Senator Raffy Tulfo has announced his intention to scrutinize the authenticity of jackpot winners in the lotto games run by the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO). This decision comes as the Senate resumes its inquiry into the PCSO this week.
In a press release, Senator Tulfo pointed out a recent controversy surrounding a P43-million lotto jackpot winner whose edited viral photo had raised concerns among the public. PCSO General Manager Melquiades Robles has asserted that the photo was heavily edited to protect the winner’s identity.
During a previous Senate hearing chaired by Senator Tulfo, he requested the names of jackpot winners in a closed-door executive session and expressed doubts about their legitimacy as bettors.
In a statement issued on January 19, the PCSO proudly announced that it had created two consecutive multi-millionaires, awarding a total of P1.4 billion in prizes over just two days.
Senator Tulfo also revealed his intention to examine the practice of PCSO increasing jackpot prize money using the prize fund reserve. He cited an example where Robles admitted that jackpot amounts for various lotto games had been inflated in December.
Specifically, P100 million was added to both 6/42 and 6/45 games, while half a billion pesos each were added to 6/49, 6/55, and 6/58 from the prize fund reserve, totaling P1.7 billion diverted to jackpot prizes.
Senator Tulfo questioned this approach, suggesting that the PCSO could have used the P1.7 billion as savings for their charity projects. He described the scheme as “suspicious.”
During the Senate hearing, Manager Robles confirmed that P1.7 billion in prizes were awarded in a single month. He defended the PCSO’s decision to increase jackpot prizes as an effort to make the lotto draws more exciting.