The Most Decorated Philippine Olympian in History...So Far

Gymnast Carlos Yulo is THE Filipino of the moment. With two gold medals he is the most decorated Olympian athlete in the history of the Philippines. With that feat comes all the rewards of the good life. Rewards like free pizza and ice cream for life. 

https://www.philstar.com/lifestyle/food-and-leisure/2024/08/09/2376643/carlos-yulo-get-free-pizza-ice-cream-life

Prizes continue to flow for gymnast Carlos Yulo after his historic double gold at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Carlos won gold medals in the Men's Artistic Gymnastics Floor and Vault events, making him the first male Filipino athlete to win an Olympic gold medal and the first to win multiple medals in the same Olympics.

His double victory comes just three years after Hidilyn Diaz took home the Philippines' first-ever Olympic gold medal.

A number of private companies have announced they would give Carlos rewards for his historic feat, some of them lasting a lifetime, including most recently by the Philippine chains of Pizza Hut and Dairy Queen.

The two food companies will be giving Carlos a lifetime of free pizza (by Pizza Hut) and ice cream (by Dairy Queen) as a reward.

"Carlos is a fearless individual... which is why we are celebrating his historic feat with a bold and flavorful gift — free pizza and ice cream for life!" said Philippine Pizza Inc. Chief Operating Officer Chacha Junio in a statement.

The latest reward is almost a sweetener for Carlos who received something similar from Vikings, a lifetime of free buffets at their restaurants.

Some of the few Carlos will get include a three-bedroom condominium, a house and lot in Batangas, a lifetime of free flights on Philippine Airlines, and a lifetime subscription to Vivamax.

Unlimited pizza and ice cream is the perfect diet for an Olympic champion. 

Yulo is also going to get two free houses.

https://www.philstar.com/lifestyle/modern-living/2024/08/07/2376114/carlos-yulo-get-p6-million-house-lot-batangas

Two-time Olympic gold medalist Carlos Yulo will be P5 million richer with a sports betting firm rewarding him for his feat. 

Arena Plus has been championing Carlos since the start of the Olympic games. As one of the sports betting company's official brand ambassadors, Carlos has had the company’s full support throughout the entirety of his Olympics campaign. 

In a pre-Olympics send off with representatives from the brand, Carlos even spoke on the value of his partnership with the company. 

“Maraming maraming salamat po na recognize niyo po ako at gusto niyo ko supportahan,” he said. 

“Ibubuhos ko lahat at tatapatan ko po yung mga suportahan at salamat sa suporta niyong lahat at ipagdasal natin ang mga kasaling atleta sa Olympics.”

Yulo’s hard work and dedication resulted in the historic win of two gold medals in men’s artistic gymnastics in the men’s floor and men’s vault exercises. The victory makes him only the second ever Filipino Olympic gold medalist, and the most awarded one in history. 

“Carlos Yulo truly embodies the ‘astig’ Pinoy spirit,” said Tanco. “We coudn’t be prouder of how he has represented both our country and DigiPlus. Our warmest congratulations to him,” said DigiPlus Chairman Eusebio Tanco.

Apart from the P5 million, Carlos will be receiving a house and lot package in PHirst Editions Batulao project in Nasugbu, Batangas from Century Properties Group (CPG) valued at P6 million.

"On behalf of PHirst and the entire Century Properties Group, we extend our sincerest gratitude and heartfelt congratulations to Carlos Yulo for his historic double gold in the Olympics, bringing pride to the Philippines," said Jose Antonio, executive chairman of CPG.

"We also extend our congratulations to Cynthia Carreon, President of the Gymnastics Association of the Philippines for the stewardship and guidance of Carlos Yulo all through the years," he added.

Prior to this, it has been reported that Carlos will also receive a three-bedroom property from the real-estate company Megaworld, P6 million from the House of Representatives, in addition to the P10 million prize allotted by law from the Philippine Sports Commission for an Olympic Gold Medal of Valor. Different brands also offered a lifetime supply of their products to Carlos. 

No doubt his family is very excited about moving soon. 

A full list of his prizes can be read here:

https://www.philstar.com/lifestyle/2024/08/11/2377122/list-carlos-yulos-prizes-after-double-gold-wins-paris-olympics-2024

Some of these prizes are mandated by law. 

https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2024/08/06/2375884/carlos-yulos-coach-get-p10-million-pagcor-yulo-gets-p20-million

Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation Chairperson Alejandro Tengco on Tuesday announced that gymnast Carlos Yulo will get P20 million for winning two gold medals in the 2024 Paris Olympics.

