PCSO: No multiple winner of lotto jackpots

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) has denied allegations by Sen. Raffy Tulfo that a lone bettor won the lotto jackpot 20 times.

In a statement issued yesterday, the PCSO said Tulfo’s erroneous assumptions and interpretations stirred controversy in print and online platforms.

It said the supposed bettor did not win jackpot prizes in any of PCSO’s lotto draws such as the 6/42 Regular, 6/45 Mega, 6/49 Super, 6/55 Grand and 6/58 Ultra lotteries.

The PCSO said the bettor spotlighted by Tulfo only won in its digit games.

“The Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office would like to clear the observations raised by Sen. Raffy Tulfo about a person that had purportedly won the lottery games 20 times,” the PCSO said.

“The list that Tulfo referred to originated from the PCSO and it should not be interpreted in a manner other than what it is meant to be,” it added.

The state gaming firm said the list included the name of a person who claimed lower tier prizes in the digit games on several ocassions.

“We would like to underscore that those were not won in the jackpot lottery games, but in our digit games only,” the PCSO said, noting that Tulfo apparently failed to notice that the same list showed no one won more than once in the jackpot-bearing games.

“The real issue here is the claimant, and not the number of times that he supposedly won as what Sen. Tulfo seemed to have assumed,” the PCSO said. “To be clear, the reported 20 claims made by one person does not necessarily make the claimant the winner of 20 digit games.”

It said that for digit games 2D, 3D, 4D and 6D, the PCSO allows lotto outlet agents or the representatives of winners to collect the winnings on their behalf.

“Since those were just minor prizes, a winner can ask someone to claim the prize for him through the so-called ‘paki–claim,’” the PCSO said.

It said the PCSO came up with the “paki-claim” system due to the distance and lack of valid identification cards of winners.

The PCSO said that cash prizes not more P10,000 must be claimed at the branch offices, where claimants are required to present a valid ID.

“Some winners do not want to go to the branch office because of added expenses, so lotto agents do it for them,” it said.

“For jackpot-bearing games, winners are required to personally appear at the PCSO main office to claim their jackpot prizes,” the PCSO said, noting the safety and security of lotto winners.

“Rest assured that we remain dedicated and committed to fostering a gaming environment that upholds fairness and ensures the integrity of every single draw,” it said.