P3.35B in lotto prizes were unclaimed from 2006-2013 – PCSO

A total of P3.35 billion worth of lottery prizes, accumulated from 2006 to 2013, were unclaimed from the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO), officials told lawmakers on Wednesday, during a House Committee on Games and Amusement hearing.

PCSO executives said that, in accordance with the agency’s rules, the prizes went to the charity fund when they remained unclaimed for 365 days. The charity fund is used to provide medical assistance to qualified patients who seek help from the PCSO.

PCSO General Manager Jose Ferdinand Rojas II explained that the majority of the unclaimed prizes were lottery consolation prizes.

Meanwhile, in the case of  Batangas resident Antonio Mendoza, whose winning October 2 lotto ticket worth P12 million was mistakenly scorched under a flat-iron, Atty. Lauro Patiag of the PCSO’s legal department lamented that the prize could not be given to Mendoza.

“PCSO is duty-bound to follow its rules in awarding the lotto prizes in order to protect the legitimate winners,” said Patiag.

While details of the transaction—including the number combination chosen by the bettor, the lotto outlet where the bet was placed, and the date and time when the betting occurred—can be accessed from PCSO’s database, Rojas said an actual copy of the ticket should be presented by the winner when claiming the prize so it can be read by the machine for verification.

“It’s for the protection of the integrity of the game and the real winners. Everyday, people come to us claiming they won lotto prizes. Some of them present photocopies of the ticket they claimed to have the winning combination because the actual ticket got lost, while some give us defaced tickets. We have to have a way of determining which are the winning tickets and which ones are not,” he said.

Since the PCSO was adamant that it could not award the P12-million jackpot, committee chair Rep. Elpidio Barzaga said Mendoza had no choice but to accept the agency’s decision for now.

Nevertheless, Barzaga told PCSO officials to brace themselves for the possible legal action Mendoza might take against the office.

Panel member Rep. Romero Quimbo earlier said Mendoza could file a breach of contract case against the PCSO since a lottery ticket is a form of contract with accompanying terms and conditions. — DVM, GMA News