MANILA, Philippines - Lotto winners faces tough security check at the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) before he could claim his prize.
Before he can enter the new PCSO office at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC), he has to register his name and state the purpose of his visit at the guard station.
If he is a prizewinner, he will be asked if he won a minor or a major prize, information that some winners do not want to disclose.
His ticket will then be verified for the winning combination. If the winnings are confirmed, he will be issued a check within two hours.
As policy of the PCSO management, his identity will not be disclosed but will be recorded in the logbook of the PICC and in the CCTV cameras in the compound.
Hitting the lotto jackpot can be both life changing and taxing to the winner, security-wise. Because of this, some winners take some time to claim their prize.
A PCSO source disclosed that the winner of the P201 million Super Lotto jackpot last February carefully planned the claiming of his instant wealth and its expenditure.
The winner of the P210,473,805.60 jackpot prize, waited three months before claiming his prize.
The source said that he first went to the PCSO office along E. Rodriguez Avenue to observe the building. Deciding that claiming the prize so soon may endanger his life, he transferred his family to another residence and went on a mountain climbing retreat to ponder on how to deal with his fortune.
After three months, he surfaced at the PCSO office wearing a wig and large sunglasses.
“He was so cool, he did not create any waves, he presented his winning ticket and upon verification he got the check for his winnings,” the source said.
The winner casually walked out of the PCSO office. That was the last they saw of him.
The source also disclosed that in 2008, a 61-year-old construction worker from Novaliches claimed his P249- million jackpot after a weeklong stakeout at the PCSO compound.
On the first day of his surveillance, the winner pretended to seek medical assistance. After observing the procedures at the compound, he and a niece went directly to the office of the chairman to claim his winnings.
Thanks to Perseus Echeminada for this article.
