Forty Filipinos became instant millionaires—some even multi-millionaires—from January to August, sharing an aggregate Lotto jackpot prize of P1.63 billion.
“For security purposes, we are withholding their names. The latest winner of 6/42 came from Makati. As of today, no winner yet for Ultra Lotto 6/58 and it has already an estimated P525 million jackpot prize,” Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office general manager Alexander Balutan said.
Balutan said for the first eight months of the year, Lotto 6/42 has produced 14 millionaires, sharing a total prize of P301.7 million; Mega Lotto 6/45 has 10 millionaires, sharing a total prize of P304.1 million; Super Lotto 6/49 has seven millionaires, sharing a total prize of P353.5 million; while Grand Lotto 6/55 has seven millionaires, sharing a total prize of P342 million.
“So far, we only have two lucky millionaires for Ultra Lotto 6/58 since February 16, 2018 who shared the prize of P331.9 million,” he said.
The overall jackpot sales for Lotto has reached P8.13 billion.
The PCSO Charter mandates that 55 percent of its revenues should be allocated for prizes, 15 percent for operational expenses, and 30 percent for its “charity fund.”
Earlier, the PCSO Charity Assistance Department has modified its budget allocation program for its medical assistance services due to the overutilization of funds.
The Budget department has called the attention of CAD, saying the agency’s Individual Medical Assistance Program has already exceeded its utilization by more than P500 million.
“This is attributed to a marked increase in the number of beneficiaries availing of financial support from the agency by 27.93 percent for the first semester of 2018 compared to its 2017 data of the same period. This is compounded further by the rising cost in healthcare treatment,” PCSO assistant general manager for charity sector Larry Cedro said.
The daily allocation for IMAP is now at P4.1 million which resulted in the reduction of the number of applications the PCSO may accept and process.
“We are asking for everyone’s understanding and cooperation. This is only temporary and the management is doing everything in order to address the issue,” Cedro said.
READ: Ultra lotto craze sweeps Palace
READ: Lotto jackpot reaches P765 M