Lucy Torres-Gomez (born Lucy Marie Martinez Torres; December 11, 1974), is a

Filipina Filipinos ( tl, Mga Pilipino) are the people who are citizens of or native to the Philippines. The majority of Filipinos today come from various Austronesian ethnolinguistic groups, all typically speaking either Filipino, English and/or other ...

actress and politician. She has served as Mayor of

Ormoc Ormoc (IPA: �oɾˈmok, officially the City of Ormoc ( ceb, Dakbayan sa Ormoc; war, Syudad han Ormoc; fil, Lungsod ng Ormoc), is a 1st class independent component city in the Eastern Visayas region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 ce ...

and as the

Representative Representative may refer to: Politics * Representative democracy, type of democracy in which elected officials represent a group of people * House of Representatives, legislative body in various countries or sub-national entities * Legislator, som ...

for

Leyte Leyte ( ) is an island in the Visayas group of islands in the Philippines. It is eighth-largest and sixth-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total population of 2,626,970 as of 2020 census. Since the accessibility of land has be ...

's 4th legislative district from June 2013 to June 2022, and previously from June 2010 to March 2013. This district includes the city of

, and the municipalities of

Albuera La Albuera is a village southeast of Badajoz, Extremadura, Spain. it had a population of c. 2,000 inhabitants. History It was scene of the Battle of Albuera (16 May 1811) between Spanish, Portuguese and British troops under William Carr Beresf ...

Isabel Isabel is a female name of Spanish origin. Isabelle is a name that is similar, but it is of French origin. It originates as the medieval Spanish form of '' Elisabeth'' (ultimately Hebrew ''Elisheva''), Arising in the 12th century, it became popul ...

Kananga Kananga, formerly known as Luluabourg or Luluaburg, is the capital city of the Kasai-Central, Kasai-Central Province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and was the capital of the former Kasaï-Occidental , Kasaï-Occidental Province. It is ...

, Matag-ob, Merida, and Palompon. She is married to fellow actor turned politician

Richard Gomez Richard Frank Icasiano Gomez (; born April 7, 1966) is a Filipino actor, television presenter and director, politician, and épée fencing, fencer. He has been serving as the House of Representatives of the Philippines, Representative of Ley ...

, who currently serves as the mayor of Ormoc.

Early life and media career

Torres-Gomez was born on December 11, 1974, in

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

to Manuel "Manoling" Torres Jr. and Julie Martinez, the second of four children. She has an older sister and two younger brothers. For primary and secondary school, she attended the Benedictine founded Saint Peter's College in Ormoc. Torres-Gomez later attended the University of the Philippines Cebu, from which she earned a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...

degree in

business management Business administration, also known as business management, is the administration of a commercial enterprise. It includes all aspects of overseeing and supervising the business operations of an organization. From the point of view of management ...

. In 1993, Torres-Gomez shot a TV commercial for Lux Shampoo at

Lake Caliraya Lake Caliraya is a man-made lake situated in the municipalities of Lumban, Cavinti, and Kalayaan in Laguna province, Philippines. Created in 1939, the lake has developed as a popular spot for water sports and outdoor recreation including fishing. ...

, Laguna, where she met her future husband, Richard Gomez. Five years later in 1998, the two starred in the

ABS-CBN ABS-CBN (an initialism of its two predecessors' names, Alto Broadcasting System and Chronicle Broadcasting Network) is a Television in the Philippines, Philippine Commercial broadcasting, commercial broadcast broadcast network, network tha ...

television sitcom ''

Richard Loves Lucy ''Richard Loves Lucy'' is a Philippine sitcom on ABS-CBN. The show stars Richard Gomez and Lucy Torres. It aired from November 15, 1998 to March 25, 2001. Cast Main cast *Richard Gomez as Richard *Lucy Torres as Lucy *Kristine Hermosa *Jolina Ma ...

,'' and married that same year. Torres-Gomez has also hosted the TV5 reality dance competition show '' Shall We Dance?'' and the Q lifestyle show '' The Sweet Life'', and endorses Philippine brands bench/, and Kashieca.

Political career

Torres-Gomez was elected the Representative for Leyte's 4th legislative district as substitute candidate for her husband Richard Gomez on May 10, 2010. Gomez was disqualified by the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) due to his lack of one year residency in the district, a requirement of eligibility for office. On March 19, 2013, the

Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

, ruled on a protest filed by fellow congressional candidate Eufrocino Codilla Jr., ousting Torres-Gomez from office. The Courts said that she "did not validly substitute" her husband. Her ousting did not affect her re-election bid, and she regained her seat in May of that same year, beating incumbent Ormoc Mayor Eric Codilla. In May 2016, Torres-Gomez was again re-elected as representative, defeating Violeta Codilla. As congresswoman, Torres-Gomez has principally authored over 100 bills and co-authored 35. She is the chairperson of the House Committee on Disaster Resilience, and the vice chairperson of committees on

Tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring (disambiguation), touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tour (disambiguation), tours. Th ...

, and Women and Gender Equality, and the special committee on Creative Industry and Performing Arts. At the height of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

in June 2020, Torres-Gomez expressed her support for the controversial

Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020 The Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020, officially designated as Republic Act No. 11479, is a counter-terrorism law intended to prevent, prohibit, and penalize terrorism in the Philippines. The law was passed by the 18th Congress of the Philippines, 18 ...

, stating that fear of the abuse of law is not a valid reason to reject needed legislation. The bill was signed into law as Republic Act No. 11479 on July 3, 2020. The law's constitutionality is currently being challenged in the

by multiple groups. Torres-Gomez, together with husband

, was a member of the then-ruling

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

during her early political career, but left in June 2016 to join the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino–Lakas ng Bayan (PDP–Laban) shortly after

Rodrigo Duterte Rodrigo Roa Duterte (, ; born March 28, 1945), also known as Digong, Rody, and by the initials DU30 and PRRD, is a Filipino lawyer and politician who served as the 16th president of the Philippines from 2016 to 2022. He is the chairperson ...

won the

presidential election A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is President. Elections by country Albania The president of Albania is elected by the Assembly of Albania who are elected by the Albanian public. Chile The pre ...

Personal life

Torres-Gomez married actor and

Mayor

on April 28, 1998 at the Saints Peter and Paul Parish Church in Ormoc,

. They currently reside in Ormoc, and have one daughter, Juliana Marie Beatriz (b. 2000). Torres-Gomez is

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

. She speaks Cebuano,

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

, and Tagalog. In 2018, Torres-Gomez was named Most Stylish Woman by

Philippine Tatler ''Tatler'' is a British magazine published by Condé Nast Publications focusing on fashion and lifestyle, as well as coverage of high society and politics. It is targeted towards the British upper-middle class and upper class, and those interes ...

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Torres-Gomez, Lucy 1974 births Living people Visayan people Filipino television personalities People from Ormoc Actresses from Leyte (province) Filipino people of German descent Filipino people of Spanish descent Filipino actor-politicians Liberal Party (Philippines) politicians Members of the House of Representatives of the Philippines from Leyte (province) Women members of the House of Representatives of the Philippines University of the Philippines Cebu alumni The Philippine Star people ABS-CBN personalities GMA Network personalities TV5 (Philippine TV network) personalities Filipino politicians of Chinese descent