No claimant yet of Grand Lotto prize

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) reported yesterday that the winner of the P741,176,323.20 jackpot of the 6/55 Grand Lotto online lottery draw last Monday has not yet claimed the prize.

“The winner has not yet claimed his or her prize,” said PCSO spokesman Manny Garcia.

The lucky winner bought the ticket with the winning number combination 11-16-42-47-31-37 at the Nicetas Garcia outlet at the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) in Olongapo City.

The lotto jackpot was finally won after several months of a nationwide lotto frenzy to win the biggest jackpot since the lottery was launched in 1995.

Arnel Casas, PCSO operations manager, said the biggest lotto jackpot generated a total sales of P4.1 billion in 86 draws.

Thirty percent of the lotto sales fund the medical and health services of indigent patients nationwide, including hospitalization assistance, medical/dental missions and ambulance donations, among other charity concerns.

If the lotto winners fail to claim their prizes within one year, the unclaimed prizes automatically go to the PCSO charity fund.

Claimants of minor prizes interviewed by The STAR at the new PCSO office at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC) in Pasay City said that tight security measures being imposed could be one of the reasons why the jackpot winner has delayed claiming the prize.

“Maybe the winner backed out after he saw the strict security measures,” a claimant of a minor prize said.