PCSO asks police to check alleged robbery victim’s story

An official of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) has reminded winners of lotto prizes totaling P20,000 or more to claim their money only from the agency’s headquarters in Pasay City after a woman was reportedly robbed of her winnings at the old PCSO office in Quezon City.

“I can’t say if the incident really took place but we have asked the police to investigate the matter,” PCSO general manager Jose Ferdinand Rojas II said over the phone.

Rojas’ statement was in reaction to a report on television about a woman who had said that she was robbed when she went to the agency’s former office at the Quezon Institute in Quezon City on Wednesday last week to claim her prize of P56,000.

According to the alleged victim, a PCSO employee validated her ticket and gave her a portion of her prize.

But when she left the building, she was held up by robbers who took the money.

“It is very unfortunate if indeed the woman was telling the truth. We keep on telling our lotto bettors that if the prize is above P20,000, they should go to our office here at the Philippine International Convention Center in Pasay City,” Rojas  said.