During the deliberations for PAGCOR's proposed 2025 budget at the House of Representatives, Tengco said that Yulo's trainer and coach will also receive P10 million in cash incentives for his two gold medal finishes in the men's vault exercise finals and the vault exercise finals. 

The release of cash incentives to athletes who win major international sports competitions is mandated by Republic Act 10699 or the National Athletes and Coaches Benefits and Incentives Act, which provides a P10 million reward for gold medalists. 

The law requires the cash incentives to come from PAGCOR, chargeable against its National Sports Development Fund.

“As provided by law, for the gold medalists, PAGCOR is mandated to give an athlete who wins a gold P10 million. So since he has two golds, Mr. Yulo will get P20 million. I have not announced this in public, so this is the first time,” Tengco said.

But whatever you do don't talk about Carlos Yulo's past controversies or Senator Robinhood will be coming after you. 

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1230837

The Senate Committee on Public Information and Mass Media chaired by Senator Robinhood Padilla is now gathering articles, videos, and other social media contents that defames two-time Olympic gold medalist Carlos Yulo.

Padilla, in a Facebook post on Friday, said the committee will take action if it finds abuse against Yulo.

"This is a warning. If you don't want to have a problem, I'm begging you my countrymen, mind your own families mind your own business," Padilla said.

He said Yulo, who is considered a hero for the country, should be respected and commended for the honor that he brought to the country.

"He gave us a very rare honor, yet he was greeted with intrigue and scandal. Instead of resting and having peace of mind, body and soul, he has to explain about his mother and girlfriend," Padilla said.

Yulo's remarkable achievements in 2024 Paris Olympics have recently sparked discussions in various media platforms about past controversies involving him, his family, and his former coach.

Padilla said these intrigues should be replaced by stories of how Yulo achieved his dreams, and took care for his family, that will inspire Filipinos.

Success inevitably brings out the skeletons hiding in the closet. Famous people are always under a microscope and controversy sells. It's what people remember.

Just like Robinhood Padilla will always be remembered for being a criminal despite receiving a pardon from President Duterte. 

Is Manny Pacquiao's Boxing Career Built on a Lie?

Could it be that the career of one of the greatest boxers in modern times and a national hero of the Philippines has all been built on a lie? It seems that is indeed the case. The reason being a corrupt referee.

https://sports.inquirer.net/487960/ref-admits-he-cheated-to-help-pacquiao-win

It has long been an open secret—fans joked about the obvious long count in the aftermath of a fight in 2000.

And in the years that followed, the joke lost its punch, flattened by the frequency of its retelling and the eventual incomparable career of one Manny Pacquiao.

Until the World Boxing Council (WBC) uploaded a video that featured renowned Filipino referee Carlos Padilla admitting he facilitated a rigged result in Pacquiao’s infamous fight against Australian Nadal Hussein.

“So, you know the opponent, Hussein, or whatever his name was. He is taller, younger, stronger and a dirty fighter, managed by Jeff Fenech. So in the [fourth round], Manny got knocked down, I thought he was going to get up, but his eyes were cross-eyed,” Padilla said in a video on the WBC’s YouTube channel that has since been taken down.

“I am Filipino, and everybody watching the fight is Filipino, so I prolonged the count. I know how to do it,” Padilla said after taking nearly twice as long to count to 10. “When he got up, I told him, ‘Hey, are you okay?’ Still prolonging the fight. ‘Are you okay?’ ‘Okay, fight!’”

It turns out this not a new revelation but an old inside...joke? Was the WBC unaware of what the fans new all along? Padilla admits he prolonged the count out of solidarity for being a Filipino. But he wasn't just a Filipino as we shall see. 

“[B]ecause Manny was not like Manny is now, he wasn’t trained by Freddie Roach yet, he holds on for his dear life, and [Hussein] throws him, and he went down again. I said to the opponent, ‘Hey, you don’t do this.’ You know, I was prolonging the fight. ‘You don’t do that. Okay, judges, [point] deduction.’”

To cap it off, Padilla also admitted forcing the outcome when he ruled a head butt as a punch, resulting in the 10-round TKO win for Pacquiao.

