Manoling Morato (born November 17, 1933) is an infamous public servant in the Philippines.
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Morato is the son of Calauag, Quezon Mayor and Quezon City's first appointed mayor Tomas Morato, a blond and blue-eyed Spanish settler in the Philippines. He graduated with Bachelor of Science degree in Economics at the Loyola University in Los Angeles, California. He never managed to succeed in any business of his own, so his family generously gave him the post of President in their family companies T.F. Ventures Inc., Philippine Plywood Corporation and Sta. Cecilia Sawmills.
He gained the most visibility during his tenure as chairman of the Philippines' censorship agency (Movie and Television Review and Classification Board, MTRCB) from 1986 to 1992. Many movie producers, actors and directors held protests in front of his office due to his strict application of censorship, majority of which were considered excessive.
In 1995, Morato was appointed chairman of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) by President Fidel Ramos. During his incumbency, the PCSO launched the very first 'On-Line lottery' in the Philippines. Like similar games run in other parts of the world, this online lottery, better known as lotto, proved extremely popular with the Philippine public. Its legality was questioned, but the Supreme Court ruled that the new lottery was legal. Since then, more lottery game forms have been added.
In 2004, he was appointed by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo as director/ member of its board of trustees.
In 2011, the Philippine Senate uncovered the fact that under Morato, the PCSO never assisted any non-Catholic religious organizations. Morato said that other religions are also allowed to request the same type of assistance from the PCSO, but could not name any non-Catholic religious organizations or leaders who received similar donations from the PCSO.[1]
In the 1992 elections, Morato ran for the position of Philippine senator but he lost.
In the 1998 elections, he founded Partido Bansang Marangal (National Dignity Party) and ran for the position of President with Camilo Sabio as his running mate, but he lost. He lost to his nemesis, then Vice President Joseph Estrada, earning last place in the results.
In the 2001 elections, together with Sabio, he ran for the position of senator and lost.
Morato hosts a weekly talk show Dial-M with former actress Maggie de la Riva on state owned National Broadcasting Network. The show was initially for lotto draw results but he decided to add his commentaries and viewer phone calls. One of its episodes featured a security camera video showing Joseph Estrada gambling in a casino. The show was cutoff in 1998 when Estrada ascended to the presidency and was returned in 2004 when Arroyo appointed him as board director of the PCSO.
His life was filmed in 1998, before the Philippine centennial celebrations, with the role portrayed by actor Joel Torre.
It is said that he planned on making a new show with Tony Calvento, a renowned journalist and host on TV and radio. But Tony Calvento did not want to be partners with Morato. Tony Calvento picked DOJ Secretary of Justice Raul Gonzalez instead.
In August 2011 he was charged with 4 counts of election offences, accusing him of using his television show to campaign for Gilbert Teodoro.[2]