After going viral on Facebook, PCSO finally answered the question of Filipinos about its trending post. The general manager of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office confirmed that the image of the lottery winner was indeed edited.
Before the PCSO official shared her statement, many netizens ridiculed the corporation. Some of them claimed that the Lotto 6/42 didn't have a real winner and that the edited image was one of the anomalies of PCSO.
But, PCSO General Manager Melquiades "Mel" Robles clarified that a citizen really did win the P43 million ($749,000) jackpot, but the winner's photo they posted was Photoshopped.
PCSO Fake Lotto Winner Update: Official Confirms Editing Viral Photo
On Thursday, Jan. 18, Mel Robles attended the hearing of the Senate Committee on Ways and Means to answer questions regarding the suspicious lottery winner photo.
During the hearing, Robles was asked by Senator Raffy Tulfo (Rafael Teshiba Tulfo) about the viral image. She said that they edited the winner's photo to ensure the safety of her identity.
"We have to protect the identity of the winner," she said via GMA News Online.
The PCSO general manager said that they covered her face because a winner complained about them for not editing their photos. Robles argued that even if the winner's face was covered, their clothes were still identifiable.
She further stated that a recent winner requested them to edit their clothes.
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There's a Real Winner in PCSO's Lotto
Senator Raffy Tulfo posted the hearing's details via his official "Raffy Tulfo in Action" Facebook page. The official said that Robles told them that there's really a winner in the recent Lotto 6/42.
However, she admitted that her team's editing skills were poor, which is why the viral photo looked suspicious for many Filipinos. Unfortunately, Raffy Tulfo said that the viral image still worsened the allegations against PCSO.
He stated that the suspicion of netizens only became stronger as more and more of them started to believe that there were really no winners.
In the comment section, many Filipinos still suspect PCSO of faking winners so they could "steal" the grand prizes themselves. Numerous netizens sarcastically congratulated PCSO for winning the lottery.
Some of them said that PCSO is having a winning stream in their own lotteries. Meanwhile, others suggested that Filipinos should start ditching these lotteries so that PCSO can no longer steal from them.
These are just some of the comments made by Filipino netizens who are suspicious of PCSO's lotteries. You can check more of their criticisms below.