“[B]ecause he is shorter, he headbutted the other guy and there is a cut, but I declared it a punch. If there is a headbutt, you have to stop the fight and declare to the judges a point deduction, but I didn’t do that, meaning the fight could continue. [The cut] is not really big—but I never got the doctor to check it [because] I want to see it serious,” Padilla said.

Pacquiao could not be reached for comment.

So, Manny headbutted his opponent and the referee called it a punch!? How did the WBC ever let this ruling stand? 

Hussein, however, had a lot to say, particularly on how both fighters’ paths diverged after that bout.

“I can’t say Pacquiao’s career would never have been the same, but it would have been derailed, that’s for sure,” Hussein said.

After that, the Australian didn’t have much of a career, failing to win a world championship. He eventually settled for a career in sales.

Pacquiao’s career bloomed the following year when he was picked as a replacement fighter on two weeks’ notice to face Lehlo Ledwaba in the undercard of a fight scheduled at MGM Grand in Las Vegas that featured Oscar de la Hoya in the main event. Pacquiao hammered out a sixth-round stoppage in that fight for the International Boxing Federation junior featherweight to engineer one of the finest runs in boxing history.

Hussein said his camp smelled something fishy early on and accused the organizers of using a loophole to slide Padilla into the referee’s position.

“With the referee, the terms were there was going to be an Australian judge, a Filipino judge and a Korean judge. Then they said the referee was going to be American. But … [Padilla] was an American-Filipino. So because he was an American citizen, they had their loophole.

“He was a Filipino all along. But it wasn’t supposed to be an issue because he was based in America. But we didn’t know anything about it until the last minute, to be honest.”

Ah, the perks of dual citizenship! Padilla was not supposed to referee but only snuck in because he is also an American which created a loophole. 

It would certainly be wrong to pin the blame on Manny Pacquiao when the decision here is solely the responsibility of Padilla. 

https://news.yahoo.com/manny-pacquiao-breaks-silence-referee-173956934.html

Speaking to ABS-CBN’s "TV Patrol," Pacquiao denied being involved in any way with Padilla's decision-making. 

“I did not cheat. We were just probably favored because of home court [advantage],” the former Philippine senator told TV Patrol. “As a boxer, I just did what I needed to do. I’m a boxer. I only do my job inside the ring. That is his problem, not mine.”

The WBC has not yet released a formal statement but has formed a panel to review Padilla's remarks. His daughter claims his statements have been misinterpreted. 

https://www.philstar.com/sports/2022/12/01/2227820/daughter-filipino-referee-says-pacquiao-cheating-statement-misconstrued-misinterpreted

The daughter of now controversial referee Carlos Padilla has called the statements where his father admitted helping Filipino boxing legend Manny Pacquiao win a fight in 2000 as "misconstrued" and "misinterpreted".

In a letter addressed to the "boxing community of the world", Suzy Padilla Tuano came to defense of the 88-year-old referee who was shoved into the center of attention after a recent interview during his induction to the Nevada Boxing Hall of Fame.

"My father is an 88 year old man who is just that — old and aging. Despite the fact that he has been living in the United States for decades, English remains his 2nd language," the letter read.

"Communications can be misconstrued and well intentioned words can be misinterpreted. The present situation is one such glaring example of what might actually have been said, (no pun intended), and what may have been taken out of context," she continued.

"My father is a decent and honorable man. He dedicated his life to boxing and boxers and cared for them and their well being, regardless of nationality or circumstance," she said.

"He refereed numerous historic fights with the likes of Muhammad Ali, Hagler, Leonard, Hearns, and many more fighters for the entirety of his career. He has since retired and has been out of the spotlight for as long as I can remember. Oh, but he loves to talk and entertain because like any other human, he still yearns to feel relevant. I invite everyone to ask about Carlos Padilla among his peers: promoters, fighters, referees, or anyone from his era and hopefully, you will learn about my father's true character," she continued.

"He does not need controversies at this very late stage in his life."

It's hard to see how anything Carlos Padilla said has been taken out of context. Watch the interview for yourself.

The talk about the Manny Pacquiao fight begins at 17:36.

Chess, The Philippines, and Wesely So

Perhaps you have seen chess being played on the street as you have been out and about.

Chess is indeed very popular in the Philippines. So much so in fact that one government official was convicted of graft in regards to sponsoring a chess tournament using illicit funds.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1402242/pichays-bid-to-overturn-graft-conviction-denied-by-sandiganbayan

The Sandiganbayan has denied a bid by Surigao del Sur 1st District Rep. Prospero Pichay Jr. to reverse the guilty verdict handed over to him in his graft case.

