Two senators called for a probe into an “unusual” Grand Lotto draw where 433 bettors all got the winning combination for the P236 million jackpot.
Senate Majority Leader Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III said he is mulling the filing of a resolution to audit and investigate the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office’s (PCSO) gaming activities, including Lotto.
Pimentel called “strange and unusual” the result of the PCSO Grand Lotto draw on Saturday, Oct. 1.
“Katakataka yung result na yan. Yung 433 ang mananalo, supposed to be ang chances mo diyan is 1 in how many millions. So ibig sabihin, ganun kahirap dapat tamaan yan and then to say na 433 ang tumama, there is something suspicious,” Pimentel said in a radio interview.
“Talagang marami po ang nagtaka, na medyo nagulat because statistically speaking, this is a very rare event. Let us take this opportunity to investigate so that ang purpose natin is to ensure the integrity of our lotto games,” he added. “We have to look at the entire system of our lotto games. This is a good chance kasi maraming nagtatanong.”
Pimentel said he will file a resolution to investigate the matter.
“I will file a resolution, because this is my concern, these lotto games are authorized by the Republic of the Philippines. Therefore, we need to maintain and protect the integrity of these gambling games that we have authorized,” he added.
The senator said he will seek the opinion of statisticians and mathematicians regarding results of PCSO draws.
“Tanungin natin ang PCSO kung mga lucky pick (LP) ba itong mga winners na ito, that means system-generated yung number nung tumaya pero therefore there is nothing random about their LP kasi ibig sabihin nun binigay nila sa 400 plus katao, umulit-ulit. Millions po ang combination diyan,” he said.
Meanwhile, Senator Risa Hontiveros said she supports Pimentel’s call to investigate the “extraordinary” results of Saturday’s Lotto draw.
“We just want [to] rule out any doubts in the public mind that the results have been manipulated,” Hontiveros added.
“While we recognize that people tend to bet in patterns, we also want to make sure the system is secure, free from glitches, and trustworthy.” -KC/gb
