The day Richard announced his candidacy for Ormoc mayor

To run or not to run.

That was the question that bugged Richard Gomez for a long time, torn between politics and showbiz, before he finally decided to run for mayor of Ormoc City in next year’s elections, the same position that he ran for in 2013, during an emotion-filled meeting with supporters last Oct. 14. Obviously, Richard (Goma to family and friends) believed in second chances just like what’s happening in his career which is enjoying a renewed vitality.

“Very few actors get a chance for a second shot at reviving their career na ka-level sa kasikatan noong bata pa sila,” Richard was quoted as saying by Lalaine Jimenea who wrote a revealing story about Richard’s political comeback in last week’s issue of Eastern Mail (of which Jimenea is the publisher). “I got that chance and I didn’t let it pass.”

His career’s second wind was kicked off by the top-rating Kapamilya soap Walang Hanggan which marked Richard’s re-teamup with Dawn Zulueta (his leading lady in several movies years ago when they were both single) and also starred Susan Roces, Helen Gamboa, Coco Martin and Julia Montes. The Richard-Dawn tandem was then featured in Star Cinema movies She’s Dating The Gangster (with Daniel Padilla and Kathryn Bernardo) and The Trial (with Gretchen Barretto, Enrique Gil and John Lloyd Cruz). Richard was also in the cast of the award-winning indie The Janitor.

Richard and Dawn are together again in the Kapamilya soap You’re My Home which premieres on Monday, Nov. 9, airing weeknights.

There was a little hitch, recalled Jimenea.

It is said that his daughter Juliana (who turned 15 last Sept. 8, birthday of Mama Mary) didn’t want Richard to run. Apparently, the girl was convinced that her father sincerely wanted to serve the Ormocanons. Richard’s wife, Ormoc Rep. Lucy Torres (a Marian devotee) stands beside and behind Richard in whatever he does.

Anyway, here’s what Jimenea wrote about that “tension-filled” day in October, two days before the deadline for the filing of COCs (Certificate Of Candidacy):

At the head of a long table was Richard Gomez. On his side was Rep. Lucy Torres-Gomez. Except for a few trusted people and this reporter, the rest were Vice Mayor Toto Locsin Jr., six incumbent councilors, and four new councilor wannabes.

Days before, the group had not heard from Gomez personally. They were beginning to think that he was having second thoughts about running for mayor of Ormoc again.

A gamut of expressions ran through the participants’ faces. Vice Mayor Toto Locsin Jr.’s was inscrutable; Vince Rama was brooding in a corner; Tommy Serafica sat at the far end, looking down; Bennet Pongos looked cool but his eyes betrayed his tension. All waited in bated breath if they would be hearing bad or good news from Richard. 

Then, Richard started to speak. His voice broke immediately. He told them how sorry he was for being incommunicado for several days, but he had a lot of soul-searching to do….

?“I married an Ormocana. I have grown to love Ormoc. I want to give my best to Ormoc because I see its great promise to become a great city, but another love is calling me,” he told the group, who were visibly getting dismayed by the minute. “I want to hear you out,” he finally told them.

Councilor Gerry Penserga was the first to speak. His words were simple. He told Richard that he joined him in 2010 (When Richard ran for Party-List representative. —RFL) because he believed his leadership could bring good things for Ormoc City and the 4th district. 

Roland Villasencio was more emotional. He said that if Richard was not running, he was also giving up. “When there were only a few people willing to stand with you, I was there. In fact, I just wanted to help the campaign, but eventually I was drafted as councilor. I won, and up to now, still hope to work with you as our mayor,” he said.

The others took turns in airing their opinions. Engr. Bebe Laurente, who admits to be a Codilla supporter before he switched sides, said he joined Richard’s team because he felt the city would become progressive with him as mayor.

Brother-in-law Vince Rama was the most emotional. Just like Richard, he said he wanted to see a better Ormoc. “My only fault was falling in love with an Ormocana. That’s why I am here, and would want to see a better future for our city, for our children and our children’s children. We see in you the kind of leadership our city needs,” he said.

