The Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office, or PCSO, should temporarily halt its operations pending an investigation into alleged anomalies in its system that allow lotto games to be rigged, Senator Imee Marcos said on Friday.

“I am very upset about the lotto. I have lost my hope for it. I filed a resolution in January to investigate the PCSO and Pagcor because the results were mathematically improbable,” the senator told reporters in a virtual interview.

“Winning the jackpot prize is very frequent… it is truly a mystery. It’s impossible to happen. Until they explain these things they should stop the lotto draws,” she said.

Likewise, Marcos said she was not satisfied with the answers given by PCSO officials during a recent Senate hearing, adding that the people are “not fools to believe their explanations.”

“Nobody is believing them anymore. I feel pity for those who are still placing their bets. That is their only hope yet they are being robbed and fooled,” she said.

PCSO officials earlier denied that the lotto draws, particularly the recent 6/49 Grand Lotto draw, were being manipulated.

“We would like to assure you that you can never, never manipulate it,” PCSO general manager Mel Robles told lawmakers during Thursday’s Senate hearing when he was asked about the possible rigging of its system to favor a winning combination.

“That is why we are allowed to bet. Even I can bet because it’s beyond me. Even if we wanted to, with the system we have, we cannot,” Robles added.

At the same hearing, the PCSO admitted that the photo showing the winner of the 6/42 Grand Lotto jackpot prize of P43.8 million last month was edited.

Robles explained that this was done to conceal the identity of winners for their safety.

“Someone complained to us at one time. We covered the face, but the winner’s clothes were recognizable. The winner asked us if we could not show the clothes. So that’s why (editing) is done,” he said.