The long wait for a jackpot lotto winner with a damaged winning ticket is finally over after Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office General Manager Melquiades Robles has vowed that his office will abide by the Supreme Court's decision ordering the Agency to turn over the more than P12-million Lotto 6/42 jackpot prize to the bettor.

GM Robles warmly received lotto winner Antonio Mendoza who visited him in his office on Wednesday (25 October) before assuring him that the winnings will be turned over once the documentary and other processes have been concluded.

"I assured him that I would expedite the process of his claim. Kailangan lang may certificate of finality from SC. I will make sure that he enjoys the fruits of his winnings ASAP. I wanted to put a closure on this issue," GM Robles declared.

This was after the SC issued a 17-page ruling ordering the PCSO to release Mendoza's winnings amounting to P12,391,600.00.

To recall, Mendoza, on 2 October 2014, placed three lucky pick bets for the Lotto 6/42 in an outlet in Batangas. He later found out that he won, but his granddaughter had crumpled the winning ticket.

Mendoza's daughter then ironed the ticket with a piece of fabric covering it in an attempt to save it.

However, this resulted in partially burning the ticket, erasing some details that the PCSO requires to award the prize.

On 5 October 2014, Mendoza went to the PCSO Main Office in Mandaluyong City where he submitted a handwritten account of the incident to the legal department.

However, since the damaged ticket could not be validated, he was told, on 20 October 2014, that he could not claim the prize.

This was based on the PCSO's prevailing conditions on claiming/payment of winnings, "Prizes shall be paid to the holder of share/s of a winning ticket upon presentation and surrender of the same, provided that the ticket/s is/are free from any mutilation, erasure or stain, making any number/s therein illegible, and provided further that no court injunction restraining the PCSO to pay is received before payment."_

This prompted him to seek relief from the SC and after nine years of legal battle, the high court ruled that the circumstances surrounding the fact that Mendoza won the lottery were clearly established; and that the testimonial of Mendoza and his family were admissible.

Thus, the PCSO is set to release Mendoza's winnings immediately once the necessary processes are finished.

It is also ordered to pay legal interest of six percent per annum from the date of finality of the decision.