Lucy Torres

TV host Lucy Torres shrugs off negative issues concerning her actor-husband Richard Gomez’s bid for the congressional seat of the fourth district of Leyte, in which her hometown Ormoc City is part of. 

“I don’t know what else they will come up with,” she tells Manila Bulletin Entertainment Online on the set on her talk show, “The Sweet Life.”

She’s referring to the disqualification case that political opponents have filed against Richard allegedly for non-compliance of residency requirements.

Richard has also been accused of being a fraud for paying only PhP45 for his Community Tax Certificate or cedula, which he reportedly used in filing his Certificate of Candidacy, and for allowing another person to apply for his cedula, sign for it, and affix a thumb mark on the space provided for it.

Despite all these, Lucy is focusing on her own efforts in support of Richard when the campaign period officially starts on March 26.

She vehemently says no when suggested she should run instead, since she’s the one who hails from Leyte. “I think I can never do what Richard does well,” she points out. “Some people are just born to lead, others to just follow. Richard is really a leader.”

Richard’s congressional bid is his third try to break into politics. In 2004, he ran under the party-list, Mamamayan Ayaw sa Droga (MAD), which was disqualified by the Commission on Elections (Comelec). He also failed to win a senatorial seat in the 2007 polls.

“I think with politics, you have to want it,” says the congressional candidate’s supportive wife.

Richard and Lucy tied the knot on April 28, 1998, at the St. Peter and Paul Parish Church in Ormoc City. Their daughter Juliana is nine years old.

Lucy is thankful that she can tape her shows “The Sweet Life” and TV5’s “Shall We Dance” in advance so she can easily schedule her flights to Ormoc City and spend as much time on the campaign trail with Richard.

She is also grateful that she’s able to work on two networks without conflict. “I think it should be that way because ultimately, you want to please the general viewing public, right?” she avers.

“My shows have totally different formats that I’m both at home with. Sa ‘Shall We Dance,’ I get to dance, which I really enjoy doing. It’s also my form of enforced exercise.

“For ‘The Sweet Life,’ I can work and play at the same time. I get to do my crafts and learn a lot of new things because it covers the whole range of topics. It’s a full hour of information.”