MABALACAT CITY–It is finally over for Mayor Marino “Boking” Morales, the longest reigning mayor in the Philippines, after he bowed down to party decision and withdrew 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 on Tuesday night.
Morales explained that his political foes wanted him to withdraw as another disqualification case was filed against him “because they cannot win against me in a fair election.”
In a recent survey, Morales got 46 percent, while his opponent, Noel Castro, got 25 percent and Board member Cris Garbo managed 24 percent.
Another survey conducted by local political analyst 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 alacwan Boking qñg 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 eca biyasang manintu kareng matwa queca, pota mapapa ca, acu ecu 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: “I Niña metung ya naman mayap a tau. Malugud ya qñg pamilya [Niña is also a good person. She loves her family].”
With his withdrawal, Morales 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 Pineda. Morales is counting on its well-oiled political machinery to catapult his wife into office.
For her part, Niña said she has accepted the challenge 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 filed her COC after I submitted my withdrawal from the mayoral race. I already served my cabalen 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,” Morales said in a statement.
Morales filed his COC on October 16 at the Commission on Elections after his lawyer Romulo Macalintal confirmed that there are no legal impediments that will snag the former’s candidacy.
Morales was first elected mayor in 1995 during the much needed reconstruction and rehabilitation efforts in the former Mabalacat town after the Mount Pinatubo eruption.
Morales’s 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.
Niña Morales vowed to pursue the projects of Mayor Boking in a bid to further take the city to greater heights. She expressed her gratitude to Pineda for having chosen her to run for mayor in Mabalacat City, “humbly accepting the nomination of the Kambilan Party.”
If she wins, Niña Manipon-Morales will become the first female 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 through the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway and further north through the Tarlac-Pangasinan-La Union Expressway.
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.