BY DOMINIQUE GABRIEL G. BAÑAGA
BACOLOD City – The Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) in Negros Occidental, including Bacolod City, maintains its ticket sales from lotto at an average of P18 million to P22 million each month.
PCSO branch manager Jose Manuel Villagracia assured the public that there is no cheating or fraud when conducting lottery draws.
Villagracia made the clarification after 433 Grand Lotto 6/55 bettors won on Oct. 1, 2022.
The large number of lottery winners fueled suspicion, even among lawmakers.
Villagracia revealed that of the 433 grand prize winners, there were three from Negros Occidental (two in Bacolod City and one in Pontevedra town) and that one of the winners attempted to claim the prize in his office in Silay City on Monday, Oct. 3.
However, the winner was told that the provincial PCSO’s paying capacity could only generate up to P300,000 and they told him that he should claim the prize instead at the PCSO’s main office in Mandaluyong City, Metro Manila.
The grand prize of the P236-million Grand Lotto jackpot was divided among 433 winners, and each winner got P545,245.24, which is subject to a final tax of 20 percent.
The winning number combinations were 9-18-27-36-45-54.
“The PCSO’s capital is the trust of the people, and the chances of winning are always there,” Villagracia further said.
He said those who would like to investigate PCSO about the 6/55 draw are entitled to their opinion and that the agency welcomes such.
Villagracia said there was even a time in previous years when PCSO was hit by a big winner on Valentine’s Day when the number combinations that came out were 1-4-3.
“That time the prize funds of PCSO ran out and we even spent our operating funds to pay for the prizes of winners,” he added.
“Luck is beyond science. That is an unexplained statistics,” Villagracia said.
Negros Occidental currently has 91 lotto outlets, with 35 located in Bacolod City./PN
