Willie Revillame is joined on stage by Richard and Rep. Lucy Torres-Gomez as they tried to pacify the frenzied crowd.

ORMOC CITY – The Wowowillie show on the evening of Sunday, April 28, timed for the 15th wedding anniversary celebration of Richard and Lucy Gomez gathered a crowd of an estimated 45,000 people from Ormoc City and various towns of the 4th district. 

However, like his Cebu leg the previous night to pitch in for Annabelle Rama’s candidacy for Congress and that of cousin Mayor Mike Rama, Willie had to cut the show halfway because the crowd went rowdy, trying to push their way to the front to receive jackets, Cherry mobile cellphones and cash that the popular TV host was giving away.

His appeals for the crowd to just cool it were ignored, and people were fainting one after the other, keeping the Red Cross volunteers and a group called SEGO who was in charge with beefing up the security, busy.

Willie, after singing his hit songs, began picking out old people, pregnant women, parents who brought their small kids and PWD’s and gave out goodies and cash to them. It also worked the audience into a frenzy.  [click to continue…]

Share on Facebook

{ 1 comment }

ORMOC CITY – Tourism undersecretary Ma. Victoria Jasmin said that Ormoc City should put more value on Lake Danao and not price it dirt-cheap because  the lake would only attract cheapskates. 

“The entrance fee is 10 pesos? If you look at Lake Danao as a park with inclusion of activities, price it as a theme park”, she said, after listening to a presentation from city tourism officer Ira Bantasan. She clarified that she was not looking at the matter at the money side, but if marketed as a “cheap destination”, “then you will only attract the cheap-o’s”.

In a theme park pricing scheme, she said, people paid a uniform entrance fee, giving them the opportunity to experience every adventure available there instead of paying separate fees for each activity. These would also insulate them from scalpers, she hinted.

However, the undersecretary did not know that what was only available as yet in the for excursionists’ use were the viewing deck, comfort rooms,  a few floating cottages, water bikes and kayaks.  [click to continue…]

Share on Facebook

{ 0 comments }

MAASIN CITY – House Representative Roger “Oging” Mercado who is running for Southern Leyte governor on May 13 is unfazed with P-Noy’s visit to the city on Friday, making it clear to Southern Leyteños who composes his local “team” there. 

Mercado said that his support and that of their allies remain with the President. Together with majority of the incumbents of the province, Mercado and brother Gov. Damian Mercado who is running for Congress, are running under the Nationalist Unity Party. Mercado said that the Nationalist Unity Party (NUP) is an ally of the President and that they are supporting him and his whole senatorial slate unequivocally even if it seems that P-Noy has rebuffed them.

The congressman admits that the President’s statement about an “agreement” with them was true, but this fell apart after Secretary Jesse Robredo died. Marissa Lerias, he said, who is LP’s bet for Congress was Robredo’s protégé at the Kaya Natin Movement. A condition for their alliance was that it would be Lerias who would run for Congress.  [click to continue…]

Share on Facebook

{ 0 comments }

THE LOVE story between the country’s leading actor of his time and a girl eight years his junior and a probinsiyana at that has been told many times, in many ways over and over again. 

It has enthralled the nation and their whirlwind courtship was the buzz for months. It was the “Wedding of the Year” for 1998.

We retell their story once more, taking a fresh angle this time from Lucy’s only sister, Caren Torres-Rama, who kept us laughing while she retold it to a company of teachers from the School of the Deaf and me.

Lucy listened in with half-an-ear to Caren’s story and would pipe in once in a while while keeping her eyes glued to the TV watching “Walang Hanggan” which was running then. She just loves seeing Richard and Dawn together onscreen.

The great crush

Lucy’s very open about having a crush on Richard Gomez since she was 12.

She immediately spotted her soul mate on his first movie, Inday Bote, and got attracted to the lanky, dark handsome young actor who was just a bit actor then.

Richard would soon rise to stardom. His avid admirer in one small corner of Ormoc City continued to follow his career.

Caren recalls Lucy “fell madly in love” with Richard at the movie “Hihintayin Kita sa Langit”. Lucy just loved seeing Richard and Dawn together.

While Lucy would unabashedly announce she would marry THE Richard Gomez someday, Lucy says she never, ever entertained the thought that she would one day REALLY get married to him.

Caren said that Lucy’s crush on Richard was a big joke in the family. They would rib her about it, but she was fixated. Just drop Richard’s name and she would be in seventh heaven.

Then, it was time to leave Ormoc. Caren and Lucy went off to college in Cebu where Lucy’s beauty would catch the fancy of many headhunters for modeling agencies. As expected, patriarch Manoling would turn down all their offers of a lucrative modeling career for Lucy.

It was not only that they did not need Lucy to work but the thought of her joining a very “public” career was an anathema to the family who is known to be very private. [click to continue…]

Share on Facebook

{ 2 comments }

CHEERS OR JEERS? A CCTV system was recently installed at a public place in Ormoc City. It is located at the pole in front of the old city hall building. However, people are wondering what it is watching out for. One of the cameras are trained on the common poster area of local candidates. Another is trained at the office of Cong. Lucy Torres-Gomez along Aviles Street and the police station one. Weh?

ORMOC CITY – A suspected drug pusher was arrested in a buy bust operation by a team led by Chief Insp. Ibrahim, police station 1 chief, on the afternoon of April 16, 2013 at Brgy. District 3, Ormoc City.

Arrested was one Glenn Hidalgo y Kho, 32, a resident of Sitio Kalipay, Brgy. Cogon, this city. Hidalgo was caught in the act of selling suspected shabu along Bonifacio Street, just outside an internet café said to be owned by a relation.

The suspect’s arrest was witnessed by barangay councilor Ian Bruce I. Soon of District 3, Department of Justice representative Rita Judy Pidoy and a representative of media.

Confiscated from the suspect were three (3) small sachets of shabu and P 520.00 including the marked money used in the buy bust. [click to continue…]

Share on Facebook

{ 2 comments }