Tommy Serafica was brutally frank. He told Richard, in his usual eloquent way of putting things in Visaya, that “sometimes, Richard, di ko kasabot kun nag-iinartista ka, pero usa ray ako nasabtan, nga mutuo ko nga kun matuman ang imong mga damgo para sa Ormoc, nga hayag gyod ang kaugmaon sa atong syudad.” (Sometimes, Richard, I cannot distinguish if you are just acting or not, but one thing I am sure, is that I believe that if your plans for the City are fulfilled, we will have a better Ormoc.)

Serafica then recalled the day Richard invited him to run. “You opened your laptop and showed me your masterplan on how to develop Ormoc if you become mayor. I did not want to join politics but you convinced me that I was looking at a man who had a clear vision for Ormoc, and I believed in you,” he said.

Dr. Mario Rodriguez, who joined Richard in Richard’s second time to run, after winning a council seat as an independent candidate of the advocacy group Kaabag, said there was a time when he even entertained the thought of resigning during his first term. He joined Richard’s group during his second run, because he also believed Gomez’s leadership could make a difference for Ormoc City.  

Atty. Nolitz Quilang, Atty. Jasper Lucero, and Goito Yrastorza, on the other hand, expressed the same sentiments. They did not hesitate in joining the Torres-Gomez group because they believed Richard could be a good mayor.  

Quilang, a newcomer to the group, said that he looks forward to Richard becoming mayor because he believes he will give priority on investment generation and tourism, to rev up the city’s business atmosphere. 

Vice Mayor Toto Locsin Jr., on the other hand, was short and curt. If there was no chance for him to work with a mayor whom he shared the same visions, he said, he might as well leave politics and go back to his life in the farm. “Yes, we have the majority of the council, but it is different if we share the same vision as the mayor,” he said. 

A deathly silence followed the vice-mayor’s words. 

As Lucy softly dabbed her eyes with tissue, the group heard the words that were music to their ears.

Richard, clearing his throat, said that earlier that afternoon, he firmed up his decision to take his chance again and run for mayor. 

Cheers erupted, as everybody stood to hug him and Lucy.

There were backslapping, tight hugs and even tighter handshakes. A seemingly dark cloud was lifted, and everybody was smiling. 

Richard admitted it was a hard decision to make, foregoing a major movie contract that was being offered to him, but he could not also abandon the group who has hitched their hopes on him.

Lucy, he added, also needed him around. Just like in 2013, he would want to be with his wife at the end of a tiring day, after blazing separate campaign trails.

He also promised the group that just like in 2013, he would give his all in his campaign to become mayor. “Marami pang dapat gawin to make Ormoc reach its potential, and I hope we can work together one day to see its realization.”

Lucy, on the other hand, looked both happy and sad. She told this reporter that it was a decision she left entirely for Richard to make. “I told him: ‘Honey, it is your decision to make. You will hear nothing from me and whatever your decision is, I will stand by you’.” 

Post-All Souls’ Day piece

The following item, contributed by Dr. Henry L. Yu of Cebu City, should have come out on Monday, Nov. 2. Better late than never.

Going home

Aging and dying are two sure things that are going to happen to all of us, rich or poor, beautiful or not, intelligent or dumb. They are part of man’s life, mortal beings that we all are. If there’s a beginning, then there ought to be an ending, just like a prologue and an epilogue in a book, or an opening and a closing remark in a program, or like the sunrise and the sunset.

The mere mention of the words “old” and “death” would scare people because what’s next to old age is getting sick and what follows after sickness is dying. Of course, none of us would want to get old, much more to get sick and die. Neither you nor me would want to, unless we no longer find life worth living or we no longer have reasons to live.

It’s not that we cannot accept death per se. What’s hard to accept is the physicality of a person, meaning his physical absence whenever we celebrate an important occasion or when we need someone to share our agony and ecstasy with, a shoulder to cry on, or just by being there. That’s why when a loved one dies, we go through the different stages of grieving: Denial, Anger, Depression, Bargaining, and Acceptance.

Only when we can accept the death of a loved one will we ever be relieved from grief or bereavement and be at peace with ourselves and the world. Acceptance means being attuned with the reality that a loved one has gone back home, and that we too will be going home someday.

Richard and Lucy during the tension-filled crucial meeting with their supporters in Ormoc City last Oct. 14 when Richard finally declared his intention to run for Ormoc City mayor, his second time to do so

 

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