THE VIEW FROM RIZAL

We join the nation in congratulating Olympic multi-gold medalist Carlos Edriel “Caloy” Yulo. We watched with elation and pride as he stood at the podium to receive his gold medals. During those historic moments in the 2024 Paris Olympics, Caloy made us feel that we, Filipinos, belong to the “tallest” race in the world.

We wrote about Caloy for the first time some five years ago.

He had emerged from total anonymity to local fame as he became the first Filipino and the first male from Southeast Asia to win the gold medal in the World Artistic Gymnastics Championship. He had just then booked a ticket to the 2020 Olympic Games slated to be held in Tokyo. We recall that hopes were then high that Caloy would bring home that elusive Olympic gold medal.

When noted that when people heard that Caloy’s family name was “Yulo,” their initial thought was that he came from a very wealthy family and that he was a “tall, young athlete studying at an exclusive school.”

As we came to know him better, we realized that Caloy was none of those.

Yes, he was very young, but he did not come from a very wealthy family. At that time, we discovered that, contrary to earlier speculations, he is not part of the family which once was a powerful political and business clan that used to own vast sugar plantations south of Metro Manila.

We were then amazed to discover that Caloy was the proverbial “batang kalye.” Media wrote that he was born and grew up in Leveriza, Malate, City of Manila, in a neighborhood where children still play outdoors. Accounts have it that Caloy was then studying at a local public school when he was supposed to have wandered into the Rizal Memorial Coliseum with his barkada, and saw gymnasts practicing.

Caloy was said to have fallen in love at first sight with the sport. He started practicing. The Gymnastics Association of the Philippines took him under their wing. While the rest of his gang eventually dropped out, he stayed on. His determination paid off. He was eventually given scholarships by the Adamson University and the Teikyu University of Japan.

That was how he started his journey to the 2024 Olympic Games where he has made history.

In the early days of his fame, many had the impression that, based on pictures, Carlos is one “tall, athletic hunk.” Hunk and athletic, yes. Tall – it appears that is not the case. The public later found out that Caloy then stood less than five feet tall – 4’11” to be exact.

Perhaps, that was one reason that easily endeared Caloy to the public. He is like many of us. He is “every Filipino”: not born to wealth, not gifted with physical advantages, but fueled by the burning desire and the powerful dream for a better life.

As we celebrate Caloy’s historic feat, we pay tribute once more to two other Filipinos who, despite their height, stood tall on the global stage and in the pages of history.

The first is Caloy’s namesake: General Carlos P. Romulo. The second is our national hero: Dr. Jose P. Rizal.

In his time, General Romulo was one of the most famous Filipinos on the global stage. Romulo’s “towering height” was never measured in feet and inches. He, too, was barely a five-footer. However, he “towered” as he stood by General Douglas McArthur in the famous landing scene in Leyte toward the end of the Second World War.

He stood tall in his generation as a statesman, diplomat, journalist, and author. He won the prestigious Pulitzer Prize and was president of the United Nations General Assembly. He is a National Artist for Literature and was president of the University of the Philippines.

As we wrote five years ago, in the Olympics of intellectual brilliance, it can be said that this tiny Filipino was a consistent gold medal winner.

The same can be said of another great Filipino born more than a century before Caloy. Dr. Jose Rizal was an intellectual giant and a larger-than-life symbol of Asian nationalism even though his height was no more than 4’11”.

These Filipinos stood as “giants” in history. They proved that the physical size of a person is no indicator of the size of his heart and his soul. What matters more is the size of a person’s dream.

When Filipinos go after giant dreams, we are unstoppable.

When Caloy first wandered into Rizal Memorial Coliseum, he likewise saw a glimpse of the future – of what he could be. He transformed that glimpse into a golden, Olympic-sized dream.

(The author is the current mayor of Antipolo City, former Rizal governor, DENR assistant secretary and LLDA general manager. For feedback, please email it to [email protected] or send it to Block 6 Lot 10 Sta.Barbara 1 cor. Bradley St., Mission Hills Subd., Brgy. San Roque, Antipolo City, Rizal.)