Yulo’s Olympic triumph ignites showbiz buzz

Any Pinoy (full-blooded or “half”) who wins a medal in the Olympics instantly becomes showbiz news. After all, our showbiz idols, who love winners in the world arena, are always among the first to greet them. Their greetings become news items splashed on entertainment pages.

Here’s one we randomly picked up: “Yulo’s win was congratulated by several Filipino celebrities in the comments of Olympics-related posts on the athlete’s Instagram page, including Will Devaughn, Liz Uy, Rocco Nacino, Alfred Vargas, Gabbi Garcia, Bianca Gonzalez, Myrtle Sarrosa, Arci Muñoz, Rodjun Cruz, Miss Universe Philippines 2023 Michelle Dee, Anne Curtis and Iza Calzado.

There really is so much that can be reported about medal winners in a global sports event that occurs only every four years. A largely entertainment-oriented website, Pep.ph, recently focused on what double gold medalist gymnast Caloy Yulo (who’s now suddenly referred to in some reports by his full name, Carlos Edriel) will do with the incentive cash and high-prized “goods” offered to him. As we write this, he has been offered P32 million in guaranteed cash and a P30-million fully furnished Megaworld condo unit.

Yulo’s answers were culled by the website from an ABS-CBN TV Patrol interview with sports reporter Dyan Castillejo. TV Patrol is a news program in Tagalog, so Castillejo spoke to him in that language. They were both in Paris, the site of the Olympics. She informed him about the P32 million he has been promised by the Philippine Congress and other donors.

“Wow, I did not know that,” Yulo smilingly replied. Castillejo asked him point blank what he will do with that cash.

“’Yun nga din po, hindi ko na rin po, right now, alam… (I don’t really know right now…),” Yulo mutterred.

And then he elucidated: “Pero may mga tao na po akong kilala na tutulong po sa akin and magma-manage po ng ganito (But there are people I know who will help me and manage this kind of thing). And siyempre, si Ma’am Cynthia palagi lang po siya nandiyan. Mag-a-ask po ako ng mga questions kung paano magandang gawin sa money (And of course, Ma’am Cynthia is always there. I will ask her questions about the best way to manage the money).”

The “Ma’am Cynthia” he was referring to is Gymnastics Association of the Philippines president Cynthia Carrion, who has attracted attention for her prediction that Yulo could win two gold medals (which he clinched, first for the floor exercises and later for the vault).

We soon found in some social media postings that Yulo considers her his “mother” for all the concern she has shown him. The 24-year-old champ made this revelation at a time when some websites, including Pep.ph, reminded the public that Yulo and his mother, Angelica Poquiz Yulo, have not been at peace with each other.

Some reports hinted that the mother began to be disgusted with her oldest child when he took social media influencer Chloe San Jose as his girlfriend. The ill feelings between them soon revolved around money matters. The son started to suspect that his mother had not been spending his earnings prudently.

Well, the strained mother-and-son relationship began to sound and look like a “teleserye.”

Yulo said that when he comes home to the Philippines, he’ll take enough rest, then go back to his routines as an athlete, and eventually make sure he makes it to the next Olympics in 2028 in Los Angeles.

And, oh, he assured Castillejo that he wouldn’t dissipate his earnings, as he would make sure the money can take care of his future when he is no longer a competing athlete.

Castillejo didn’t seem to bother Yulo about his love life, so he said nothing about living with his girlfriend or marrying her soon.

Showbiz people in the country, both idols and fans, seem to be handling widely contrasting events among them. Yulo may have been added to the list of the fans’ idols, bringing gladness to their lives, alongside the seeming sudden demise of the country’s foremost film producer, Lily Monteverde, who may forever be remembered by showbiz followers as “Mother Lily.” Dozens of showbiz personalities expressed their deep sadness over Mother Lily’s passing.

Filmmaker Joey Javier Reyes certainly does not want Mother Lily to be forgotten, though he announced on his Facebook that we can all adulate Yulo and just ignore his mother, who has a lot of drama in her life. Reyes is aware of the mother’s apathetic comments about Carlos’ early non-winning performances at the Olympics.

On the other hand, Carlos’ father, Mark Andrew Yulo, made light of the supposed feud between his son and his mother. The father said he will encourage the mother and son to talk things over when Carlos gets back to the Philippines. The elder Yulo was interviewed on 5 August in One Balita Pilipinas.

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Meanwhile, whatever happened to Sandro Muhlach’s charge of sexual abuse against GMA-7 “independent contractors” Jojo Nones and Richard Cruz?

Their lawyer, Maggie Abraham-Garduque, has announced that the investigation has been completed and they have been given a copy of the findings as well as a copy of Muhlach’s formal complaint submitted to the Kapuso network.

The lawyer gave a sort of teaser from the findings: it was Sandro who texted one of the two contractors to inquire if their party was still going on and if he could drop by their hotel room to hang out a bit. The party was supposedly a get-together after the GMA Gala ball.

The lawyer reminded the public that in cases involving accusations, the burden of proof rests on the accuser. She refrained from sharing further details but would reveal all of them if Sandro files a case against her clients.

She made just one revelation: Sandro was complaining about sexual harassment, not sexual abuse.

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Life goes on in Pinoy showbiz. Anne Curtis has begun taping for ABS-CBN’s Filipino adaptation of South Korea’s well-followed series It’s Okay to Not Be Okay. ABS-CBN is producing it for Netflix.

Joshua Garcia and Carlo Aquino join Curtis in the lead cast. They play brothers who will both be involved with Curtis’ character.

Garcia’s reunion film with real-life ex-girlfriend Julia Barretto is showing in theaters starting 14 August. The film is enigmatically titled Un/Happy.

Vivamax’s first movie for theater screening, Unang Tikim, opens today, starring Angeli Khang and Robb Guinto. It’s a lesbian love story, commonly referred to these days as GL, or girls’ love. Both Khang and Guinto also have male lovers they go to bed with.

Richard Gutierrez, 40, and Barbie Imperial, 26, are now openly appearing in public together. They haven’t labeled themselves as “sweethearts” yet. Gutierrez’s ex-wife, actress Sarah Lahbati, has not commented on the new couple.