A drowning man will latch on to anything to keep afloat. Thankfully, for Filipino artistic gymnast Carlos Yulo, the situation isn’t so grim. Despite being the first gold medalist from his country, Yulo got entangled in a messy family drama that shocked the world days ago. The gymnastics star’s mother Angelica Yulo accepted the claim that she mishandled her son’s financial situation. But the Olympian might have some respite yet.

Thanks to his double gold-hauling performance in the City of Love, Yulo became a national hero overnight. Naturally, learning his own mother tampered with bank statements raised several eyebrows across the Philippines and beyond. But the nation’s government has entered the field to put a lid on the family fiasco.

Carlos Yulo gets a boost from the Filipino authorities

A post on Instagram by ABS CBN News from August 26 revealed that the Filipino government has exempted all of Yulo’s Olympic earnings from any kind of taxes. “The BIR (Bureau of Internal Revenue) clarified that gymnast Carlos Yulo can enjoy all the prizes he received for winning two Olympic gold medals without having to pay taxes,” reads the caption of the post, and understandably, Yulo should find something to smile about while being embroiled in the ongoing online tug-of-war with his mom.

Carlos is only the second Filipino Olympian ever to win gold after weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz cliched golden glory at the Tokyo Olympics. However, nabbing two gold medals was something no one else from the country had achieved on the grandest stage before, and therefore, it wasn’t surprising when the Philippines government announced a long list of rewards for Yulo. However, things soon took a dark turn.

A tumultuous family feud

From a three-bedroom condo in Manila to a Land Cruiser Prado SUV by Toyota Motors Philippines: Yulo’s feat didn’t go unnoticed. However, things quickly turned sour when Carlos dropped the bomb on social media. “Apart from the incentives, my mom also had access to my bank account and my monthly allowances for gymnastics. When I finally got control of that bank account, I found out she had been draining it,” the gymnast claimed publicly with his girlfriend by his side. “The principle here isn’t the amount, but about the fact that incentives were hidden and used without my consent,” Yulo accused further of Angelica’s fumbles. However, she also responded with statements of her own.

“It was given to me. As a mother, I felt that my child might run out of money in the future. So, what I did was deposit it under my name at BPI here in Vito Cruz,” Carlos’ mother told Bombo Radyo earlier this month. On the other hand, Filipino businessman Chavit Singson promised to pay the Yulo family a sum of 5 million pesos ($87,364) if they reconciled their differences. But so far, Carlos doesn’t seem to be waving the white flag and putting the entire thing in his rearview mirror.