Responding to recent accusations by Senator Raffy Tulfo, the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office clarified on Wednesday that no winners of its jackpot games had won multiple times. 

The PCSO confirmed that the list of winning bettors that Tulfo referred to originated from it. However, it said the list “should not be interpreted in a manner other than what it is meant to be.”

“That list included the name of a person who, on several occasions, claimed lower tier prizes in the digit games. To begin with, we would like to underscore that those were not jackpot lottery games but only for our digit games,” the state lottery agency said.

“What Senator Tulfo apparently failed to notice was that the same list would also show that for jackpot-bearing games like Lotto 6/42, Mega Lotto 6/45, Super Lotto 6/49, Grand Lotto 6/55 and Ultra 6/58, there were no winners who had won more than once,” it added.

On Tuesday, Tulfo revealed that a bettor’s name appeared in the PCSO’s winning bettors’ list 20 times in a month, which, he said, just added to the unresolved questions hounding the state lottery agency’s games.

However, the PCSO clarified that the reported 20 claims made by one person “does not necessarily make that claimant the winner of 20-digit games.”

“The real issue here, therefore, is the claimant, and not the number of times that he supposedly won as Senator Tulfo seemed to have assumed,” it said.

“For digit games such as 2D, 3D, 4D and 6D, PCSO lotto outlet agents or representatives of the winners can collect the winnings on their behalf,” it explained.

The PCSO further clarified that since the prizes in these games were relatively lower compared to the jackpot games, winners would usually “ask someone they trust to claim the prize for them through the so-called ‘paki claim.’”

“Some of the reasons for ‘paki claim’ are due to the distance and the winners’ lack of valid identification cards, since prizes of P10,000 and up must be claimed at the branch offices where they are required to present a valid ID,” it said.

“Also, some winners would not want to go to a branch office because of the added expense, so the lotto agents would act as Good Samaritans and do it for them.”

The PCSO noted that the situation is different for jackpot-bearing games, as winners are required to appear personally at their main office to claim their prizes.

“Certainly, our lotto winners’ safety, security, and well-being are paramount in all our endeavors,” it said.

“Rest assured that we remain dedicated and committed to fostering a gaming environment that upholds fairness and ensures the integrity of every single draw,” it added.