Philippine Olympic Committee president Abraham ‘Bambol’ Tolentino (second from left) formally awards the brand-new houses to Paris Olympics double gold medalist Carlos Yulo (middle), Nesthy Petecio (second from right) and Aira Villegas (left) on Sunday in Tagaytay City. Fr. Eugenio Lopez presided over the house blessing.
PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF POC
Paris Olympics double gold medalist gymnast Carlos Yulo and bronze medalist Aira Villegas are now happy and proud homeowners in Tagaytay City while Nesthy Petecio, another bronze medal winner, got her second unit, courtesy of Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) president and city mayor Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino.
“They deserve these homes, they’re not only our Olympic heroes, all of them are national treasures,” said Tolentino, who on Sunday turned over the keys to the Olympic medalists’ homes at the Prime Peak Town House subdivision in Barangay Silang Crossing West.
Yulo, winner of the men’s floor exercise and vault gold in Paris, was rewarded a two-story home that sits on a 500-square meter lot, while his neighbor, Villegas will now have a getaway in the cool city atop a ridge that would very soon boast of the country’s first indoor and wood UCI-standard velodrome.
The house-and-lot — which according to POC secretary-general Wharton Chan is worth P15 million — also came as a belated birthday gift from Tolentino, Tagaytay City and the POC for Yulo, who turned 25 last month.
Villegas’ new two-story home is on a 200-square meter lot in the same area, same with Petecio, who was rewarded a house — just like fellow medalists Hidilyn Diaz Naranjo, Carlo Paalam and Eumir Felix Marcial — in Barangay San Jose for clinching a silver medal in the Tokyo 2020 Games.
“I’m very grateful and feeling blessed to receive this house-and-lot and I’m on thankful how the POC helped us in our Olympic preparations in Paris,” Yulo told reporters during the house blessing officiated by Fr. Eugenio Lopez.
Weightlifter Diaz-Naranjo has her own Tagaytay City home at the Isabel Heights in Barangay Kaybagal Central also courtesy of Tolentino for winning the country’s first Olympic gold medal in Tokyo.
“This is what we’ve been doing since I became POC president — to keep the athletes inspired to win more medals for our country,” Tolentino said.
“I will be living here in this house with my brother and family and we’ll rent out our first house here,” said Petecio, now 32 but still in hot pursuit of a gold medal in Los Angeles 2028.
