Vice President Sara Duterte said that the frequency of winners of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) lotto draw was unusual and called it ‘mathematically impossible.’
In an interview, Duterte claimed that she saw a record from the Guinness Book of World Records that the Philippines had the title of the most lotto winner in one month in the six-digit lotto draw.
“Nakita ko nga ‘yung meme nasa Guinness Book of World Records na daw tayo for the most number of winners in one month in six digit lotto,” Duterte said.
“Billions in one month, sabi ko nga sa kaibigan ko, alam mo mathematically impossible talaga itong nangyayari na may nananalo lagi,” she added.
Guinness Book of World Records has yet to confirm if they really granted the Philippines such a title.
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It can be recalled that last year, lawmakers already questioned the increasing number of lotto winners.
“Kailangan malaman ng Guinness ito, sobrang galing eh. Tayo na yata ang may pinakamaraming nanalo sa loob ng isang taon,” said Sen. Imee Marcos.
There were around 135 winners of the lotto in 2024.
PCSO already denied that they were manipulating the lotto results in their favor.
“We would like to assure you that you can never, never manipulate it. Kaya nga allowed kami mag-bet, Mr. Chair. Even I can bet because it’s beyond me. Even if we wanted to, with the system we have, we cannot,” PCSO General Manager Mel Robles said.
“I take exception na kayang panalunin. Definitely, madami pong tataya kung malaki ang jackpot. ‘Yun po naman ang objective namin– to really bring in bettors,” he added.