Apl.de.Ap, or Allan Pineda Lindo, of The Black Eyed Peas is an inspiration to many Filipinos. His father, an American airman stationed at the Clark Air Base, left his mother after his birth, leaving her to raise six children on her own. He helped with the family’s expenses by farming sweet potatoes, corn, sugar cane, and rice, and would go to school by going on an hour-long jeepney ride to and from campus. At the age of 14, he moved to the US to be adopted by an American who sponsored him in a foundation in the Philippines. He later became one-fourth of The Black Eyed Peas, one of the world’s best-selling music groups of all time. Along the way, the group won 87 awards from various award-giving bodies around the world.
When he was younger, his family could rarely afford Jollibee, even if he kept pointing it to his mother. Now, his dream has come true because he opened his first Jollibee store in Dau, Pampanga. According to him:
Since I was a young boy, I always pointed at Jollibee and my mom would say, “Anak, we need this money for your siblings also so next time na lang.” And then one day, she finally took me into Jollibee and I think I lost my mind! I thought: ‘Oh my God, did this happen?’
In a separate interview, he considers opening his own branch of Jollibee a dream. He said:
I got to meet the chairman and I jokingly asked him that growing up I couldn’t afford to get Jollibee and it’s a product that I grew up with and I truly cherish. I just asked simply and they kindly granted me with one so it’s a dream come reality at this point.
By opening his own branch, he hopes to create more jobs for locals. According to him, if the branch does well, he will open another branch in Sapang Palay, where he was born, and in the US.
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