As a teenager, she was interested in making dresses and perfume, and often participated in local beauty pageants.
Her father's death inspired her to leave home to join the guerrilla forces against Japan.
[1] Gomez and her brother Oscar were recruited by the Hukbalahap, a guerrilla movement based near Mount Arayat.
She chose to join “rather than die without putting up resistance.” She quickly moved up through the ranks of the military receiving both combat training and Marxist education.
[3] Liwayway fought for Filipino resistance fighters' recognition as World War II veterans.
[5] She was posthumously featured on a documentary magazine program History Presents: Mga Babae Sa Rebolusyon (TV5 (Philippine TV network)|TV5) in 2014.