The seemingly “regular” announcements of lotto winners by the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) on social media were met with doubts and questions by some Filipinos.
On its latest winner announcement on Facebook, the state-run corporation said that a faithful lotto player who has been playing for almost three decades finally hit the jackpot on November 6.
PCSO said that a 50-year-old Quezon City resident won P107,506,074.20 or P107 million in the MegaLotto 6/45 drawn on that day.
The agency said the winning combination was derived from the birthdates of his relatives.
The lotto patron purchased his ticket from an outlet in Barangay Pinyahan in Quezon City.
The agency said that the man “initially harbored doubts about winning but remained committed to contributing to the PCSO’s charity fund to assist the less fortunate.”
“He plans to invest his winnings in various business ventures and allocate a portion for savings,” the PCSO said.
Lotto prizes exceeding P10,000 are subjected to a 20% tax based on the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) Law.
While Filipinos congratulated the persistent lotto player, some noticed that the PCSO’s lotto winner announcements on its social media page appeared to be quite frequent as of late.
“Linggo-linggo may winner,” an online user commented in a news report about the incident.
“Congrats, weekly winners,” another Pinoy wrote.
A different user shared a GIF of a suspicious Homer Simpson.
— JustKyler (@KimLerStanT) November 27, 2023
“Something really is fishy here,” wrote another user.
“Parang laging sinasakto ah. ‘Pag umaabot ng [100 million], laging may panalo. Tiba-tiba, PCSO. Dapat eto pinapaimbestigahan eh,” a different Pinoy said.
“Sunod-sunod ba talaga nananalo [diyan] or kunyari lang nanalo? pero aabutan lang [may] takip ang mukha sa paggamit sa kanila,” another user wondered.
On November 25, the PCSO reported that a retired overseas Filipino worker won a jackpot prize of P21 million in the Lotto 6/42 drawn on September 21.
A day before that, the agency said two bettors had split P30 million between them after winning in the Mega Lotto 6/45 drawn on October 25.
On November 13, a 41-year-old bettor won P34 million after hitting the jackpot in the Lotto 6/42 drawn on October 16.
On November 10, the PCSO announced that a lotto player who has been playing for a year won P36 million in the Grand Lotto 6/55 drawn on September 25.
On the previous day, the agency said that a Caviteño bagged P147 million in the Super Lotto 6/49 drawn on October 15.
From the draw dates between November 1 to 27, the PCSO had five winners in the big lotto games.
Three won in the Lotto 6/42, while one bettor won in the Mega Lotto 6/45. Another lone bettor won in the Super Lotto 6/49.
Meanwhile, no bettor won in the Grand Lotto 6/58.
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Last October, minority Senators Kiko Pimentel and Risa Hontiveros expressed their desire to investigate reports of 433 bettors all winning the Grand Lotto 6/55.
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Lottos are among the ways the PCSO raises and provides funds for health programs, medical assistance and charities in the country. Other forms are sweepstakes.
The money used for selling lotto tickets is used to fund various medical projects and activities that are beneficial to the public.
