Richard Gomez, Lucy Torres celebrate 20th wedding anniversary

MANILA, Philippines — Unlike some celebrity marriages that went sour, Richard Gomez and Lucy Torres-Gomez are still going strong as they celebrate their 20th wedding anniversary this April.

When asked on what keeps them together, Richard told Philstar.com: “Relax lang. Chill lang. Ganon naman talaga eh.”

The Ormoc mayor can still vividly remember how he fell in love at first sight with his wife while they were shooting a TV commercial more than two decades ago. Richard revealed that while shooting for the commercial, he was secretly taking Lucy’s pictures. He said it was a memorable moment in his life when he met his lovable wife.

"Kinunan ko ‘yon during the first shooting ng commercial namin. Kinukunan ko lang siya. Pero I never showed that photograph until kinasal kami, sinabi ko, ‘I have a photograph of you that I took nung nagshoo-shooting tayo,’” Richard told Philstar.com.

 

I never knew this photo existed until I became his wife. This was taken in 1993, in Lake Caliraya where we shot the second storyboard of our Lux Shampoo TV commercial. Here, I am all of 18 years old, in a long white dress, and totally in love with him (well, since I was 12, actually). The latter, of course, no one knew except for my sister Caren who was with me as my chaperone. Anyway. This was Day 2 of our shoot, the morning was hot but the wind was cool, the lake sparkled like a bed of diamonds under the golden sunlight. I remember seeking shade under some tree during the break, and people from the production house and agency were taking behind-the-scenes shots. And somewhere far away from the crowd, there was Richard —— tall, dark, handsome, and perfect, in khaki shorts and a shirt, his professional camera with him. I looked towards him, and seeing that his camera was pointed somewhere in my direction I smiled for him, never mind if I did not know for sure it was I that he saw in those lens. Years later, in 1998, I married him to live happily ever after, and as a very new bride organizing our things in our home, I saw this photograph in a drawer. He says he has kept it all along, and that I look beautiful. And if indeed I do, my love, it is only because I was looking at you. @richardgomezinstagram

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Feb 6, 2018 at 4:50am PST

The matinee idol is now focused on his job as the father of their daughter, Juliana, and of Ormoc City. Since winning last 2016 after years of unfortunate political tries, Goma claimed he has never failed his constituents, as he has been able to turn the city into one of the most disciplined and cleanest cities in the country.

Richard imposed his passions on the city. Known for being an anti-drug advocate, Goma has turned Ormoc into a drug-free city last November 2017, when the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) declared the city drug-free.

His love for arts and sports can also be felt in the city as Ormoc will open its museum this year. The city also bagged its first-ever Eastern Visayas Regional Athletic Association championship with 109 gold medals, 55 silvers and 72 bronzes.

The veteran actor has also been researching the cultural background and the history of the city and through which, it has been found out that war ships are underneath Ormoc’s waters.

“We know that Leyte, during the war, active talaga ang giyera dito eh, but we found out during the research vessel na nagpunta ditto, they discovered 11 imperial Japanese ships dito at apat na American naval ships dito, sunken. Sumakay ako ng submarine. I didn’t realize na ganun kalalim ang bay namin.”

Recently, Ormoc has switched to using light-emitting diode bulbs (LEDs) in all of the city’s street lights, thereby reducing the city’s energy consumption by 70 percent.

“Peace and order has been my number one focus for the city of Ormoc. The city lighting upgrade translates into my mission for the city. Investing in Philips Lighting’s new LED systems is one of the great steps we took in better equipping Ormocanons in undertaking productive pursuits. Aside from the operational and energy savings of our new LED road lights, the upgrade evidently transforms the visual appearance of Ormoc as an urban area – making our community more accessible, usable and safer especially at night,” said Richard.

Philips Lighting Philippines manager Jagan Srinivasan said Ormoc is a pioneering city that realized that switching to LED lighting can reduce the city’s energy consumption.

“Apart from providing comfortable brightness that foster safety, productivity, and comfort, our well- designed and easy to maintain road lamps can deliver savings as much as PHP 3.8 million per year just in energy consumption of the city. From over 1M kWhr to an only 640,000 kwHr consumption, the city of Ormoc is saving 193 tonnes of carbon dioxide, potentially saving 16,000 trees. This forward-thinking scheme of Ormoc City definitely sets the pace for LGUs in the Philippines,” Srinivasan noted.