MANILA, Philippines — An official of the Philippine Online Lottery Agents Association Inc. (POLAAI) voiced out grievances against the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO), alleging that they have been robbed of the right to have a dignified job.
In a Senate hearing on Thursday, Clarisse Imperial shed light on the difficulties they have encountered following doubts on the legitimacy of lotto draws.
“Ninakawan niyo po kami ng karapatan na maghanap buhay nang marangal at kinuha niyo sa mga mananaya namin ang karapatan na umasa balang araw [na] magiging milyonaryo sila dahil sa eskandalong ito na kayo-kayo na lang daw ang nanalo,” said Imperial.
(You robbed us of the right to live a dignified job, and you took away from our gamblers the right to hope that one day they will become millionaires. All because of this scandal PCSO employees are the only ones who are winning the game.)
Imperial said ticket sales plummeted after PCSO confirmed that the photo it released to announce the lone winner of the P43.8 million 6/42 jackpot on December 28, 2023, was “edited.”
“Binato po ang sasakyan ko, [tapos] ‘yung teller ko, minumura ng mga tao. Bakit? Dahil dinadaya na raw,” she said.
(My car was vandalized, and my teller was verbally abused. Why? Because they believe they were cheated.)
Imperial said that until now she wants to believe PCSO’s integrity, but with how things unfolded, she admitted that she can’t help but doubt the agency.
“Yung 400 na ‘yun, masasabi ko po sa inyo na totoo po talaga ‘yung mga nanalo na ‘yun. Hindi naman po ‘yun dinaya. Possible talaga na may ganon na manalo. ‘Yung nanalo ngayon na sunud-sunod, possible pa rin po. Kaso nga lang, the way things [transpired], nakakaduda na. Sobrang nakakaduda na po,” said Imperial.
(Those 400, I can tell you that those winners are real. That’s not cheating. Those who won consecutively, it’s still possible. However, with the way things [transpire], it’s doubtful. It’s very doubtful.)
Senator Raffy Tulfo, who presided over the hearing, asked what made them doubt PCSO. Imperial gave an example: PCSO’s hastily approved digital e-betting platform.
“Hindi pa sila ready sa system eh, bakit ‘yung sistema na kahit maraming problema ay maayos naman po naming nagagamit,” said Imperial.
(They are not ready for the system yet; why is there a system that even though there are many problems, we can use it well.)
READ: PCSO starts one-year test run of E-lotto
Two thousand workers of POLAAI have been displaced after PCSO launched its e-betting site.
PCSO earlier received the ire of Tulfo after the agency began its digital betting processes without approval from the Palace.
PCSO, however, explained that they did not seek approval because the e-lotto they implemented is still in the trial phase.
READ: Tulfo lashes out PCSO for starting e-lotto sans Palace nod