GORGY RULA
Nag-inauguration noong Hunyo 16, 2023 ang ipinatayong Fencing Hall ni Congressman Richard Gomez sa Ormoc City, Leyte.
Ang laking tuwa ng kongresista dahil natupad ang matagal na niyang pangarap makapagtayo ng Fencing Hall para makapagsanay ang fencers na tinuturuan nila sa Ormoc, at pati rin sa Maynila at ibang lalawigan.
Laking ginhawa rin nito sa anak nina Goma at Ormoc Mayor Lucy Torres-Gomez na si Juliana Gomez na nag-focus na sa fencing.
Sabi ni Goma, mas natututukan nila ang training ng fencing dahil meron na silang Fencing Hall ng Modern Pentathlon Association of the Philippines.
Proud si Juliana na meron na nito ngayon sa Ormoc.
“I think Ormoc is the only province that actually has a fencing hall. I’m not positive on that. But, ang daming fencing hall sa Manila,” saad niya nang makapanayam ng PEP Troika sa harap ng balkonahe ng Ormoc City Museum noong Hunyo 27, Martes.
Kumalas na si Juliana sa volleyball team ng UP Diliman dahil gusto niyang sa fencing na mag-focus, pagkatapos niyang manalo kamakailan sa Malaysia.
“Of course, my priority is to defend the championship titles in the UAAP.
“In less than a year, it’s gonna happen ulit. And of course, I also I want to be able to join the national team. So, ongoing din yung qualifiers dun.
“Sa Philippine national ranking… bale tatlong competition yun, and then that’s an order to qualify for the Philippine national team for fencing,” saad ng unica hija nina Congressman Richard Gomez at Mayor Lucy Torres-Gomez.
Read: Juliana Gomez wins gold in Indonesia fencing tilt
Read: Juliana Gomez on fencing victory in Thailand: “Confident ako sa mga galaw ko noong araw na iyon.”
NOEL FERRER
May isang semester na lang si Juliana sa kanyang academic, at akalain mo bang kaybilis ng panahon, magkaka-college graduate na sina Goma at Lucy.
Hybrid (meaning, pinaghalong face-to-face at online) ang mga klase niya ngayon sa UP Diliman, at binabati niya ang mga magsisipagtapos sa pamantasan ngayong end of July.
“Congratulations! It’s hard to get into UP but I think it’s much harder to get out,” mensahe ni Juliana sa graduating class.
“So the fact that they’re gonna march soon, I just want to… you know, honor all the hard work that they’ve put into finishing.”
Gusto rin ni Juliana na magmartsa sa graduation sa susunod na academic year.
“I think if you graduate from UP, you do wanna march. It’s such an honor to graduate from that school,” malumanay na sambit ni Juliana.
Ang mga seremonyang ganito ay para talaga sa mga magulang niyang never daw siyang prinessure sa kahit ano, basta she always does her best daw sa lahat ng gagawin niya.
Asked if like her parents she will be open to a life in public service, sabi ni Juliana, maraming iba’t ibang paraan ng public service at hindi lang sa pagpasok sa politika.
Tama naman. Kung tutuusin, ang pag-e-excel sa sports para sa bansa ay puwedeng tingnan din na pagsisilbi sa bayan.
Nakaka-proud lang talaga si Juliana. Nakuha niya ang best traits ng mga magulang niya, at napapanatili niya ang focus at hunger for excellence while having fun and helping others — na trademark nina Lucy at Goma!
Way to go, Juliana!!!
Read: Juliana Gomez on marriage of parents Richard and Lucy: "This is what love should be like"
JERRY OLEA
Araw-araw ang training ni Juliana sa fencing — dalawang beses bawat araw, sa umaga at sa hapon. Tuloy pa rin ang pagiging staff niya sa opisina ng ama niya na si Congressman Richard Gomez.
“Malapit na din ako mag-graduate. So, kahit papano mas balanced yung schedule ko,” sambit ni Juliana.
Read: Juliana Gomez, nagti-training sa opisina ng amang si Richard Gomez sa Kongreso
Maraming kasabay si Juliana sa training sa fencing, sa Ormoc man o sa Kamaynilaan.
“Malalakas yung mga fencers dito na taga-Ormoc. They’re one of my toughest competitors for sure.”
Maliban sa Ormoc, may mga fencing hall din ba sa ibang mga probinsiya?
