It’s been a month since former TV personality and current representative of the 4th District of Leyte Lucy Torres Gomez launched her YouTube channel where she shares an intimate look at her daily routine with netizens.
The 46-year-old Lucy described the vlog as her coping mechanism. It’s also her outlet to let people have a glimpse of her life in the province, what makes her feel relaxed and happy, and what she enjoys doing while not wearing her hat as a public servant.
“Some people lament the fact that they can no longer travel or they can no longer meet up at restaurants but what can we do really if we keep on complaining? The vlog, it’s a healing process for me. These are things that I did during the start of the pandemic, during the first lockdown,” Lucy told Manila Standard Entertainment during an intimate virtual junket yesterday.
“We cope in different ways. For other people, it’s cooking, for others during the lockdown, it’s exercise. I do the vlog more for myself and probably share gentle ways to live through very hard times,” she carried on.
Lucy’s vlog wanted to share a message that instead of complaining about how restricted our lives are now because of the lockdown, there are many things we can do at home.
“I always say that if an episode touches just even one person or makes one person feel better about the day, then the job has been done,” she enthused.
While she’s now known as a political figure, Lucy had her grand time in showbiz. Before marrying Richard Gomez, she was a commercial model. Then after settling down, she and Goma starred in the sitcom Richard Loves Lucy. Then, she went on hosting a few shows including Shall We Dance and The Sweet Life.
“Politics and showbiz are very different. Showbiz is Richard’s world for the longest time, the people in showbiz became my very first friends when I first moved to Manila. It felt like a family. I miss the carefree days because it was really just fun especially the shows that I was part of. It’s like playing and it’s a very warm environment. It’s a crazy world but it’s also warm. But you can’t say the same for politics because it’s a very serious responsibility,” Lucy said of the things she miss most about her life in showbiz.
Being in public service has thought the “beautiful probinsyana” from Ormoc a lot of things. It has thought her to set her priorities and wisely choose her battles.
“I used to be a people pleaser, I used to be a ‘yes girl.’ Yung parang ubos na ubos ka na, yes ka lang ng yes. When I became a public servant I knew that it wouldn’t be sustainable that way because it’s a very stressful job. It’s never easy. When we make hard decisions, people don’t see the process, they only see the finished product. They don’t see the process behind those decisions. Yet, people judge you because of the final output,” she said.
Asked if "choosing her battles" also includes gunning for a higher position in the government, Lucy answered succinctly: “I’ll definitely run in 2022. I’m on my last term as a representative. I will file a candidacy. But as for what position? I’m still weighing my options. Nothing has been decided yet.”
Lucy admitted that there are times when she needed to step back and guard her emotional and mental health because “you cannot give something from an empty cup.” She believes that people must step back and unplug themselves sometimes.
“You must keep a certain balance because you cannot be everything for everyone,” she ended.
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Mayor Inday Sara ditches maong for Mindanao-made fabric
Inday Sara Duterte has always been a maong (jeans) girl, but recently, the Davao City mayor had a change of heart when friends and supporters started to send her handwoven fabrics that are uniquely made in Mindanao as gifts.
And so, she asked her tailor to make some pants and even skirts just to get a feel of it. And she is pleased.
From then on, it's the soft locally-made fabric for her everyday get-up. And they are getting noticed, which is why Mayor Inday Sara addressed the netizens’ curiosity through a post on her Facebook page.
“Marami po ang nagtatanong saan ko nabili ang mga pants ko. Nagsimula po ako magsuot ng ganito dahil madami nagbibigay sa akin ng tela mula sa mga kaibigan ko sa ZamBaSulTa at ilang lugar sa BARMM,” she wrote.
ZamBaSulTa is the acronym for Zamboanga, Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi while BARMM is short for the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. Indigenous tribes residing in these areas are the major producer of the handwoven fabrics that the lady mayor is now proudly wearing.
“Napakaganda ng habi natin, ayaw ko na bumalik sa mga boring na maong. Proudly made in Mindanao,” Inday Sara added.
The post has been trending and shared by netizens almost 700 times. It generated more than 32,000 likes and almost a thousand comments.
Netizen Nasr Maulana thanked the mayor for promoting Mindanao fabrics: “Salamat Mayora for being a voluntary endorser of our products. You are helping lots of weavers who basically belong to the lower income earners. Mabuhay po kayo.”