Many people from Calauag, Quezon shed tears when former chief of the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB) and art lover Manuel Morato died recently.
Aurea Martin Villasanta of Barangay Sabang in Calauag, said she was teary-eyed when she heard on radio that Morato had died.
“Kahit hindi po niya ako kilala, kilala ko siya at kababayan ko siya (Even if he doesn't know me, I knew him and he’s my kababayan),” said Aurea.
Henry Matriano, a true blue Calauageño, even if he is in the US, was shocked when he learned that Morato had passed on.
Billed as the last popular legacy of the Morato family, Manoling, as he was addressed by kith and kin, was a legitimate resident of Calauag before his family moved to Manila. In the pre-World War II period, Manoling’s dad Tomas Morato was mayor of Calauag but soon President Manuel Luis Quezon requested him to pack his things up. Tomas did just that and went to Manila with his entire family at the behest of Quezon who appointed him Mayor of Quezon City.
But Manoling never forgot to go home to Calauag whenever he had the time to pay the family's huge, palatial house (called "white house") on top of a hill by the rail tracks overlooking Calauag Bay.
Although the Moratos are a controversial lot, they are able to keep their kinship together in whatever manner.
Among the members of the Morato clan who are into showbiz are Jessica Pica, Jake Cuenca, Bobby Andrews, Jimmy Morato, among others. Meanwhile, Morato’s fellow Calauagenos and colleagues in showbiz—he had a unique affinity with the entertainment industry—are Ice Seguerra, Zanjoe Marudo, Madeline Nicolas, Amazing Diva Armie Zuniga, among others.
Our deepest sympathies to the Moratos!