Philippine lottery chief urged to resign amid photo editing incident

The Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) has admitted editing the image of a lottery winner.

The Philippines.- Several politicians are demanding the resignation of Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) general manager Melquiades Robles over an incident in which an image of a lottery winner was edited.

On January 17, the PCSO posted a photo on its Facebook profile showing an official handing a cheque to the sole winner of the PHP43.8m (US$783,000) Lotto 6/42 jackpot of December 28 2023. However, the public noticed that the photo had been edited.

The move generated criticism and even raised suspicions of fraud among users. The PCSO admitted that the image had been altered but said the aim had been to protect the identity of the lottery winner. However, several politicians are now demanding the resignation of PCSO general manager Melquiades Robles.

Surigao del Norte representative Robert Ace Barbers stressed the principle of public trust in a public office and suggested that resignation was appropriate when trust is compromised. Barbers questioned the necessity of publishing pictures of winners and suggested that the attempt to dispel rumours of fake winners had been counterproductive.

In a radio interview, Robles said the photo had been edited because a previous winner had complained about being identifiable from photos. He said the late posting on PCSO’s Facebook page and the use of a calendar from the previous year were also security measures. However, Barbers compared the incident to a theatrical illusion.

The Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) has admitted editing the image of a lottery winner. The Philippines.- Several politicians are demanding the resignation of Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) general…