Congresswoman Lucy Torres-Gomez

We all know politicians spend a fortune to get their coveted seats in the government. As such, it was no surprise that a newspaper report in Tacloban City dated July 2 revealed that Lucy Torres-Gomez spent over P704,000 in her bid to become congresswoman of the fourth district of Leyte.

Torres-Gomez replaced her husband, actor Richard Gomez, in the race for the congressional seat in Leyte’s 4th district when the latter became the subject of a disqualification complaint filed by a barangay chairman in Ormoc for residency issues.

Torres-Gomez, a former model and a TV host at the time, had been fielded by the actor as his replacement, even before a ruling was made by the Comelec reportedly based on the Comelec Rule of Substitution for a dead or disqualified candidate.

Gomez was later disqualified with finality by the Comelec, but by then, Torres-Gomez had already joined the campaign trail—having also gotten approval from the same body. She reportedly assured their constituents that if elected, they were, in effect, putting Gomez in a position to serve as well, as her chief of staff.

According to the newspaper report, the records at the provincial office of the Comelec showed that Torres-Gomez had listed the amount of P704, 257.03 as her expenses for her campaign. She reported, however, that the money she spent for election expenditures came from her own pocket. 

Her closest rival Eufrocino Codilla Jr.'s reported expenditures amounted only P348,428.37; but it was a losing candidate, Pastor Trimor, that reportedly spent the most—a whopping P1.6 million, which he also said came from his own personal funds.

The election expenditures and expenses were filed by the May 10 candidates by June 24 as required by the Comelec.