“Several places in Manila. I think… Ormoc is the only province that actually has a fencing hall, but I’m not positive on that. But ang daming fencing hall dun sa Manila,” tugon ni Juliana.
Mabuti at sinusuportahan ng mga local government unit (LGU) ang fencing. Suportado rin ba ito ng national government?
Napatango si Juliana, “Yes, yes. The main fencing hall in Manila is funded by the Sports commission.”
May isang sem pa si Juliana sa UP Diliman. Next year pa ang graduation march niya. Ano ang next step niya pagka-graduate sa UP?
“Of course fencing is still in the equation,” mabilis na sagot ni Juliana.
“I really wanna see what I can do. I really wanna challenge myself, but apart from that, of course I want to study.
“I want to take up Masters. I just want to continue.”
Public Administration ang kurso ni Juliana, at pangarap niyang magkaroon ng masteral degree for that.
“It’s really a personal interest.”
Paghahanda na ba ito para sundan sa public service ang parents niyang sina Cong. Goma at Mayor Lucy?
“I think there are many ways to get into public service. It’s not really… it’s not about…” hinay-hinay na sabi ni Juliana.
“Since of course they’re my parents and I work for my dad, it’s more about supporting their causes.
“Doing my part, given that I am working with my dad right now.”
Ipinagdiwang nina Goma at Lucy ang kanilang 25th wedding anniversary noong nakaraang Abril 28. Nang biruin ang mga ito kung handa na silang maging grandparents in the near future, hindi pa raw ang kanilang sagot.
Napangiti si Juliana, “I think it’s too soon for me. It’s different now, di ba? Because during my mom’s time, or during my grandparents’ time, people got married earlier.
“It’s different now. And I’m still in college.”
Read: Lucy Torres to daughter Juliana Gomez: "Pray for a good spouse"
Hindi nakapag-tree planting sina Goma at Lucy noong nakaraang wedding anniv nila, pero nag-“harvest” sila ng medals na napanalunan ng Ormocanons.
“Yeah, I’m trying to do my best talaga in fencing. I wanna make them proud. That’s really my objective,” pahayag ni Juliana.
In fairness, hindi raw pini-pressure nina Goma at Lucy ang kanilang nag-iisang anak na dapat mag-excel ito sa mga pinapasok na larangan.
“They don’t pressure me, that’s the thing. But I pressure myself because I’m given the opportunity to train with really good athletes,” saad ni Juliana.
“I have really good coaches. My parents support me even if no returns or guarantee. So, I think doing my best is the least that I can do.”
Ano sa tingin niya ang future ng sports na fencing sa Pilipinas?
“Aside from my personal dreams in fencing, I think that the future of fencing in the Philippines is really bright because I see a lot of kids who have become so passionate in this sport just because they have good role models to look up to,” pananalig ni Juliana.
“So I think that as one of like the older athletes in fencing, even if I’m still kinda young, it’s important to be a good role model because you wanna keep the kids going.
“You wanna keep inspiring na you wanna push them to become better, kasi sila na yung susunod, e.”
Napaka-expensive na sport ba ang fencing? Malaki ba ang gastos sa pagsasanay rito?
“It depends how far you want to take your fencing. I think like all sports, if you want to take it far, you want to train abroad, you want to get a foreign coach, then of course it’s gonna cost some money.
“But to start fencing, and to excel as a fencer here in the Philippines, it will take a lot.
“For as long as your school supports you, your parents support you, your friends and family spend for your training hours.”
Ten or eleven years old si Juliana nang mag-umpisang mag-fencing. Tumigil siya for seven years. Three years ago siya bumalik dito, noong kasagsagan ng pandemya.
Nagte-training noon sa Ormoc sa fencing si Miggy Bonnevie-Bautista. Nagkakilala sila at nagkagustuhan ni Juliana.
Read: Juliana Gomez thankful to boyfie Miggy Bautista for help sharpening her sword fencing skill
Sa highlights ng Piña Festival 2023 this week ay nasa Manila si Miggy. Ano ang nagagawa ng fencing sa kanyang buhay?
“It really taught me the value of hard work, and it taught me how to set goals,” sagot ni Juliana.
“Because I always say, if I hadn’t set goals, I don’t think I’d be where I am now in fencing.
“And that’s not to say that I’m very far… like, I’m not an Olympic gold medalist like Hidilyn [Diaz].
“But because I set goals, I was able to win. I was able bring some honor to my country and to my school, and I only hope to go up from here.”