Horacio R. “Boy” Morales Jr., former chairman, executive vice president and executive director of the Development Academy of the Philippines, was enshrined as one of the heroes and martyrs at the Bantayog ng mga  Bayani in ceremonies honoring this year’s 15 inductees to the shrine located at Quezon Avenue near corner EDSA in Quezon City on National Heroes’ Day last November 30.

The enshrinement of Morales, whose name along with his fellow enshrinees was engraved on the Bantayog’s Wall of Remembrance, was witnessed by DAP Chairman Cayetano W. Paderanga Jr., DAP President Antonio D. Kalaw and DAP Executive Fellow Carlos C. Tabunda.

Shunned life of privilege

A native of Moncada, Tarlac whose passion for rural development preceded his career in the government, Morales was cited by the Bantayog ng mga Bayani Foundation, the shrine’s administrator, “for deciding to abandon an important post in the Marcos regime’s bureaucracy, and choosing instead to support the  underground opposition to martial law, turning away from a life of privilege and financial security and embracing a life that put his and his family’s well-being under constant threat.”  Morales endured torture and prolonged incarceration for his opposition to the Marcos dictatorship.

He was also cited for his role in “continuing to  pursue genuine reform in and out of government after the fall of the Marcos regime, and for not losing sight, whether as revolutionary or as government reformer, of his goal of putting government in the service of those who need it most, the poor and underprivileged.”

DAP vision

As a DAP officer, Morales, who served as the Academy’s executive director from 1973 to 1975, as executive vice president from 1975 to 1977 and as chairman from 1998 to 2001, was noted for his vision of the DAP as a leadership institute where leaders are “trained, capacitated, and motivated.”

He was also big on the Academy developing new and innovative programs, working on policy orientation and direction, and building the government’s capability and  capacitating state institutions.

Morales died at 68 on September 29, 2012.