A man presented an alleged tampered lottery ticket sold to him and claimed to have won the jackpot prize of P172 million.
Reports said that a 50-year-old man from Mandaluyong City was arrested after claiming to have won the jackpot prize in the April 7 lottery draw.
The man went to the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) on April 27 and presented a tampered lottery ticket, insisting he had won the P172 million prize.
However, the PCSO later found that his claims were false after verifying them in its system.
“Verification through the official lotto database and cotejo system immediately established that the winning combination had already been claimed by its rightful owner,” the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) said on Tuesday, April 28.
“A closer examination revealed clear signs of tampering, including handwritten entries made using a ballpen, prompting validation by the PCSO Data Center and Security Office, which confirmed that the ticket had been altered,” the NCRPO added.
Records showed that the legitimate winner had already claimed the prize on April 13, more than a week before the man presented the allegedly tampered lotto ticket.
The suspect eventually admitted that the ticket was not originally his and had only been sold to him.
Meanwhile, the incident drew the attention of online Filipinos, who posted about it on social media.
“Can you blame him tho?” a Facebook user wrote.
“Baka ginamit ‘yung matanda,” another commented.
“I feel you, bro, I feel you,” a different Pinoy wrote.
“Sa illegal na lang talaga yayaman, ‘yun na lang talaga tanging solusyon sa Pinas, hahahahahaha,” another commented.
The man who presented the falsified ticket is now facing charges, including violation of Article 172 of the Revised Penal Code, or falsification of public documents.
Authorities also found that he had a prior arrest for acts of lasciviousness.
