MANILA, Philippines - The House of Representatives Electoral Tribunal (HRET), in a decision dated March 22, 2012, upheld the election of Lucy Marie Torres-Gomez as representative of the 4th district of Leyte when it dismissed the election protest filed by her rival Eufrocino Codilla, Jr.
In the said decision, the HRET upheld the validity of her certificate of candidacy and the votes cast in her favor as substitute candidate of her husband Richard Gomez.
Codilla questioned the validity of the substitution and questioned the alleged lack of residency of the spouses Richard Gomez and Lucy Torres-Gomez in Leyte.
The HRET, however, was not convinced and even noted that “in spite of being the son of the then incumbent representative for said district, Eufrocino Codilla Sr., the voters of the district instead chose to cast their votes for a neophyte candidate, Torres-Gomez, with a big margin of 24,701 votes.”
In a phone interview, Torres-Gomez was thankful for the decision of the HRET and called on all Ormocanons to set aside their political differences and work hard for the benefit of the people of the fourth district of Leyte. Richard Gomez, her chief of staff in Congress, said that this decision gives them the inspiration to work harder and continue to implement their plans and projects for the district.
Alex Avisado of Gana Atienza Avisado Law Offices, counsel of Torres-Gomez, added that the victory means a lot to the people of Leyte who made a resounding choice when they elected her to Congress.
“We are humbled by this victory and we hope that the HRET decision will be sustained by the Supreme Court.”
In the last survey conducted in the district, Torres-Gomez continued to enjoy an approval rating of 84 percent using a sampling of 1,000 respondents.