PCSO-Philippine Lotto
MANILA (Mabuhay) – Malacañang on Saturday said there is no reason yet to doubt the integrity of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office amid reported rigging of last Monday’s 6/55 Grand Lotto draw.
In an interview aired on government-run radio dzRB, deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said since the lottery is televised, “’yan ang ginawang safeguard para maipakitang maayos at walang nangyayaring kalokohan sa lotto draw.”
When asked if PCSO general manager Jose Ferdinand Rojas II will be summoned, Valte said: “At this point, there is no reason to do that [last Monday’s draw].”
Earlier, a photo posted on Filipino’s Patriotism’s Facebook page on Wednesday showed that nobody won the P249.8 million jackpot, while two – and not 25 – snagged the P169,410 pot for the five-digit lotto draw.
The PCSO earlier said a bettor from Muntinlupa City who placed her bet in Makati City won the P249.8 million 6/55 Grand Lotto jackpot prize.
“Pero sa hard copy na ibinigay sa amin ng isang reliable source ay walang nanalo ng jackpot? at maging ang sinasabing 25 naman sa premyong P169,410 ay dalawa lang ang nanalo base sa hard copy ng results…?” the caption of the controversial photo read.
The photo has been shared more than 5,400 times as of posting time.
However, Rojas said the zero winner indicated in the document refers to Visayas and Mindanao.
“Hindi doon nanggaling ang lucky lotto outlet na nagbigay ng winning ticket. Ang ating winning ticket ay nanggaling dito sa Luzon,” he said.
Rojas also showed the validation ticket that confirmed the result, as well as the photocopy of the winning ticket. The lucky bettor has claimed the prize, he said.
The bettor got the winning combination of 39-21-42-28-05-27 to win the night’s jackpot worth exactly P249,841,572.
According to PCSO, the winner – a mother of three – is from Muntinlupa. She bought her ticket from an outlet in Makati through an assistant.
Robert Cruz, manager of Land Bank PCSO, confirmed that the check has been deposited. (MNS)