Richard Gomez, Lucy Torres file COCs

Rappler.com

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Lucy seeks second term as Congresswoman of the 4th district of Leyte while Richard runs for Mayor of Ormoc City.

ORMOC CITY, Phillippines – Celebrity couple Richard Gomez and Congresswoman Lucy Torres-Gomez led a list of Liberal party bets who filed their certificates of candidacy (COC) Monday, October 1, at the Leyte Provincial Comelec Office in Tacloban.

Torres-Gomez is seeking a second term as congresswoman of the 4th district of Leyte while Richard Gomez is running for mayor of Ormoc City.

Gomez had initially run for congressman during the May 2010 elections but was later disqualified by the Commission on Elections for failing to establish the required one-year residency in Leyte. His wife Lucy, running under the Liberal Party, took his place and won by a landslide over “congressman-in-waiting” Winnie Codilla.

It was Buenaventura Juntilla, a former Ormoc barangay chairman, who sought Richard Gomez’s disqualification. Juntilla questioned Gomez’s residency, asserting that he lives in Greenhills, San Juan and not in Can Adien, Ormoc as stated in the certificate of candidacy he filed. Gomez said it was his rival Winnie Codilla who was actually behind the disqualification case.

This time, however, Lucy Torres, the “accidental congresswoman” as she is sometimes referred to, stressed her intention to join the congressional race, saying she is “entering the political arena with eyes
wide open.”

Gomez, on the other hand, told reporters in
Tacloban that the Codillas should blame themselves for his decision to run for mayor. “Kung hindi nila ako pina-disqualify, eh
di sana congressman lang ako, wala silang kalaban for mayor,” he said.
The couple was the first to file their COCs, arriving straight from Manila at around 10 am on Monday.

The couple said they decided to file their COCs on the first day to show supporters they are confident in their candidacies and those of their teammates.
Supporters garbed in yellow shirts filled the St. Peter and Paul Parish Church while the two attended Mass. – Lalaine Jimenea/ Rappler.com

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