Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) General Manager Melquiades 'Mel' Robles said on Friday, January 19, said they are willing to cooperate once the Senate will look into the veracity of all recent Lotto winners.
In an exclusive interview during DZRH Dos Por Dos, Robles was asked about the agency's response if Senators would demand a list of all Lotto winners as proof.
"Pwede naman 'yon basta i-subpoena nila para 'wag kami ang mag-violate diyan. Okay lang 'yan, alam naman nila 'yan. Kung ano ang trabaho nila, gawin nila at kami naman ay makikisama," Robles said.
Mel Robles, General Manager, PCSO, sa pag-publicize ng winners sa lotto: We have to show proof sa mga tao na may nanalo and at the same time, we have to protect the identity. Ganoon ang balance na ginagawa namin.#DosPorDos#SamaSamaTayoPilipino
— DZRH NEWS (@dzrhnews) January 18, 2024
LIVE:https://t.co/tDfmiAaidP pic.twitter.com/9edp6CuKxU
But he noted that the Senate must be responsible for the winners' privacies.
"Sila na ang bahala sa privacy issues. 'Wag namang sabihin na ginawa lang namin o request. It has to be documented. Kapag nagreklamo 'yan, na-holdap 'yan, may nangyare diyan, ayaw naman namin na kami ang mapagbintangan," the PCSO general manager said.
On Wednesday, PCSO posted a photo of "lucky bettor" from San Jose del Monte, Bulacan receiving the jackpot prize of P43.8 million last December 28, 2023. She perfectly hit the six combination winning numbers.
Many netizens, however, claimed that the woman's clothes, face masks, shades, and hat was altered. Some eagle-eyed netizens shared photos similar to the visuals in PCSO's edited picture on social media.
You can't blame us if we have trust issues with the PCSO https://t.co/fNbTtiiJSK pic.twitter.com/jQ8giCYxJW
— Rommel Lopez (@RommelFLopez) January 18, 2024
In a Senate hearing on Thursday, Robles admitted that they edited the photo of the lucky Lotto winner to conceal her identity.
According to Robles, PCSO's posting of winners was not in real-time to avoid the recognition of their identity.
"'Yan ay ginawa noong December 28. Hindi 'yan ipopost agad sapagkat ganoon din, pwedeng magsabi ang tao kung kaninong suot yan. Kaya late posting 'yan, hindi real-time pinopost," he said.
