Manuel Morato was born on November 17, 1933, the eldest son of Tomás Morató, who became the first Mayor of Quezon City, and Consuelo Eclavea Lim.
[2] He would later have 11 other siblings,[1] including a brother, Francisco, who is a doctor and lawyer, and a sister, Elvira,[2] the mother of actor Jake Cuenca.
A strict Catholic moralist who proclaimed the value of celibacy, Morato quickly earned the ire of the movie industry with his ultraconservatism, which led to a crackdown on films that were deemed immoral or having illicit content.
Morato hosted a weekly talk show Dial-M with former actress Maggie de la Riva on state-owned National Broadcasting Network (now PTV 4).
The show was cut off in 1998 when Estrada ascended to the presidency and was returned in 2004[6] when Arroyo appointed him as board director of the PCSO.