March 14 at ML Toboso Branch.
“Now that I received the check, I am now happy that God gave me more than what I prayed for,” Ricablanca said with excitement, adding “I was just hoping that I have pawned in ML will be redeemed. But He gave me a million.”
‘LUCKY GOLD’
Ricablanca in an interview said that pawning of jewelry has been a way to circulate more money for her capital since 2015. With these transactions with ML, her business is growing and it gave her the way to help her neighbors through lending them money, she added.
She was an overseas worker in a taxi company in Dubai for almost eight years, and went back in the Philippines and started ‘bolante’ or trading goods like rice, and dried fish around Toboso with his husband who is a former lender.
Ricablanca said she started small but when she found out that she can avail low-interest rates through ML’s QCL service, she gambled to pawn her bracelet for P23,000 until it became a regular routine.
“I told my husband that we will just focus on trading and we both quit our job and bought a car to start our business and our capital was not enough to grow our business until we rolled out the money I got from my pawned jewelry,” she said.
Area Manager Maria Clarice Erojo also said that ML has only 3 percent interest rates which are comparably low with other pawning shops, adding with low-interest rates, every branch of ML is also taking an effort to remind and follow up their customers to not let their jewelry unredeemed.
Ricablanca also added that the services that ML staff are offering made it easy for her to comply with regularly paying the interest rates and the principal amount she loaned.
“We want to earn the trust of our customers through doing beyond what is told to us. When we get their trust, they continue to patronize MLhuillier like what Miss Elsie does,” Erojo said.
Ricablanca said that she makes 3 to 4 transactions weekly as more people are asking her help especially when there are emergency situations.
“Maybe my gold (jewelry) are just lucky because more opportunities to grow my business opened when I started pawning with ML,” she said, adding “The blessing also came because I am also lucky to share it with other people.”
With P1M on her hand, she said she wanted to put up a bakery shop to grow her business and help more people in need in her hometown, as God had already fulfilled her wishes she asked Him.
MORE TO COME
Clarin said they will create more promos to reach out more customers and give them the services offered by ML.
“After this, we will have more, with the same mechanics this year,” she said, but this time they will give two winners up to P500,000 and 100 winners of minor prizes.
Erojo said that more raffles will be conducted to attract more transactions from loyal customers, assuring that the service they provide them is safe and secure.
“We will find ways to make them happy in return for the trust they put into us,” she said.
Ricablanca also said that though she already has a million in her hands from ML, she will continue to patronize QCL and other services offered by her trusted financial partner.*
