Surigao del Norte 2nd district Rep. Robert Ace Barbers (Facebook)

Surigao del Norte 1st district Rep. Robert Ace Barbers is calling for the resignation of Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) General Manager Mel Robles amid what he described as "highly improbable and doubtful winnings" in the Philippine Lotto. 

“Public office is a public trust. When people have lost their trust in you, delicadeza at the very least should drive you to resign," Nacionalista Party (NP) stalwart Barbers said in a statement Saturday, Jan. 20. 

“Was there a need to publish the pictures of the winning bettors? While there was none, PCSO GM Robles probably wanted to allay alleged rumors that some draws were not actually won and that the published winners were fictitious or staged, that he had to enlist the help of AI (artificial intelligence) technology," he said. 

Recently, the public had cast doubt on whether or not a real person had won the P43-million Lotto jackpot as announced by PCSO. 

This, after the government-owned corporation issued an edited photo of the Lotto winner while receiving the prize money. The editing--which was shoddy at best--was supposedly done to conceal the identity of the winner. 

Referring to the controversy, Barbers claimed that "nothing less than his removal as GM or resignation could put the fire out". 

He noted that this was not the first time that a scandal hounded PCSO"s lottery draw. 

"Remember the P236-million lotto draw of Oct. 1, 2022 won by 433 bettors, under Robles’ watch. Was it real or fake? What are the mathematical odds?" he recalled. 

"Is the current manager a mathematician or a magician? What is his background and qualifications that earned him the position to manage an agency that raises billions upon billions in people’s money to be used for projects? Is he a finance expert?” 

Barbers likened the current image of the Lotto to that of a magic show, "in terms of the amazing acts being performed before our very eyes”. 

“It used to be that integrity, honesty, competence and knowledge of the job are the qualifications used in measuring firness of public officials. Now, a lot of agencies are in disarray due to incompetence of those at the helm," he said. 

"While the President continues to effect changes for the betterment of public service, this agency should be in his priority list. The people want officials with integrity,” Barbers further said.