To report or not Carlos Yulo's family feud

Metro Manila, Philippines— Has the rift between two-time Olympic gold medalist Carlos Yulo and his mother overshadowing his historic win at the Paris 2024 Olympics?

In recent days, netizens have been sharing their sentiment on the Yulo family feud focusing on the statements made by Yulo’s mother, Angelica Yulo, after his victory.

On Tuesday, Yulo addressed in a social media post some of the points raised by his mother and defended his girlfriend Chloe San Jose. Angelica reportedly accused San Jose of straining her relationship to her son ahead of the Paris Olympics.

In the video posted on Tiktok, Yulo clarified the issues involving money, his girlfriend and his family’s attitude to his personal life. Yulo went on to saying that he has forgiven his mother despite all that happened.

“Ang message ko po sa inyo, ma, na mag-heal kayo, mag-move on. Napatawad ko na kayo a long time ago, po. Pinagpe-pray ko na maging safe kayo palagi at nasa maayos kayong kalagayan diyan lahat,” said Yulo.

Angelica, then showed up in a press conference on Wednesday morning with lawyer Raymund Fortun to respond to his son. She later on said that some of the issues should be dealt privately.

“Pagod at puyat ako sa kapapanood sa iyo nung mga panahon na yon, di makatulog sa tuwa kahit tapos na ang iyong laban. Hindi ako nakapag-isip ng mabuti nung nirapido ako ng mga tanong ng mga reporter tungkol sa mga bagay na dapat ay tayo na lamang ang nag-ayos. Patawad, anak,” said Angelica.

[Translation: During those times, I was tired and sleepless from watching you, unable to sleep with joy even after your competition had ended. I couldn't think straight when reporters bombarded me with questions about matters that should have been resolved just between us. I'm sorry]

UP prof: reporting family feud ‘disservice to journalism’

Danilo Arao, a journalism professor from the University of the Philippines, told NewsWatch Plus that reporting on the rift of the Yulo family is hardly a public interest.

“Family feuds are hardly public interest issues unless these involve governance and public funds. The Yulo family members are better off handling personal issues on their own,” said Arao.

“Reporting these matters is a disservice to journalism because it does not help in the shaping of public opinion. It only promotes voyeurism and trivialization of what should be a historic achievement in the 2024 Paris Olympics,” he added.

Award-winning actor and ‘Heneral Luna’ star John Arcilla also echoed sentiment of reporting on the feud rather than celebrating Yulo’s victory.

“Nakakahinayang. Parang lumalala. Sana i-celebrate na lang muna natin ang kagilagilalas niyang tagumpay kahit isang buwan man lang o higit pa, kasi dahil sa kanya nakaka proud bilang Pilipino,” said Arcilla.

The actor said that as a Mass Communication graduate, there is such thing as media “self -regulation”. “Kahit hindi tayo propesyonal, pwede naman tayong pumili kung saan angulo natin papaikutin ang usapin. Sa ganitong level ba talaga natin gustong i-focus ang tagumpay ni Carlos Yulo na tagumpay din natin bilang isang nasyon? Mas importante ba talaga na maka-scoop muna? Kung hindi natin ito isusubo sa masa, hindi rin naman nila ito bibigyan ng atensyon. Tayo ang magtuturo sa ating mga kababayan kung ano ang mas mahalagang pag-usapan. Siguro pwede tayong mag-focus na itaas muna ang moral nating mga Pilipino,” said Arcilla.

[Translation: Even though we are not professionals, we can still choose which angle to take on the issue. Is this really the level where we want to focus on Carlos Yulo's success, which is also our success as a nation? Is it really more important to scoop the story first? If we don't present it to the masses, they won’t pay attention to it either. We are the ones who will guide our fellow Filipinos on what is more important to discuss. Perhaps we should focus on uplifting the morale of our people]

Veteran director Joey Reyes also appealed to media colleagues to focus on the story of Yulo’s victory.

“He just lifted the spirit of the nation by winning two Olympic gold medals. The people are overwhelmed with pride and joy. So please don't give media space to a drama queen mother who wants to tarnish the moment of glory of her own son regardless of personal reason. She and her narrative should be collectively ignored,” said Reyes.

Some netizens however shared that they sympathize with the mother and hope that things will be settled in the future.

“Sons are the anchors of a mother's life. So sad reading bashing about the mother. Nagkamali man sya pero paano naman yung ilang percent ng buhay ni Carlos Yulo na inalagaan ng nanay nya. Hope magkaayos ang mag ina,” an X (former Twitter) said.

[Translation: Sons are the anchors of a mother’s life. It’s so sad reading the bashing about the mother. She may have made mistakes, but what about the many years of Carlos Yulo's life that she took care of? I hope the mother and son reconcile].

“Sending my prayers to Carlos Yulo's family. Sometimes, mothers tend to say words they don't mean, and I'm speaking for myself, I as a mom, can also be too toxic sometimes and I have long asked forgiveness from my children for saying things I don't mean. Stop bashing Carlos' mom,” another netizen added.

Yulo made history as the country’s first-ever male Olympic gold medalist in gymnastics in the floor exercise category on Aug. 3 and then in the vault category less than 24 hours later.