MANILA — The viral photo of a recent lotto winner was edited to conceal the new multi-millionaire's identity, the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) said on Thursday.

Netizens have questioned the winner’s identity and mocked the “poor editing” of the photo posted by the PCSO on social media.

In a Senate inquiry led by Senator Raffy Tulfo, PCSO General Manager said his agency edited the photos to prevent the bettor from being identified through the clothes she was wearing.

He also apologized for the “poor editing”.

“We have to protect the identity of the winner,” Robles said. “Mayroong pong nagreklamo sa amin one time, we covered the face, yung damit naman po nakilala. So nagreklamo siya sana naman daw po wag ipakita yung damit. Yan po ang reason nyan,” Robles said.

“And I agree it’s a very poor editing pero the objective is to conceal the clothing na ma-identify sa kanya,” he added.

Robles maintained the winner was a real person.

“If there's something we apologize for, it’s the poor editing, but I think has served the purpose of concealing the identity,” the official said.

“Pero yung tao hindi edited?” Tulfo asked.

“Hindi po. Totoo po 'yan, tunay na tao yan,” Robles said.

The bettor in the photo won around P43.88 million in the Lotto 6/42 draw on Dec. 28, 2023, according to the PCSO's Facebook page.

This week, 2 bettors won the P640.65-million and P698.8-million prizes of the Super Lotto 6/49 and Grand Lotto 6/55, respectively.

• Lone bettor wagi ng mahigit P698 milyon sa Grand Lotto 6/55
• Lone bettor wagi ng mahigit P640 milyon sa Super Lotto 6/49

During the hearing, the PCSO was questioned on why it seemed easy for a lone bettor to win the big jackpot prizes.

“Maraming nagtataka syempre especially yung mga mananaya, na ang bilis na manalo ngayon sa PCSO, especially na, the fact na, hindi pwedeng sabihin kung sino yung mga nanalo, pwede naman nilang itago plus pagdating naman sa online, sila naman ang may control ng computer system na yan so madali na nilang mahocus pocus. Yun po yung sinasabing hinaing ng maraming mananaya,” Tulfo said.

The PCSO said it increased the jackpot to make the draws more exciting.

Robles confirmed P1.7 billion in prizes were won in a span of one month.

Tulfo asked for the names of the winners in a closed-door executive session, saying he would tap investigators to look into the identity of the winners.

He also raised concern that winners were not legitimate bettors.

“Yun pong kumakalat na balita, galing daw sa tropa niyo na nag-invest ng P30 million para makuha nga itong P690 million. Para maalis na ang haka-hakang 'yan gusto po namin makita kung totoong talaga tao yun at gagawa nga ako ng cross checking, I’m gonna use the NBI, the DICT, if I have to hire a private detective para magkaroon ng cross checking kung related ba sa inyo o hindi,” Tulfo said.

• Lone bettor wagi ng mahigit P698 milyon sa Grand Lotto 6/55

Robles replied, “Actually lahat po ng on record dyan kung isusubpoena po, we can provide the names.”

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ONLINE LOTTO

Meanwhile, Tulfo noted that PCSO’s test run of a web-based application platform for e-lotto has been blamed by some lottery agents for the closure of around 2,000 over-the-counter betting stations.

PCSO chair Junie Cua said the agency would listen to the concerns of the lotto agents and come up with solutions for the board’s consideration.

Tulfo also questioned why the PCSO proceeded with the test run despite an opinion of the Office of the Government Corporate Counsel that it had to ask for clearance from the Office of the President. He also asked why PCSO had to give commission to its private service provider Pacific Online Systems Corporation.

The PCSO said it secured clearance from the Office of the Executive Secretary and that the commission was supposed to cover actual costs such as telecom, support, and cloud subscription.

• E-lotto test run begins; minimum jackpot now P500 million for Grand and Ultra Lottos

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