MANILA — Any probe on the 6/55 Grand Lotto draw last Saturday that resulted in 433 bettors winning the P236-million jackpot prize will show that there was nothing irregular in how it was conducted, a Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office official said Tuesday.

The PCSO welcomes any planned investigation by lawmakers as it is confident in the integrity of its lottery draws, said Melquiades Robles, general manager of the agency.

“We welcome po yung concern and enthusiasm ng ibang sektor, lalo na ng ating mga mambabatas. Siyempre, function nila yan na siguruhin na maayos yung ating pamamalakad at serbisyo sa tao,” Robles said in a public briefing.

“We all take this in stride. Kasama po ito, it comes with the territory. Obligasyon po namin na ipaglaban ang integridad ng institusyon na ito,” he added.

“Tiwala naman po kami na yung katotohanan naman po ang lalabas diyan at makikita ng tao na wala hong makikitang pagkakamali sa proseso ng draw."

Sen. Koko Pimentel had expressed intent to "audit and investigate the PCSO's gaming activities, including the Filipinos’ most favorite lotto games, to ensure their integrity and protect millions of Filipino bettors."

For him, having 433 winners is suspicious.

Others also noted that each of the winning numbers, 09-45-36-27-18-54, is divisible by 9.

Sen. Risa Hontiveros had said she will back the proposed probe.

At the House of Representatives, Minority Leader and 4Ps Partylist Rep. Marcelino "Nonoy" Libanan filed House Resolution No. 463 on Tuesday, seeking an inquiry into the Oct. 1 lotto draw.

Robles said the planned investigations are welcome to the agency so that the people will also be enlightened about what truly happened, and be assured as well.

"It is very irresponsible to impute malice to an organization na tumutulong po sa maraming tao, lalo kung walang ebidensya," he said.

“Nailabas na namin ang mga lugar kung saan nanalo ang mga Lotto… Marami na pong network ang nagpakita ng panayam sa mga nanalo. So, doon pa lamang po, that should be enough to put this issue to rest,” he added.

“Pero hindi para rin po kami nagsasawang ipaalam na ganito po talaga ang game of chance. Yung proseso namin, we made it na as much as possible ay walang human intervention."

Robles encouraged skeptics to try playing the lottery to “understand how bettors think.”

“May tumataya pa po ng 1-2-3-4-5-6. So normal lang po yun na may tumaya ng ganiyan. This is a game of chance. So wala po talagang hard and fast rules,” he said.

“Wala po talagang pattern ito. Walang science, walang logic,” he added.
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