Richard Gomez, in his third stab at politics, suffered another setback when the Commission on Elections (Comelec) barred him from seeking the congressional seat of the fourth district of Leyte, where his wife Lucy Torres-Gomez’ hometown of Ormoc City is located, for lack of residency.

Gomez vowed to appeal the case.

The case stemmed from the petition that Buenaventura Juntilla, a former baranggay chairman in Ormoc, had earlier filed to Comelec claiming that Gomez doesn’t reside in Ormoc as stated in his certificate of candidacy but in Greenhills, San Juan.

Gomez then contested that since March 2007, he has been spending more time in Leyte than in Manila and that his political opponents were behind what he believed was harassment.

In 2004, he ran under the partylist group, Mamamayan Ayaw sa Droga (MAD), which was disqualified by the Commission on Elections (Comelec). He also failed to win a senatorial slot in the 2007 polls.

In a recent interview with Manila Bulletin Entertainment Online, Torres-Gomez shrugged off negative issues concerning her actor-husband’s electoral plans. She said she looks forward to hitting the campaign trail as soon as it officially starts on March 26.