THE Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) yesterday assured senators and the public that results of its lotto games cannot be rigged amid continued speculations that high-stake draws have been manipulated to benefit specific bettors.
PCSO general manager Melquiades “Mel” Robles also denied that its system could produce a winning lotto ticket using the details of a losing ticket.
During the hearing of the Senate Committee on Games and Amusement on Thursday, chairperson Sen. Raffy Tulfo confronted Robles with “information” supposedly from “information technology experts” that PCSO insiders who have “root access” to the main system of the agency’s computers can allegedly “produce” a ticket containing the winning lotto combination using the details, such as serial number and date of purchase, of a losing ticket.
Tulfo said: “So, ‘yung may root access, papalitan niya sa computer ‘yung tinayaan na combination sa outlet. Same serial number and everything, except papalitan niya ang combination (So, the one who has root access can change the combination of the ticket bought in an outlet with the winning combination, with the same [ticket] serial number and everything).”
May Cerelles, officer-in-charge of PCSO’s information technology services department, said only two officials have root access to the main computer system — Robles and Assistant General Manager for the Gaming Sector, Arnel Casas
Robles maintained losing tickets cannot be manipulated and altered to contain the winning combination.
“By 8:30 pm, cut-off na. All bets are separated in a flash drive, stand alone ‘yun, not online. So, for that alone, hindi na puwede ma-insert ‘yun (winning numbers) kasi may stand alone computer (The cut-off [for betting] is 8:30 p.m. All bets [in all outlets] are saved in a flash drive that is stand alone, not online. So, for that alone, additional bets cannot be inserted anymore because there is a stand alone computer),” he said.
He said once a ball is drawn, it is simultaneously keyed in the main computer system.
And once the last ball is drawn, Robles said the PCSO system can determine within minutes if a bettor or bettors won the winning combination.
“So, huwag po kayo mag-alala, there’s no way na mape-penetrate nila kasi nakahiwalay na lahat ng bets na pumasok. Hindi na puwedeng dagdagn yun. Even online, hindi na nila mapapasok (So, there’s no need to worry, because there’s no way that they can penetrate the system because all bets are separated. They cannot add bets…They cannot even penetrate online),” he added.
But Tulfo insisted that the scheme can be done since even the most modern computers can be penetrated.
To stress his point, he asked a representative from the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) if it is possible to “edit” losing tickets and replace these with the correct number combinations.
The DICT said it would consult with its experts on gaming and submit a position paper in the next hearing.
To allay Tulfo’s concerns, Robles said the PCSO will furnish the committee the data of all number combinations placed by bettors in their previous lotto draws.
JACKPOT PRIZE
Also during the hearing, Tulfo asked if it was legal for the PCSO to increase the lotto jackpot prizes by as much as P500 million per game, which he said the agency did last December.
Tulfo said the agency could have used the additional jackpot prizes to pay for the medical expenses of indigent patients, instead of just allowing one or two persons to take the money home.
Robles said the increase in jackpot prizes was approved by the PCSO board in October last year as part of the agency’s 89th year anniversary, and during the Christmas holiday as a way of encouraging more bets and to thank its clients.
He also said the PCSO cannot increase the funding for medical expenses of indigent patients since the agency is only allowed to give 30 percent of its earnings for the purpose, as stated in its charter.
He said the additional jackpot prizes came from the agency’s prize fund reserve which he said will revert to the government if not spent by the end of each year.
“The prize fund reserve is really meant to be part of the prize fund. Kapag hindi ginamit by the end of the year it will revert to the government, (less than ) half of it goes to charity (If not utilized by the end of the year, it will revert to the government with less than half of it going to charity),” Robles said.
As an example, Robles said that for the 6/49 game, the PCSO added P472 million to the original P28 million jackpot.
He said the 6/49 game generated sales in the amount of P675 million, and the PCSO earned P202 million from it.
Tulfo said the reason why he asked if the prize increase was legal was due to the fact that persons or groups can pool their money to bet on all the more than 14 million number combination of the 6/49 game and still be left with a big amount of money of the pot prize.
The lotto 6/49 game last December reached a jackpot prize of more than P640 million and was won by a lone bettor.
Tulfo said that if the winner of the 6/49 draw with a jackpot prize of more than P640 million placed a bet on all of the more than 14 million combinations, which would amount to more than P280 million, he still has a net winning of around P360 million.
“Pinalobo ‘yung prize para tayaan, at sino ang tumaya? Paano ang pagtaya? (The jackpot prize was intentionally increased so they can bet [on all the combinations]. Who placed the bet? How was the bet placed?)” he asked.
Robles said records from the PCSO showed that not all of the more than 14 million combinations of that 6/49 game were betted on the day the jackpot was won.
He said he will furnish the committee a copy of the bet details for that particular game.
“Betting on all combinations is the right of anybody. That is allowed if you can. But there is no guarantee that you will get the jackpot all by yourself. Records show that not all combinations were betted on the day the jackpot was won,” Robles said in a mix of Filipino and English.
Tulfo said he will push for the review of the PCSO charter so the agency will not be allowed to increase jackpot prizes and the surplus money instead be given to charity.
“Tataasan ko para sa charity, Stop augmenting the jackpot, Use the surplus sa pagpapagamot. I will revisit your charter (I will push for the increase for charity funding.
Stop augmenting the jackpot, use the surplus instead for the medical expenses of the people. I will revisit your charter),” Tulfo said.
Robles said that under their charter, the PCSO is only allowed to give 30 percent of its earnings to charity.
He said that during the Christmas season last year, the PCSO added P1.8 billion to the jackpot prizes of its lotto games, which had a sales of P2.2 billion. More than P240 million or 30 percent of the net income went to charity.
