Actor Gomez to run for Ormoc mayor

GOMEZ

ORMOC CITY—When Richard Gomez first said he was running for mayor of Ormoc City, he didn’t sound like he was acting.

He was not. The actor on Wednesday said he was serious about his political plans and was ready to face former Rep. Eufrocino Codilla in the mayoral race of Ormoc, hometown of his wife, now Rep. Lucy Torres Gomez.

“I am not saying that I will win, but I will work hard to win,” said Gomez.

He is up against a clan that has ruled the city and towns in the fourth district of Leyte for years.

The incumbent mayor, Eric Codilla, said the family shouldn’t feel threatened by Gomez’s foray into the mayoral race. “Everybody is entitled to dream,” said the mayor. “It’s free anyway,” he added.

The mayor confirmed, too, that his father, the former congressman, is running for mayor next year. The elder Codilla had been mayor from 1992 to 2001 and is on his last term as congressman.

If plans don’t change, the mayor will be up against Lucy in the congressional race.

Gomez ran for a House seat representing Leyte’s fourth district in the May 2010 elections but was disqualified due to lack of residency. Lucy, whose family has vast landholdings in Ormoc, replaced the actor.

Gomez said he decided to run for mayor due to the clamor for change of the people of Ormoc and the lack of progress in the city.

“It is the clamor of the people. They are really looking for change,” said Gomez.