PCSO invites senators to observe lotto draws amid doubts on winners

Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 23) --- The Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) on Tuesday invited senators to personally observe its lotto processes to erase any doubts on the integrity of its draw results.

The PCSO said that it recently sent a letter to the members of the Senate Committee on Games and Amusement last Jan. 22 “to witness the entire lotto draw process – from the pre-draw preparations to the actual draw itself, for any lotto draw on any day, even without prior notice.”

The letter was addressed to committee chairperson Sen. Manuel Lapid, vice chairpersons Sen. Christopher ‘Bong’ Go, and Sen. Raffy Tulfo, as well as panel members Senators JV Ejercito, Francis Escudero, Bong Revilla, Francis Tolentino, and Risa Hontiveros.

“The PCSO for the past 89 years has kept its integrity beyond question. And we are committed to following that unsullied reputation,” said PCSO General Manager Mel Robles in a statement. “That's why we are inviting our honorable senators for them to see how the actual processes work.”

Senator Imee Marcos earlier questioned the increasing numbers of jackpot winners in recent years, noting that over 400 won the ₱236 million jackpot in the 6/55 lottery in 2022.

The PCSO also became a hot topic recently after netizens poked fun on the poorly edited photo of the ₱43-million lotto jackpot winner from Bulacan.

But the state-owned enterprise explained that it was to conceal the identity of the winner and assured that it was a real person.

Meanwhile, Tulfo said he wants to look further into the legitimacy of the lotto jackpot winners during the continuation of the Senate inquiry on PCSO on Thursday.

He added that PCSO should stop adding jackpot money from its prize fund reserve for its lottery games, noting that up to ₱1.7 billion has been transferred so far from the prize reserve.

“Dito makikita na gumagawa ang PCSO ng kahina-hinalang sistema na kalaunan ay maaring ika-bankrupt ng lotto dahil ang ₱1.7 billion ay savings na sana ito ng PCSO na pwede nang gamitin para sa mga charity project nila,” said Tulfo in a statement.

[Translation: We can see that PCSO is doing something suspicious which can lead to bankruptcy. The ₱1.7 billion can be used instead for its charity projects.]