SC ousts Lucy Torres-Gomez as Leyte lawmaker

REP. LUCY Torres-Gomez. Photo by Romy Homillada

MANILA, Philippines—The Supreme Court has ousted Lucy Torres-Gomez as the representative of the 4th District of Leyte.

Voting 7-4-4, the high court said Torres-Gomez could not have validly substituted for her husband Richard Gomez who cannot be considered as candidate for the congressional seat during the 2010 polls.

The seven justices are Associate Justices Estela Perlas-Bernabe, Antonio Carpio, Martin Villarama, Jose Perez, Bienvenido Reyes and Marvic Leonen.

The four justices are Teresita Leonardo De Castro, Mariano Del Castillo, Roberto Abad and Jose Mendoza. On the other hand, the other four justices – Presbitero Velasco, Arturo Brion, Lucas Bersamin and Diosdado Peralta – did not participate for being members of the House of Representative Electoral Tribunal.

The high court said Richard Gomez was ineligible to run for Congress for failure to comply with the residency requirement.

“Thus, absent valid substitution, Ms. Torres-Gomez could not have been considered a candidate,” the high court said.