MANILA – Angelica Yulo, the mother of two-time Olympic gold medalist Carlos Yulo, has issued a public apology to her son following his recent statements about family issues. Carlos addressed these matters, including conflicts with his girlfriend Chloe San Jose and financial disagreements, in a TikTok video from Paris on Tuesday.
At a press conference on Wednesday, Angelica, accompanied by her lawyer Raymond Fortun, explained her decision to speak out again, expressing concern over their private matters becoming public.
“Patawad, anak. Naiintindihan ko na maaaring tingnan ng iba na kaya lamang ako nagsasalita ngayon ay dahil sa iyong tagumpay at kasaganaan. Ako ay nagsasalita para ilagay na sa katahimikan ang issue,” she said.
Angelica acknowledged the pain caused by past words and emphasized the sincerity of her congratulations to Carlos.
“Hindi ko naman siya masisisi kung nagflaflashback talaga kasi siyempre, words are ano talaga, painful talaga pag naisabi mo yan. Yung genuine po yung pagbati ko sa kanya, oo naman po, genuine po yun,” she added.
She expressed her feelings of hurt and her intentions as a concerned mother.
“Ako ay isang ina na nasaktan dahil ang mabait na anak na pinalaki ko ng maayos at mabuting tao ay hindi na nakikinig sa mga paggabay ng magulang. Kung mali na naging mapagpuna ako sa nobya mo, humihingi ako ng patawad, dahil nanay lang ako na nag-aalala,” she said.
Angelica also apologized for comments made during earlier interviews, attributing them to fatigue from watching Carlos’s historic performance at the Paris Olympics.
“Hindi na pwedeng bawiin ang nasabi na. Ang amin lang, handa ako at ang papa mo mag-usap tayo ng bukas ang loob, na may pag-unawa anumang oras na handa ka, pag-uwi mo upang maayos ito. Hindi kailangan ng ibang tao na malaman ang mga alitan dahil hindi nila alam ang buong kwento at hindi nila ito lubos na nauunawan,” she said.
She denied any malice in her social media posts about a Japanese gymnast, noting she had not posted about Carlos since their rift began.
Angelica urged the public to focus on Carlos’s achievements.
“Sana ay ipagdiwang na lang natin ang tagumpay ng anak ko. Gumawa ang anak ko ng kasaysayan para sa ating bansa. Lahat tayo ay magpapasalamat kay Caloy para sa karangalang iuuwi para sa bayan,” she said.
She declined to comment on questions about her son’s girlfriend and financial matters, requesting privacy for their family discussions.
“Sa bagay na yan, kami nalang po ang magdidiscuss niyan with our family po in private po. Sana po respetuhin ninyo,” she said.
Angelica mentioned speaking with Carlos’s former coach, Munehiro Kugimiya, who expressed concern for her amidst the controversy.
“Nagpapasalamat ako kasi tinawagan niya ako na nag-aalala siya sa akin sa mga nababasa niya sa Facebook. Although kahit hindi niya raw naiintindihan, nagkalat daw kasi mukha ko sa internet. Alam niya na kung ano ibig sabihin. Ang sabi niya sa akin is ‘you are a great mom’ sabi niya. ‘You’re a responsible mom I know you. You’re doing a great job.’ So parang ang sabi ko ‘thank you for the kind words it means a lot to me coach. Don’t worry,'” she said.
Angelica revealed that the public attention has significantly affected her family, particularly her younger children, Karl Eldrew and Elaiza Andriel.
“Malaki ang naging effect. Hindi makatulog, yung eldest ko hindi nakakapasok, yung mga anak ko na parang hindi mapakali kasi lagi nilang hawak yung phone nila. Pag may nababasa silang bad comment ko, mga anak ko nasasaktan sila for me. Sa mama ko at sa papa ko, sila yung mga nagagalit sa mga gumagawa ng fake accounts,” she said.
In his TikTok video, Carlos urged his mother to move on and heal from past issues. Angelica responded, hoping for a resolution.
“Sana pagkatapos ng panayam na ito, titigil na ang lahat at mananahimik na ang bawat partido. Ang mga sugat ay kusa namang maghihilom sa paglipas ng panahon. Pero piliin naming humilom kami sa pribado at mapayapang pamamaraan,” she said.
Angelica expressed openness to reconciling with Carlos but admitted she had not yet forgiven him.
“As of now po, yun ang kinakapa ko sa puso ko. Masyadong malalim kasi yung pain eh. Parang sa ngayon, yun yung pinagpe-pray ko na mawala yung pain and afterwards ang kasunod nun is pagpapatawad,” she said.
She emphasized that her children are old enough to know what to do and she wants the initiative for reconciliation to come from them.
“Matatanda na sila so alam nila ang dapat nilang gawin. Hindi ko pwede sabihin kasi siyempre pag sabihin ko, gagawin nila for sure. Gusto ko manggaling sa kanila mismo yung initiative kung papaano sila, papaano mae-ease yung pain, kung papaano sila lalapit,” she added.
Angelica became emotional as she congratulated Carlos, noting they had not spoken since his double gold win. Fortun explained that he had advised Angelica to speak publicly to resolve the issue.
“Ang aking pagtulong kay Mrs. Yulo ay personal kong karga, walang kabayaran. Ginagawa ko rin para matahimik na itong issue na ito. Ayoko po madungisan, mabahiran yung success ni Caloy Yulo. I think members of the media, let’s focus on that. In the next coming days, Caloy will be coming home, sana wala na itong issue na ito pag dating niya,” he said.
Fortun also clarified that Angelica only has a Facebook account and any other accounts are fake.
“I have made effort to send notices and messages sa mga post na ito. Para niyo ng awa, para hindi matuloy yung mga fake news, i-take down niyo nalang yung post. Yun po talaga ang first na layunin para hindi kumalat,” he said.
Carlos’s father, Mark Andrew, expressed his hopes for reconciliation between his wife and son.
“Gusto ko po sila mag-ayos para matapos na lahat. Wala naman po kasing bilang yung galit ng anak ko. Pero mas maganda yung mag-usap sila ng maayos. Yung mga naninira po hindi po totoo yun. Nahihirapan din ako sa asawa ko. Walang tulog yan. Pinagpapasa Diyos ko po lahat. Sana mag-ayos silang dalawa,” he said.
Mark Andrew emphasized his desire for the public to lose interest in the feud and focus on Carlos’s achievements instead.
“Pinipilit ko po kaso po sana po pagdating ni Caloy, sana po nawa mag-usap kaming kahat. Bonding po ba para masaya na po, para wala nang sigalot. Kasi pinapalala lang po eh. Hindi naman po dapat ano eh. Naka-dalawang gold,” he added.
Carlos has yet to respond on his social media accounts as of writing.