Morales has withdrawn his Certificate of Candidacy (COC) on Wednesday to give way to his wife Niña Manipon-Morales, 36, who was nominated by the Kambilan Party to run for mayor of this component city Tuesday night.
Morales explained that his political foes wanted him to withdraw as another has filed a disqualification case against him “because they cannot win against me in a fair election.”
A recent survey showed that Morales got 46 percent while his opponents – Noel Castro got 25 percent and Board Member Cris Garbo managed 24 percent – were far behind.
Another survey conducted by Art Punzalan showed Morales with 56 percent. “It only means that the people still want my leadership,” Morales said.
But critics are asking: “Ot nanu ing ena alakwan Boking king Mabalacat (What can’t Boking leave in Mabalacat)?”
Morales replied: “To smooth out everything, I agreed to what the party wanted.
Like they say: Nung eka biyasang mamintu kareng matwa keka, pota mapapa ka, yaku eku bisang mapapa (If you don’t want to follow the wishes of your elders, you might be damned, I don’t want to be damned),” he explained.
As for his wife, Morales said: “Y Niña metung ya naman mayap a tau. Malugud yang pamilya (Niña is also a good person. She loves her family).”
With his withdrawal, Morales has ended his 21- year rule (since his election in 1995) marked with solid achievements that will further enhance this city into the 21st century.
The ruling Kambilan Party is the political party of Gov. Lilia “Nanay Baby” Pineda. Morales is counting on its welloiled political machinery to catapult his wife into office.
For her part, Niña said she has accepted the challenged for the sake of the people of Mabalacat. She has been visible in going around the city in the past years.
“I’m withdrawing my candidacy for city mayor. My wife Niña has filed her COC after I submitted my withdrawal from the mayoralty race. I already served my cabalens for the past 21 years with humility and dignity and I want to thank the people of Mabalacat for giving me the opportunity to serve them,” said Morales in a statement.
Morales filed his COC on October 16 at the Comelec after his lawyer Romulo Macalintal confirmed that there are no legal impediments that will snag the former’s candidacy.
Achiever
Morales was first elected mayor in 1995 during the much needed reconstruction and rehabilitation efforts in the former Mabalacat town after the Mt. Pinatubo eruptions.
Before his election into office, this city was only a third class municipality with about P33 million revenues.
Morales’ stewardship saw the conversion of the town into a component city in 2012 further increasing revenues amid the entry of new local and foreign investors.
Other developments that transpired under Morales’ leadership include the establishment of the Mabalacat City College and the Mabalacat Community High School both of which already produced graduates in various fields; the city’s 10-year solid waste management (SWM) plan from 2015 to 2024; permanent housing projects for victims of the Mt. Pinatubo eruptions in Barangays Mawaque, Camachiles and Madapdap; and birthing stations replicated in other parts of the province among others.
During his term, vital infrastructures such as the Mabiga Interchange had been constructed. Morales is currently pushing for the development of the Mabalacat Central Business District with the construction of the Clark Perimeter Road that will connect Barangay San Francisco and SM City Clark; and the construction of the Dolores Interchange that will connect north Luzon directly to the Clark Freeport Zone.
Niña Morales vowed to pursue the projects of Mayor Morales in a bid to further take the city to greater heights. She expressed her gratitude to Gov. Pineda for having chosen her to run for mayor of Mabalacat City “humbly accepting the nomination of the Kambilan Party.”
If she wins, Niña Manipon- Morales will become the first lady mayor of the city.
She noted that the city is currently at the crossroads of development with the presence of the Clark International Airport and the Clark Freeport Zone. The city is also directly linked to the Subic Freeport Zone via the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway and further north through the Tarlac-Pangasinan-La Union Expressway (TPLex).
Various civic groups in the city expressed elation over the candidacy of Niña Morales noting that she had been overseeing the welfare of her constituents in the past years particularly at the medical missions during the Barangay Days.
Mrs. Morales was originally from Bamban, Tarlac but has lived in this city since living in with the mayor and bearing him four children.
The complete line-up of Morales is composed of Vice Mayor Christian Halili for reelection; and candidates for city councilors: reelectionists Rox Peña, Carlo Rivera, Dwight Morales, Jeng Yumul, Gerald Aquino, Eddie Sotto and Amauri Tiglao, as well as comebacking Jerry Basilio and neophytes Dan Bayani and Rizaldo Garcia.
