MABALACAT CITY – The Sangguniang Panglunsod of Mabalacat City has declared former Mayor Marino “Boking” Morales as the “Father of Mabalacat Cityhood.”
On May 18 2012, former President Benigno Aquino III approved House Bill 4736, an “Act Converting the Municipality of Mabalacat in the Province of Pampanga into a Component City to be known as Mabalacat City.” House Bill 4736 which became Republic Act 10164, was sponsored by former Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., chairman of the Senate Committee on Local Government.
On July 21 of the same year, Mabalacat town attained cityhood status after some 14,078 Mabalaquenos of the 19,542 voters, voted for the town’s conversion into a component city.
Back from a few months of stay in the United States, Morales said the conversion of Mabalacat town into a component city had increased revenues for the city coffer from P32 million a year to P1.4 billion annually.
The Sangguniang Panlungsod of Mabalacat City in its 96th regular session conducted on July 13, 2018, approved the resolution “giving due recognition to former Mayor Marino P. Morales as the Father of Mabalacat Cityhood.”
Resolution 392 noted that “Morales has rendered many years of dedicated public service as City Mayor of Mabalacat, Pampanga.”
“Foremost among his outstanding achievements is the passage into law of Republic Act 10164 in July 2012 which declared Mabalacat as a component city of the Province of Pampanga, thus gaining him recognition as the ‘Father of Mabalacat Cityhood’.
“The cityhood of Mabalacat has resulted in increased income for the city and the influx of investors which redounded to the benefits of its constituents,” according to the resolution.
Aside from Mabalacat cityhood, Morales has also supported various developments such as major infrastructure projects that further improved accessibility to and from Mabalacat City, government hospitals, schools such as the Mabalacat City College (MCC) which is now accredited by the national government for free tuition fees, Mabalacat Bus Terminal, Clark-Mabalacat-Angeles Road (CMAR). Morales has also supported countless scholars during his term.
Under the Morales administration, the city government received the ‘Seal of Good Local Governance’ for three times in 2015, 2016 and 2017. The city government has also received the ‘Seal of Excellence’ once.
Back in 2011, Morales has assembled his team that comprised of broadcaster Diosdado Pangilinan, writer Arnel San Pedro, Benjie Pangan and Francis Villanueva who all steered the town’s conversion into a component city.