Life lessons my students learned from Richard Gomez: ‘I come from a broken family but I chose not to be broken’

When I decided to take a teaching job in a local college in Cabuyao last year, I knew exactly how I would want to conduct my Philippine Pop Culture class. I didn’t like it to be boring and textbook dependent. I wanted it alive by inviting pop culture personalities to come to my class.

Most of my students are hard-up. During online classes, many take their quizzes and exams while in the tricycle, as they come from a graveyard shift from work. And because of the location of the school, they do not have the same access to resource speakers as students in the city have. But in matters concerning their education, I give my best shot to afford them a different kind of learning experience.

In the last two semesters, I brought to our online class some friends who were more than willing to impart their knowledge. Young superstar Judy Ann Santos (with husband Ryan Agoncillo assisting her in the Google Meet class) discussed her film Ploning. And when I discussed Darna and the creation of superheroes as part of pop culture, Marian Rivera (with husband Dingdong Dantes as her technical assistant) popped in the tube. YouTube celebrity Mikey Bustos discussed social media as an arbiter of pop culture. Even dearest Rachy Cuna, the floral architect of the Philippines, talked about style. My best friend Christine Dayrit, chairman of the Cinema Evaluation Board, has lectured online and in the classroom about film production and film analysis a few times.

Then Richard Gomez came to my class — in person.

“Goms,” I endearingly said when I bumped into Leyte Fourth District Rep. Richard Gomez in a hotel in BGC recently, “may I kindly invite you to my Philippine Pop Culture class at St. Vincent College of Cabuyao when I discuss how films and celebrities shape pop culture? Kahit online?”

“Sure, Büm,” he answered in a heartbeat. “But I like it live, face-to-face.”

“But the school is far. It’s in Cabuyao.”

“Nothing is far if you want to inspire students. I will tell them I started as a crew at McDonald’s before I became who I am today.”

And one morning, he arrived at SVCC and regaled my 100 students (from two sections) with his life story and the lessons he learned from life for more than two hours.

Aside from discussing his films, most notably my class-required film Hihintayin Kita sa Langit, Richard talked about some golden wisdom he picked up from life and living.

1. “Make sincere friendships because you need friends in life.” The crew at McDo he worked with before are still his friends, he added.

2. “I am a product of a broken family and it was my choice not to be broken.” He grew up with his lola. He grew up with no rancor. He keeps track of his father and knows how he is doing. He calls his mother, ‘60s actress Stella Suarez, almost every day — just to check on her in the US.

3. “Tithing is important. It’s already a blessing to be a blessing to others.” He and his wife Lucy Torres Gomez, now Ormoc City mayor, give 10 percent of what they earn to church and charity. And he swears that God blesses them continuously. So they do tithing continuously.

4. “Save.” He saves 50 percent of what he earns. Even when he was still mopping the floor of McDonald’s.

5. “Find a partner who you like to wake up to in the morning.” He says “I love you” to Lucy every waking moment and also punctuates his phone bye-bye with “I love you.”

6. “Don’t give up on your dream. Don’t pass up the opportunity presented to you.” When his late manager Douglas Quijano asked him to be an artista, he shied away by saying “I only want to become a model.” But when one day a friend asked him how much money he had in his wallet, he found out he only had P20. That was the turning point for him to enter showbiz.

7. “It’s always good to have a choice. Choose wisely.” A major role in the classic Scorpion Nights was first offered to him. He was not comfortable doing the sexy scenes. He said no. The role went to Daniel Fernando. Richard took Inday Bote as his first movie with Regal Films. And his stardom began.

8. “Finish your studies. Education is important. But it’s not the choice of school that will open the world for you. It will be opened by you.” He is a product of public school from elementary to college. He first took up Accounting at PUP. Then inquired at the registrar of UP Diliman how to transfer. “You need an average of 1.75 from the other school.” He replied with a smile, “1.75 lang pala.” Next thing he knew, he said, he was already enrolled in UP, where he finished a degree in Film.

9. “Don’t burn bridges.” It’s not good to have enemies.

10. “Appreciate the people who help you, who give you opportunities to better yourself. Always appreciate them.” He’s big on friendship, on human relationships. He’s big on gratitude because he knows fully that people have the choice not to help others but they still do.

11. “Be kind. Choose kindness all the time,” Richard ended his lecture. He gave each of my students a GC from Bench. “Para may pambili man lamang kayo ng bagong briefs,” he said in jest. Of course, he gave GCs that are enough for each student to pamper themselves a little bit more.

My students were floored to have Richard Gomez for more than three hours. But the happiest was Goma. “I was once a wide-eyed dreamer like all of them. It feels good to go back to my core,” he concluded.