REP. LUCY Torres-Gomez photo by romy homillada
Model-actress Lucy Torres-Gomez may continue to attend the sessions of the House of Representatives as the duly-elected representative of the fourth district of Leyte province.
The Supreme Court on Thursday junked the petition challenging the validity of her candidacy as a late replacement for her husband, actor Richard Gomez, who was disqualified by the Commission on Elections for his failure to comply with the one-year residency rule.
In upholding the victory of the actress-turned-lawmaker, the high court said the House of Representatives Electoral Tribunal (HRET) did not err when it affirmed the legality of Torres-Gomez’s certificate of candidacy.
It said the petitioner, Eufrocino Codilla Jr., who lost by more than 24,000 votes to Torres-Gomez, failed to prove that HRET abused its discretion when it threw out his petition on March 22.
“(T)he petition (was) dismissed for failure to sufficiently show that any grave abuse of discretion was committed by the HRET in rendering the challenged decision and resolution,” the court said in a two-page notice of resolution.
The tribunal said the HRET’s ruling “appear(s) to be in accord with the facts and applicable law and jurisprudence.”
The court added that Codilla did not comply with the requirements under Rule 65 of the 1997 Rules of Civil Procedure after his petition did not include the significant dates in connection with the receipt of the HRET’s resolution and the filing of the motion for reconsideration.