A lotto bettor who won a jackpot prize from the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) dispelled longtime speculations that the agency is not upfront about its draws and games.
The PCSO on January 2 announced that a lone lotto bettor from Albay won the jackpot prize of P571 million from the Ultra Lotto 6/58 drawn on Dec. 29, 2023.
The Ultra Lotto 6/58 game offers the biggest initial jackpot of P49,500,000. It grows bigger when there is no winner for a draw, which is held every Tuesday, Friday and Sunday.
The PCSO said that the recent winner correctly guessed the winning combination numbers 19-35-25-42-58-05.
The new multi-millionaire plans to put her winnings into savings and give a portion to charity.
The winner has been betting regularly on the “Scratch It” games for the past four years, but it was only the second time she placed a bet on the PCSO lotto draws using a lucky pick betting system.
The bettor also admitted that the huge prize offered under PCSO’s “Handog Pakabog” Christmas draws prompted her to try her luck on the 6/58 lottery.
The agency previously hiked the minimum guaranteed jackpot for the Ultra Lotto 6/58 and Grand Lotto 6/55 to guaranteed P500 million each on Dec. 16, 2023, in line with its “Handog Pakabog” initiative.
PCSO General Manager Melquiades Robles said it was to show the agency’s gratitude to lotto patrons during the Yuletide season.
Meanwhile, the Ultra Lotto 6/58 winner addressed longtime claims that the PCSO’s draws and games were inauthentic or rigged.
“Ang masasabi ko lang sa mga nagsasabi na hindi totoo ang mga nanalo sa lotto, ay nagkakamali po kayo,” the bettor said in a news release.
“Kailangan niyo tumaya para malaman niyo na totoo ang lotto,” she added.
Her comments come after the agency has been repeatedly questioned for its perceived “regular” announcements of winners on social media.
READ: ‘Linggo-linggo may winner’: PCSO’s lotto winner announcements for November spark doubts online
Last November, a user on the X (formerly Twitter) platform listed down winners of the big lotto games and claimed that there were “many winners” in 2023.
This year andami palang nanalo sa lotto no.? pic.twitter.com/jx91C3C8rW
— Lady Duterte (@Imyour__Lady) November 26, 2023
A month before that, another user observed that there appeared to be constant lotto winners.
“Lagi na lang may Lotto winner. Totoo ba ‘yun?” the X user wrote.
A similar doubt surfaced anew by December 2023.
“Si Lord lang nakakaalam kung sino nanalo ng Lotto… Sana totoong Filipinong tumataya ang nananalo…” another user wrote before.
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 before.
RELATED: ‘Not impossible’: Statistical probability of 433 bettors winning 6/55 Grand Lotto jackpot
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.
Under the TRAIN Law, lotto winnings of over P10,000 are subject to a 20% tax, which will be automatically deducted from the total prize.
