Filipino businessman Chavit Singson awards over $8K to Olympic champion Carlos Yulo’s brother Eldrew for gold medal wins

By Linh Le November 10, 2024 | 08:59 pm PT

Businessman Chavit Singson awarded Filipino gymnast Eldrew Yulo, younger brother of gymnast Carlos Yulo, 500,000 pesos (US$8,532) for his achievements at the 3rd JRC Artistic Gymnastics Stars Championships in Thailand.

Filipino gymnast Eldrew Yulo, younger brother of Olympic champion Carlos Yulo. Photo from Gymnastics Association of the Philippines' Facebook

According to PhilStar, 16-year-old Eldrew earned four gold medals at the competition in the junior individual all-around, floor exercise, still rings, and vault categories. He also secured two silver medals in the parallel bars and team all-around events.

Acknowledging Eldrew’s success, Singson said: "[Eldrew] deserves the incentive for showing hard work and determination to become the country’s next gymnastics sensation."

This isn’t the first time the businessman has supported the Yulo family. Earlier this month, he gifted them 1 million pesos as an early Christmas present, hoping to promote unity within the family amid an ongoing feud between Carlos and his mother Angelica Poquiz Yulo.

The family dispute began when Carlos posted a TikTok video on Aug. 6, accusing his mother of mishandling his finances, misleading him about gymnastics incentives, and wrongly accusing his girlfriend, content creator Chloe San Jose, of financial exploitation.

In response, Angelica held a press conference the next day, expressing her regret and explaining her actions as motivated by concerns for her children’s financial future.

"The money was given to me," she said at the press conference, as reported by The New York Post. "As a mother, I was worried that my child might have financial problems in the future. So I invested it under my name."

Singson has also pledged an additional 5 million pesos to Carlos and his family if he and his mother reconcile.

Carlos, 24, is celebrated as the most decorated Filipino gymnast in history, according to Forbes. He became the first Filipino athlete to win two gold medals at a single Olympics, achieving this feat in the floor exercise and vault events at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.

Singson, 83, previously served as mayor of Narvacan City from 2019 to 2022 and held multiple terms as governor of Ilocos Sur province from 1972 to 1986, 1992 to 2001, 2004 to 2007, and 2010 to 2013.

Additionally, he was appointed Deputy National Security Adviser for the Philippine government in 2008.