Tomás Eduardo Morató Bernabéu (; July 4, 1887 – March 6, 1965) was a Spanish-born

Filipino Filipino may refer to: * Something from or related to the Philippines ** Filipino language, standardized variety of 'Tagalog', the national language and one of the official languages of the Philippines. ** Filipinos, people who are citizens of th ...

businessman and politician of

Valencian Valencian () or Valencian language () is the official, historical and traditional name used in the Valencian Community (Spain), and unofficially in the El Carche comarca in Murcia (Spain), to refer to the Romance language also known as Catal ...

ethnicity and full-blooded

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

descent who became Mayor of Calauag, Quezon before he became the first

Quezon City Quezon City (, ; fil, Lungsod Quezon ), also known as the City of Quezon and Q.C. (read in Filipino as Kyusi), is the most populous city in the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 2,960,048 people. It was fou ...

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...

from 1939 to 1942.

Early life and career

Morató was born on July 4, 1887, in the picturesque seaport of

Alicante Alicante ( ca-valencia, Alacant) is a city and municipality in the Valencian Community, Spain. It is the capital of the province of Alicante and a historic Mediterranean port. The population of the city was 337,482 , the second-largest in t ...

on the Mediterranean coast of

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

to Francisco Morató Arabí and Josefa Bernabéu Ferrer. His father was a ship captain who sailed from Spain to the Philippines and frequently stopped at the coastal town of Calauag, Tayabas. An only son, Tomás was brought to Calauag in 1898 by his father. There the 13-year-old boy first met and studied with the 22-year-old Quezon. Tomás finished his engineering course and entered the lumber business where he amassed quite a fortune. By virtue of a provision in the

Treaty of Paris Treaty of Paris may refer to one of many treaties signed in Paris, France: Treaties 1200s and 1300s * Treaty of Paris (1229), which ended the Albigensian Crusade * Treaty of Paris (1259), between Henry III of England and Louis IX of France * Trea ...

which granted

Filipino citizenship Philippine nationality law details the conditions by which a person is a national of the Philippines. The two primary pieces of legislation governing these requirements are the 1987 Constitution of the Philippines and the 1939 Revised Naturali ...

to all Spaniards who have decided to stay in the Philippines, Morató became a Filipino citizen.

Friendship with Quezon

It was in Baler where he met Manuel L. Quezon, the 2nd President of the Philippines, and became friends with him. His friendship with Quezon was a rare and unique one. They courted girls together and helped each other during difficult times. When Quezon was elected president in 1935, he entered Malacañan for the first time with Morató and Manuel L. "Nonong" Quezon, Jr. And thereafter, Morató was one of the very few people who could enter Malacañan at all times, even staying overnight in some often cases. Quezon himself urged Morató to enter politics, so he ran as Mayor of Calauag and won with ease. At his second term, Quezon invited him to help build a new city, a city that would later be known as

Mayor of Quezon City (1939–1942)

Morató was a leader full of energy, taking difficult tasks that hinders growth and progress of the new city. Even though his administration faced low funds, it was able to create a network of new roads, and maintenance of satisfactory health conditions. With a police force of 48, crime rates remained at controlled levels. He also promoted social and economic programs to alleviate the condition of the residents. The first musical piece composed for

was the “Quezon City March”, which was composed by Amando Calleja and the lyrics made by

Jesús Balmori Jesús Balmori y González-Mondragón (January 10, 1887 – May 23, 1948) was a Filipino Spanish language journalist, playwright, and poet. Biography Jesús Balmori y González-Mondragón was born in Ermita, Manila, on 10 January 1887. He studi ...

. The sponsors of this musical piece were the officials and members of the Cubao Women's Club headed by Morató's wife. He was arrested by the Imperial Japanese troops when Quezon City had been taken over by the Japanese. This ended his term as the mayor of the city and was paroled and exiled on July 19, 1942, during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

Death

He died on March 6, 1965; his remains were interred at the

Manila North Cemetery The Manila North Cemetery (Spanish: ''Cementerio del Norte'') is one of the oldest cemeteries in Metro Manila, Philippines. The cemetery is owned by and located in the City of Manila, the national capital, and is one of the largest in the metropo ...

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...

Legacy

The popular restaurant row Tomas Morato Avenue, as well as a road in San Francisco del Monte, Quezon City were named after him. A barangay (Don Tomas) and a street in Calauag, Quezon were also named in memory of the last municipal President and first municipal Mayor of Calauag, Quezon.

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Morato, Tomas 1887 births 1965 deaths Burials at the Manila North Cemetery Liberal Party (Philippines) politicians Mayors of Quezon City Filipino engineers Members of the House of Representatives of the Philippines from Quezon Members of the National Assembly (Second Philippine Republic) Nacionalista Party politicians Naturalized citizens of the Philippines People of Spanish colonial Philippines People from Alicante People from Quezon City Spanish emigrants to the Philippines 20th-century Filipino businesspeople