The anti-graft court found “no compelling reason” to grant Pichay’s motion for reconsideration and another motion for leave to admit supplemental documents to his previous motion because these were filed over one month after the case was promulgated.

The court’s Fifth Division issued this decision in a resolution dated Feb. 23.

Pichay was convicted of graft on Oct. 23, 2020, for approving a P1.5 million budget for a chess competition at the Local Water Utilities Administration (LWUA) in 2010 when he was still its acting chair, as well as chair of its board of trustees.

The National Chess Federation of the Philippines (NCFP) was tapped to oversee the competition, which was called the 2nd Chairman Prospero Pichay Jr. Cup International Chess Championship.  Pichay was then also the NCFP president.

I don't want to talk about that guy. I want to talk about Filipino Super Grandmaster Wesley So. This man recently obtained United States citizenship so he could play chess for the USA. He said this decision was based on the fact that he lacked the connections to succeed in the Philippines.

https://sports.inquirer.net/417238/so-i-lacked-connections-to-succeed-in-ph-culture

Super Grandmaster Wesley So tried to sugarcoat it, but his statement following his officially becoming a United States citizen was a punch to the gut for Philippine sports, and for the “godfather” culture prevalent in Filipino society. 

Saying he still “loved the Philippines,” So expressed elation over receiving his citizenship papers last Feb. 26, about seven years after first defecting to the US Chess Federation (USCF). 

“I love that anyone can strive to succeed [here],” So told the USCF. “You are not held back by your color, lack of connections or the amount of money you have. If you work hard, you have a better chance of making it here than anywhere else in the world. I came here ready to work hard, and it turned out just as I dreamed.” 

So bolted the National Chess Federation of the Philippines (NCFP) and joined USCF in 2014, saying he saw no path to his goal as a Philippine national athlete. 

“I did not have the connections needed to succeed in that culture,” said the 27-year-old So, who hails from Bacoor, Cavite, lamenting the prevalence of the “godfather” culture in Filipino society, where those with connections can easily make their way to the top. 

“I was from the province, not a city boy. Had no money etc. I wanted to go further, and there was only one country a nobody can make it. The USA!” added So. 

So, who now resides in Excelsior, Minnesota, has been representing the United States since 2014 and he has risen to as high as No. 2 in the world ranking and is currently ranked ninth in the world by the International Chess Federation (Fide). As a Filipino, he rose to as high as 12th in the Fide rankings.

“That does not mean I don’t love the Philippines,” So said. “I have good memories from there.”

It seems rather melodramatic because Wesley So appeared to be doing well in the Philippines. But then Webster College offered him a scholarship and that is how he ended up in the USA. His Wikipedia page says he continued to rise through the ranks and moved to Minnesota to live with his adoptive Filipino parents in 2015. Since then he has experienced a lot of success in the world of chess representing the USA. 

But now that he has officially left the Filipino fold and has aired his grievances what is the result? Well the result is that Wesley So has shown himself to be a rather magnanimous fellow.

https://www.philstar.com/sports/2021/03/09/2083093/2nd-pcap-conference-be-known-wesley-so-cup

The second conference of the Professional Chess Association of the Philippines (PCAP), the Reinforced Conference, will be known as the “Wesley So Cup.”

PCAP Commissioner Paul Elauria bared that Wesley So, the first and reigning World Champion of Fischer-Random Chess, will sponsor the second leg of the league’s inaugural tournament. 

Aside from lending his name, the Super Grandmaster likewise personally pledged to provide the funds for the event’s cash prizes.

So’s only request, according to Elauria, is to ensure that the prizes are distributed to the players themselves. This is because So wants to help the players directly.

This is a welcome development, considering So’s recent citizenship change that has been contentious among Filipinos.

So was recently conferred US citizenship.

“It only confirms that SGM So is true to his words that he remains a Filipino by heart and confirms his continued support to the Pinoy chess players. While this partnership has long been finalized, we deemed it timely to announce it now, to somehow remind our chess players that SGM So has always been concerned with his countrymen, despite his move to the US. After all, chess knows no citizenship,” Elauria added.

It is a sad story with a good ending.  A man who could not succeed in his own country is forced to find a new home. But he has not forgotten his homeland. Maybe one day everyone can succeed in the Philippines on the principle of equality.