The Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) headquarters in Mandaluyong City on July 31, 2019. Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News/File

MANILA —  The Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) on Wednesday clarified that no bettor has won the jackpot prize for the state-run lottery game twenty times in just one month.

Senator Raffy Tulfo, who chairs the Senate Committee on Games and Amusement, earlier said that one person supposedly won the Lotto multiple times in a single month— a piece of information which, he said, he was able to gather from documents submitted to him by the PCSO itself.

But in an interview with ABS-CBN News, PCSO General Manager Melquiades Robles said this was probably a case of one person being asked to claim the winnings of several people who bet on the low-tier or digit games.

“Whoever is the holder of the winning ticket can claim it,” stressed Robles.

“Kasi nakita rin namin, yung agents, pinapasabay sa kanya ng mga bettors na suki niya na nanalo na ‘Uy, paki-claim naman, anyway, you go to the branch office once a week, at least, to get your bench slip and your thermal paper.’ Meron kaming real people who will say that,” he added.

(From what we see, there are [Lotto] agents who claim the winnings of their regular customers upon their request… We have real people who will say that).

Robles also offered a possible explanation as to why all the winnings claimed by that one person were the same amount.

“Because there is a limit to the voucher na pwedeng i-release. So pag na-limit yun, kunyari marami ka ngang kine-claim sa isang voucher, up to P225,000 sabing ganyan, you’ll be limited to that,” he said.

(Because there is a limit to the voucher as to the amount that can be released. So if you hit the limit that can be claimed through one voucher, let’s say P225,000, you can only get that much).

Should Tulfo or the public demand more explanations or details, Robles said they would be willing to undergo investigation.

“Bring your experts, if you have to. We are more than willing to accommodate and explain. Don’t get me wrong, I admire the vigilance. We don’t take offense in that,” he added.

In a statement, Tulfo said he will be divulging more of his findings on Monday.

“We are still studying the documents further and will divulge all information not protected by data privacy laws on the scheduled hearing of the Senate Committee on Games and Amusement next Monday, March 18, 2024,” said Tulfo.

Back in February, the PCSO also came under fire after one of its machines for the 3-digit lotto draw suffered a glitch.

Tulfo said this has resulted in growing ‘trust issues’ towards the PCSO.

Lotto enthusiast Teodora Brazil agrees that such incidents should be looked at further.

“Pa-imbestigahan kung ano ba ang totoo para kami namang mananaya, alam namin. Kasi yung iba halos ayaw na ring tumaya,” said Brazil.

(Lawmakers] should have this investigated so that we, as bettors, will know the truth. Others are saying they do not want to make bets anymore.)

In one betting station in Quezon City, the teller admitted that they have been seeing fewer customers lately and that people are betting less money ever since Tulfo started scrutinizing the PCSO’s lottery operations. From P40,000 worth of bets daily, Mayla Babor said this amount has fallen to around P25,000.

“Nag-aalangan yung mga tao na tumaya kasi parang hindi daw totoo na may nanalo talaga… ‘Yung parang nagkataon lang na ikaw ang uutusan palagi? Parang hindi ‘yun totoo,” added Babor.

(People are hesitating to play Lotto because they are questioning the legitimacy of the winners. Saying that there is one person who is always being asked to collect the winnings of others? I don’t think that’s true.)

However, according to Robles, they have not observed any decrease in Lotto ticket sales.

Sen. Tulfo to take closer look at lotto jackpot winners

Totoong mananaya? Tulfo gustong malaman ang pangalan ng lotto winners

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