Leyte 4th District Representative Lucy Torres-Gomez will be seeking a seat in the Senate in the 2022 elections.
This was disclosed by Senate President Vicente "Tito" Sotto III, who said that he and Senator Panfilo "Ping" Lacson will be including the congressswoman in their tandem's senatorial slate for next year.
"I just got the go signal, Cong. Lucy Torres-Gomez will be in our lineup!" Sotto told reporters in a Viber Wednesday night, July 21.
Sotto, who will be running for vice presidency, said Torres-Gomez has confirmed to him the she will run for senator.
The Leyte representative is currently a member of the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino–Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban), whose members, in a resolution, have urged President Duterte to run for vice president. She was among those who supported the resolution.
Sotto said he has yet to discuss with his parymates in the Nationalist People's Coalition (NPC), which he chairs, if they would adopt Torres-Gomez in the party's senatorial slate.
The Senate chief on Wednesday named the possible senatorial candidates that their tandem will endorse in the 2022 polls.
Aside from the Torres-Gomez, their slate will include: former senator JV Ejercito; Sorsogon Governor Francis "Chiz" Escudero; Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian; Sen. Richard Gordon; DICT Secretary Gregorio "Gringo" Honasan; former Comelec commissioner Goyo Larrazabal; Antique Rep. Loren Legarda; as well as Sen. Joel Villanueva and Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel "Migz" Zubiri.
Torres-Gomez, who is currently on her last term as a congresswoman, previously said she was open to running for senator.
"But it’s not like it’s part of a grand dream or a grand plan. But I have been a legislator for 11 years, and if I should be given the opportunity, I know I can hit the ground running," she said in a television interview last June.
Her husband, actor and Ormoc City Mayor Richard Gomez, may run as Leyte's representative in her stead.