Lucy Torres on running for Senate: I'll decide at the proper time

Leyte Representative Lucy Torres-Gomez on Wednesday said she has not decided yet on her political plans in 2022, specifically on running for the Senate.

"While I am keeping my options open in terms of running for higher office, I have yet to decide if I should do that or stay in Ormoc and serve my hometown," Torres-Gomez said in a statement.

"I will decide at the proper time if I would run for the Senate or not," she added, noting that there are many factors that she must consider before making her final decision on the matter.

Torres-Gomez further confirmed talking with Senate President Vicente Sotto III, who will run for vice president and runningmate of Senator Panfilo Lacson in the coming polls.

She said Sotto had asked her if she was interested in joining the senatorial slate that the Lacson-Sotto tandem would field for the 2022 elections. Torres-Gomez said she feels honored for being considered by the two senators.

"They have presented themselves as candidates who, this early, already have an actual plan in terms of moving the country forward. I admire their unapologetic, straight-to-the-point and confident pronouncements on how they would lead our nation under a new normal setting," the lawmaker said.

Sotto had said Torres-Gomez would be endorsed by the Nationalist People's Coalition.

Torres-Gomez, a member of the PDP-Laban, is also being eyed by the ruling party to be part of its senatorial slate, together with some Cabinet members.

"I would also like to thank my party’s selection committee for considering me as part of their lineup," Torres-Gomez said.

The lawmaker also said all talks about elections are only secondary to the COVID-19 pandemic that continues to threaten the country.

"We must unite and not just fight but win the war against COVID-19, as one," she said.—AOL, GMA News