Even as she has opted to seek another term as Representative of the 4th district of Leyte, Lucy Torres-Gomez is more than supportive of her husband Richard Gomez’s plan to seek the mayoralty post in her hometown of Ormoc.
In fact, she said she and Richard both need to win so that they can work hand in hand for the betterment of Ormoc.
“For a legislator like me who has many plans for my district, it’s always better to have a mayor who is an ally as projects and funds for them are not blocked,” she pointed out.
“I’ll be more effective if me and the mayor see eye to eye on what we think is beneficial for Ormoc, which is not the case right now.”
It can be recalled that Lucy won against Winnie Codilla and now Richard will be running against incumbent mayor Eric Codilla, Winnie’s brother. Another brother, Elmer, is the current mayor of nearby town Kananga, while the family patriarch, Eufrocino Codilla, was a former mayor of Ormoc as well.
Ever since she suddenly found herself thrust into the political arena after getting elected to a position she had no plans of pursuing, Lucy has since adopted well to her role as congresswoman even as she continues to do equally fine as a judge on TV5’s “Talentadong Pinoy” as well as an occasional co-host on showbiz talk shows “Paparazzi” and “Juicy”.
During an interview with Interaksyon.com com after warmly welcoming Winnie Cordero and Mareng Winnie Monsod as the new brand ambassadors for Ascof natural cough remedy, Lucy recalled that she had only five days to prepare for the post after the Comelec disqualified husband Richard from seeking the post in 2010 due to his lacking the one-year residency qualification.
Making the grade as a legislator has therefore been quite an achievement for the radiant and unassuming Leyte native who in her own words was “prepared to live the life of a public servant’s wife.”
“I’ve learned so much from the advice of many seasoned congressman who were more than supportive of my initiatives for my district,” she revealed. “Thanks to them, I have grown into my job and would love to do more if I’m given the chance to continue for another term.”
It also doesn’t hurt that her Chief of Staff is none other than Richard who, she says, has been more than “an invaluable adviser.”
She is quick to note, however, that just because she ran as a substitute for him does not mean that she is just doing his bidding and implementing the programs he originally envisioned for the district.
“I value his advice but I have my own programs and legislative agenda that is not necessarily limited to my district,” she insisted.
At the House of Representatives, she is the Vice Chairperson of the House Committee on Tourism as well as a member of committees that are close to her heart, including Agriculture and Food, Basic Education and Culture, Women and Gender Equality, Welfare of Children, Health, Rural Development, Science and Technology and Youth and Sports Development.
While majority of the bills and resolutions that she either authored or co-authored are concentrated on things that are beneficial to her district and home province as a whole, one bill of national interest that she’s actively pushing is an act providing for the privatization of government network PTV-4, also known as the People’s Television Network.
“Kawawa naman ang government network natin. Because of a law (Republic Act 7306) prohibiting it from airing commercial advertisements, it has found it difficult to meet its daily operating expenses and could not even modernize its dilapidated facilities,” she lamented.
With the passage of her pet bill, Lucy said her dream for PTV-4 is to see it evolve into a local counterpart of CNN.
source: interaksyon.com
