As politicians, they put themselves in a position to be judged. With the keen public eyes around them, every move or mistake they make can be a subject for criticism.
Monsour Del Rosario, former Congressman was not saved from these judgments, most especially when he recently announced that he will be running for a Senate seat.
He received comments such as, “‘Anong gagawin mo sa Senate? Maninipa? (‘What are you going to do in the Senate? Kick people?’), which he addressed during RVOTE (Rotary District 3820 Advocacy For Voter Education) held November 12.
“Well, I can’t deny that being in the movies made me popular, but first and foremost, I’m a Negrense who became a Taekwondo fighter and was asked by my Master to make Taekwondo famous, so I went on to become an action star who can barely speak Tagalog. But that’s also just the beginning for me. People elected me to public office for years. I was a two-term counselor, I was a lawmaker in the 17th Congress where I wrote, pushed, and defended 292 Bills and Resolutions. Not bad for ‘just an actor,” Del Rosario says.
Del Rosario, as a child, experienced hardships, and these experiences pushed him to be disciplined. He was bullied at a young age and witnessed his parents’ divorce. As a Taekwondo player, he derived his restless energy into something positive and purposive. Definitely, he is ready to face any challenges ahead as he wishes to step up his political career.
Del Rosario believes that he has unfinished businesses that he wishes to accomplish and these became his motivation to run for a Senate seat.
“I was perfectly happy living my private life after my stint in Congress, but after the 292 bills and resolutions I filed during my term, only a few of them eventually became laws of the land. I felt like I had a lot of unfinished business. The pandemic also stirred me to help solve our current problems in healthcare, employment, and the economy. I believe the senate needs fresh eyes – a new perspective.”
He is the father of the Telecommuting Act of 2018 or the “Work from Home Law” which has become very relevant due to the pandemic.
“I pushed that law 7 months into my Congress days. Back then, we only wanted to solve the problem of traffic in the Metro. Little did we know that 3 years later, a global pandemic would put people off the streets and into their homes. But that bill was just there waiting to be utilized. I’m happy and sad at the same time because it became very useful, but we didn’t want a pandemic to make it so.”
Regarding his plans to combat the pandemic, Del Rosario wishes to focus on creating more opportunities for the Filipinos and explore new industries that can offer jobs for them.
“My suggestion is to put a commission to explore new industries and fields that are suited to the skills of Filipinos. We want to create a jobs market that will employ millions of Filipinos who do what they do best.”
He also recognizes the role of medical frontliners during the pandemic so, he wishes to raise their salaries and bridge the wage gap from their potential earnings abroad.
“But I think the most pressing matter, which the pandemic highlighted for us, is the need to improve our healthcare system – primarily the way we treat our frontliners or healthcare heroes. We have a pandemic raging in the country, and our nurses are running away to go abroad. The simple reason for that is that we’re not giving them the salaries and benefits that they deserve. We need to close the gap of salaries they may receive abroad and entice them to stay here with their families, so we have to work on that with urgency.”
Del Rosario also campaigns for the “Healthcare Heroes Card” that will give medical frontliners certain benefits to repay their efforts and sacrifices during the pandemic.
“This card will be given to licensed medical practitioners and they can present this to establishments and services where they will be given discounts – the same privileges given to our PWDs and Senior Citizens. That’s the first thing I will do if I ever make it in the Senate.”
Surely, with these proposals, he will not only ‘kick’ in the Senate as what trolls accuse him of.
