Celebrity couple Richard Gomez and Lucy Torres-Gomez are happy that their only daughter Juliana is now in college; and that she has opted to study here in the country.

Juliana, who finished high school at the Everest Academy Manila last June, proudly shared her first day at her dream school – the University of the Philippines-Diliman through an Instagram post early this month.

READ: LOOK: Juliana Gomez is officially an ‘Iska’

During their launch as the new faces of the beauty breakthrough technology Ultherapy on Tuesday, August 13, both Richard and Lucy shared how supportive they are of their unica hija.

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Lucy, who is the Congresswoman of Leyte’s fourth district Ormoc, said, “I’m happy that she’s in UP because that’s where I went, that’s where he [Richard] went also. Parang she’s just following, and I like her to experience that environment. Because I had a really nice time in UP. Maybe it’s different in [UP Diliman], kasi UP Cebu ako, eh. Wala naman kami ‘yung mga big demonstrations. UP Diliman is a much bigger campus.”

Richard, who is the current Mayor of Ormoc, said that he also brought Juliana to the Ateneo de Manila campus for her to check it out. Ultimately, it was Juliana’s decision to study in UP.

It also shows that the proud parents are appreciative of this choice as they prefer for Juliana to study in the country.

“Well, in school, a lot of international schools went to their orientation. But early on, sabi ng mommy niya at sinabi ko rin, dito ka talaga mag-aaral,” Richard said.

“Maybe she can go there [abroad] for Masters. For now, I want to keep her close… It’s hard enough now with all of us being in the Philippines but different locations so how much more if ganon, tatlo-tatlo na nga lang kami tapos magwawatak pa. I tell her na maybe if there were five of them, then I’d be more open to sending some of them abroad,” Lucy said.

She also recalled an experience where Juliana, who has a lot of friends, admitted feeling lonely while staying in New York. “She was there for a shoot and then, we didn’t stay in the same hotel kasi kasama niya ‘yung mga kasama niya sa shoot then kami. After several days there, she said, ‘Ang lungkot pala abroad.’ She was imagining daw if she studied there, she’d probably only have three people that she’d constantly hang out with as oppose to the 20 or 30 na regularly na nakikita niya rito. So she said, ‘Di ko yata kaya abroad.’ Malulungot daw siya,” to which Richard lightheartedly said, “Good,” and Lucy with “Tama ‘yan, anak, tama ‘yan,” inciting laughter.

Currently, Juliana is taking up public administration. This is because she wants to be a lawyer, said Lucy who expressed support for whatever her daughter wants to pursue.

“My position always has been that I will not impose my dreams on our daughter. My only prayer talaga is that she becomes the person that God designed her to be. Kasi lahat naman tayo, may purpose eh, so I feel that when a person is able to find that purpose, only then can she really be happy in life kasi that’s where you’re meant to be, eh. So I never want her to grow up thinking that she has to be an actor, or she has to be a public servant. It has to be her journey, her life,” she said.

Meanwhile, Richard and Lucy also shared the advice they gave their daughter now that she is in college.

“I told her na UP will teach you to be independent. ‘Wag kang sumama sa mga gulo-gulo. There’s no need for you to join mga rallies. And mga orgs naman, since you’re part of the volleyball team, that’s one strong organization of the university so there’s no need for you to join other orgs. Kasi baka sumali ng sorority, eh. Masasaktan ka lang, eh, di ba through initiation. The best org you can join is really the athletic organization, the varsity team,” said Richard who later shared that during Juliana’s first day of school, she was immediately invited to join a rally.

Lucy, for her part, said, “It’s nice to have a cause. It’s nice to feel strongly about something but you don’t have to fight the world. You can be loyal to your cause, you can be very passionate about it but there are ways to fight your battles. It doesn’t have to be in an abrasive way.”