PCSO says 'no irregularities' in 433 winners in 6/55 lotto draw

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) on Sunday assured that its 6/55 lotto results are transparent and no irregularities.

Mel Robles, PCSO General Manager, made the assurance after a record-breaking 433 bettors won the Php 236-million jackpot prize for the Grand Lotto 6/55 draw on Saturday night, October 1.

PCSO presscon Grand Lotto results
PCSO holds a press conference on Sunday to address concerns on October 1 Grand Lotto draw results.

The bettors guessed the winning combination of 09-45-36-27-18-54 and will equally share Php 236,091,188.

READ: 433 bettors win Php 236-M Grand Lotto jackpot

Robles said each winner will be taking home Php 545,245 subject to a final tax of 20 percent pursuant to Republic Act No. 10963, or the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) Law.

"PCSO assures every Filipino whether you are playing lotto or not that the conduct and result of every draw is very transparent and of utmost integrity. One thing is certain, if you will not play lotto, you will not have a chance to win and help the government and the country," he said in a statement.

Robles said the result of the October 1 Grand Lotto draw is an indication that the more one plays the lotto, the more a person has chances of winning.

"Every time you play, the entire nation wins. Each and every one of you playing any of the PCSO games is a big contributor to the funds provided by PCSO to the government, LGUs (local government units), and especially to the various charity programs of the agency. Without your PHP20, PCSO cannot give anything to anyone," he said.

He said the games of PCSO are games of chance and there is no science nor statistics involved in determining the winning numbers unless they will play all the number combinations.

Robles added that 'historically' players tend to bet on their favorite or 'alagang' numbers.

"Marami ang tumataya ng alagang numero. Loyalty-based...Historically, talagang tinatayan na yun."

Robles added there is also no human intervention in choosing the winning numbers as these are selected by the draw machines and the only act by a human is the pressing of the button to switch on the machine.

"No one can predict the result, no one can predict the number of winners or if there will be a winner as the numbers are randomly drawn during the actual draw," he said.

He noted that the actual draws are conducted in the presence of a Commission on Audit representative and telecast live via People's Television Network (PTV).

The draws are likewise streamed live over the official Facebook pages of PCSO, PCSO Games Hub, and PTV, and PCSO YouTube.

The public is urged to keep on patronizing the products of PCSO as a large chunk of its revenues goes to charity programs.

Senate probe

The minority bloc in the Senate said to conduct investigation of PCSO lotto draws.

“I will file a resolution, because this is my concern. These lotto games are authorized by the Republic of the Philippines. Therefore, we need to maintain and protect the integrity of these games that we have authorized,” Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel III said in a radio interview on Sunday.

"Para sa akin, bihira na nga ang may two winners (For me, having two winners is already rare)," Pimentel added.

Fellow opposition Senator Risa Hontiveros agreed the suggestion to probe the draw.

"We just want to rule out any doubts in the public mind that the results have been manipulated. While we recognize that people tend to bet in patterns, we also want to make sure the system is secure, free from glitches, and trustworthy," she said in a statement.

— The Summit Express



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