Should Richard Gomez win the congressional race in Ormoc, the fourth district of Leyte, his wife Lucy Torres-Gomez will assume the post.
In a phone conversation, Richard told PEP (Philippine Entertainment Portal), "We didn't want to wait for the en banc decision to come out. This will save us from all the worries, and the lawyers are now fixing everything."
The move is backed by Comelec Resolution 8678—which, according to the primer published by Libertas or Lawyers League for Liberty, states: "Substitutes for candidates who have died, suffered permanent incapacity, or were disqualified by final judgment, [italics ours] may file their certificates of candidacy up to mid-day of election day, or May 10, 2010."
It will be recalled that the actor-TV host filed a motion for reconsideration with the Commission on Elections (Comelec) last February 20, after the poll body sided with the eight-page petition of Bunaventura Juntilla, former barangay captain of Libertad, Ormoc, who argued that Richard Gomez lacks the one-year residence qualification.
To date, the case is still pending. "Instead na hintayin natin ang desisyon, heto ang pinakamainam na solusyon," Richard affirmed.
The matter, he said, was discussed by his family for about a week. "Ang gusto naman natin sa simula't simula pa lang ay magsilbi. We want to fight corruption. We want to help the people. Kung yung disqualification ko ay makakasagabal...kami naman ni Lucy ay iisa ang layunin para sa Ormoc."
His wife is suddenly thrust into the political arena, how did Lucy take this?
Richard answered, "Pinag-usapan namin ni Lucy ito. She's more than willing to serve the town kung saan siya ipinanganak at lumaki. Sabi nga niya, 'You will be my adviser.' Magkasama kami..."
For his part, "Tuloy pa rin ang mga plano ko, walang nabago," with or without the congressman title attached to his name.
The April 20-25 survey showed that Richard has widened his lead—from 59% in March to 63% versus his opponent's 27%.
He was disqualified by the Comelec due to lack of residency, which states that he had to be a resident of the the 4th district of Leyte for at least a year to be eligible for office.
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