What a Fantastic Friday it was with multi-awarded actor, athlete, husband, father, and home cook, Ormoc City Mayor Richard Gomez! Wow, that’s a lot of titles under his belt, isn’t it? Mayor Gomez is really an all-around man, and we learned all about it during his live interview on All Out with Rico and Karla!
The well-known Philippine actor and now city mayor joined the All Out duo from his office in Ormoc, Leyte and talked about everything under the sun, from the current situation in his city to the origins of his showbiz career. And we’ve learned that this man can achieve anything he sets his mind to, which is why he’s achieved (and continues to achieve) so many great things in his lifetime! He said so himself, “When I try something out, mafe-feel ko talaga kung gusto ko o hindi. ‘Pag hindi ko gusto, I leave it right away, hindi ko pinipilit. But if there’s something that I want, I will focus on it 120%.”
As a mayor, he’s been doing his best to keep the city of Ormoc COVID-free and as safe as possible! “We take things on a day-to-day basis – we adjust, we’re very fluid. ‘Yun lang yung magagawa mo at this point in time. You try to listen to the radio or watch on TV the things that people do, the best practices, and that’s what we try to apply here in Ormoc city.” Mayor Gomez also gets to work hand-in-hand with his wife, Congresswoman Lucy Torres-Gomez, and they work together with neighboring municipalities!
There was a bit of joking around when Rico asked the mayor, “How do you get the word around, since you’re in the province and not everyone has access?” to which he replied, “We have internet here! We have cable TV!” LOL, Karla apologized on behalf of her partner saying “Mayor, I apologize! Blacklisted na si Rico sa Ormoc!” But Mayor Gomez really has been doing his best in managing the city and talked about some of the measures they’ve taken to prevent the spread of the virus: They closed the borders to the city early on, ever since March, and now they’ve set up a quarantine area for returnees coming from Manila, who will all be tested.
Another way that the mayor supports the citizens: by supporting local vendors at the market! Whenever he does his market trips, Mayor Gomez doesn’t haggle for lower prices like most of us would. Instead, he always makes sure that the vendors are selling things to him at their fair price! On most days, he goes to the market at 11 am to buy some fresh fish and vegetables, goes home to make himself a quick and healthy lunch, then goes back to work by 1 pm. It’s so easy to get around because the traffic there is so light – Metro Manila could never?!
Other than just being a great mayor, Richard Gomez is also an amazing family man. These days, he makes sure to go home early after work to spend more time with his wife and his teenage daughter, Juliana. Props to his time management skills! And the love between husband and wife is very much alive, after 22 years of marriage. The key to their relationship: good, open communication, and lots of quality time! “We love to travel together, we hold hands a lot, we hug and kiss a lot. We say, ‘I love you’ to each other everyday, especially before we go to sleep. The nice thing about me and Lucy, we get to talk about anything. Walang secrets. There are days that are not good, and we still talk about it.”
Mayor Gomez told Karla and Rico all about how their love story started, and it’s super kilig! It all started in the 90’s, when the two would shoot commercials together. He found her attractive from the start, but it wasn’t until 2 or 3 years later when he realized he had feelings for her! “That was the time I pursued her, in 1997. In fact, I was out of the country when I was courting Lucy. I was in Germany training for fencing. Everyday I would call her – what’s funny, back in 1997, hindi pa uso yung mga cellphones eh. So in Germany to call long distance, I would use a phone booth. I would bring a box of coins, so while I’m taking to her, I’m putting coins sa phone booth. A lot of times we would get cut kasi mapupuno na yung phone booth with coins, the phone booth cannot accept coins anymore!” That is one very dedicated LDR (and one that no couple in today’s age would ever experience)!
The two became a couple in October 1997, and by December of the same year, Richard proposed on Lucy’s birthday! They got married in April 1998, and how have a beautiful family with their 19-year-old daughter Juliana, living a great life in Ormoc. Goals! Having a healthy and happy relationship is something Mayor Gomez wants for Juliana as well, when the time comes that she has a serious boyfriend. “I always tell her, you really have to choose the person you’re going to marry. Choose the person that’s going to make you happy, that you’re ready to wake up to every morning,” he said. “Kailangang mabait, if you get into a relationship, make sure the person will treat you well.” We couldn’t agree more!
Some things they enjoy doing as a family: cooking, eating together, and vlogging it, too! If you didn’t already know, Mayor Gomez has a YouTube channel where he uploads his cooking videos, all with the help of Juliana. Go check out his YouTube cooking series, Goma At Home, his dishes look super delish! He says his love for cooking started when he lived with his lola, and how he loves to experiment with whatever they have in the fridge, or imitating dishes he likes at restaurants. He also has his own vegetable and herbs garden! He’s never taken any culinary classes, he just learns from experience. Safe to say he’s been quite successful at it thus far.
Being known as a mayor and a YouTube chef are relatively new to the public, because Filipinos can never forget him as an actor! You know him from “Waiting,” “Kahit Kailan,” “Walang Hanggan,” and plenty more movies and TV shows! And just as much as you miss seeing Mayor Gomez on screen, he misses acting as well. “I really miss doing TV shows and movies! Believe me, that’s rly my bread and butter,” he admitted. “But there’s really a time for acting and a time for doing public service.”
But will we ever see him act again? He says that after he retires as Ormoc City Mayor, it’s very possible that he’ll make a return to the industry. And he’d love to work with many artistas, including Bea Alonzo and Kim Chiu! He’s not quite sure yet what role he’d want to play, but he loves reading scripts to see if a story or character would fit him well.
Before the busy mayor had to leave the livestream and continue with the rest of his day, he gave a message to everyone listening and struggling with the current situation: “This is very different and difficult. Kailangan talagang magtitiis tayo. And we really have to help each other in the community, and in helping the government. Following simple protocols can really slow down the rate of transfer of infection.” Good reminders from a responsible mayor! He also stressed that it’s not easy to deal with the struggle of wanting to let everyone go back to work because of safety concerns. “It’s a delicate balance between allowing people to go out and allowing people to stay in. So ito talaga yung kailangan pahabaan yung pasensya natin. And let’s work together. A little prayer will help a lot.”
Amen, Mayor Gomez! He also thanked Rico and Karla for the wonderful interview, saying it made him laugh and smile. “Thank you, I will carry this throughout the day!” Aww, mayor, we smiled and laughed just as much as you did! Hopefully he’ll be able to visit the station once everything’s safe and sound, cause we’d love to hear more from him! Check out the full interview on our Facebook page: