Manila, Philippines — A Catholic prelate (abp oscar cruz) described as “silly” the proposal to limit the lotto jackpot to P500 million.

“It’s silly. The people will continue betting and the prize is not increasing?” retired Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Oscar Cruz said in an interview.

“The more people buy tickets, the bigger the prize should be. It’s contrary to logic,’ he added.

Earlier, Eastern Samar Rep. Ben Evardone filed a resolution directing the House committee on games and amusements to look into the possibility of limiting the lotto jackpot to P500 million.

He said the yet to be won P600 million Grand Lotto 6/55 jackpot prize has caused "widespread compulsion" to play among the people, including those who normally would not engage in gambling.

Cruz, however, stressed that he is not endorsing the lotto game because it is still gambling.

“Get rid of it because it’s still gambling but lesser evil. And if they want to keep it they should make the combinations smaller in number so that there will be more people who can win,” he said.