What is Monsour’s mantra?

MANILA, Philippines — “When you learn to lose, you will know what it takes to win.” This seems to be the mantra of Monsour del Rosario as he went from sports to showbiz and politics. His recipe to success is not only made of hard work, among other things, but also perseverance.

“I always use it, philosophy ko lagi yan,” he said in a group interview with the press. “You need discipline, which I learned as an athlete. After discipline, you get to desire to win. (Then, you have) the determination to finish the fight. Those are my secret D’s na i-na-apply ko sa lahat ng pinasukan ko.”

Then speaking a little Tagalog, the language of virtually all Pinoy movies, Monsour tried his hand at acting and his preference to speak in English gave the showbiz landia at that time the impression that he was sosyal. “Ilonggo ako... I didn’t know how to act and do drama,” he recalled.

To sharpen his skills, Monsour attended workshops and was under the tutelage of the late Bibsy Carballo, who never gave up on him. Soon Monsour found his voice in action movies and was ready to make a living out of show business. However, Monsour’s first three starring movies didn’t make a good show at the tills.

As an athlete, he had his own struggles. He didn’t easily secure winning spots in his early competitive attempts at taekwondo until the fourth time. Thinking that his star popularity would grant him the Makati City councilor position, on the other hand, was a miscalculated bid.

Like a true warrior, Monsour didn’t falter from chasing his dreams. When he embarked on those roads again, Monsour was on his toes and began to win. He won competitions in taekwondo (like Southeast Asian Games and Asian Games) and reached the Olympic Games and remains the face of the sport in the Philippines. His next movies (Bangis, Buhawi Jack and Pintado) won the public nod. Monsour has become the Makati City First District representative. He owes all that to his perseverance and to that time-tested philosophy.

“I never gave up until I conquered the world of taekwondo, the world of movie (acting),” shared Monsour, who, as we all know, eventually conquered the world of politics. “I studied (it) and I saw the system… I don’t come from a political family, from a showbiz family, from an athletic family. I would just work hard in every endeavor I get into.”

The public servant in Monsour is concerned about providing his constituents the basic services they need.

“Ang pera na yan ay dapat mapunta sa pagtulong sa tao (the income generated from taxes should go to the public),” he said. “Pagkatapos ng eleksyon, tatakbo yung kalaban (na) kailangan ng tulong, tulungan mo at yung mga taxes na nakukuha nyo, ibalik nyo sa tao. Ayusin mo yung kalye, ayusin nyo yung mga CCTV, ayusin mo yung police force nyo, ayusin nyo yung serbisyo na binibigay nyo. (Use them for the improvement of infrastructures, security, police force and for the delivery of basic services).” 

In congress, Monsour passed 51 bills as a principal author and nearly 200 bills as a co-author. He was also one of the sponsors of the Free Tertiary Education Law and the Universal Healthcare Law.

According to him, Monsour feels fulfilled whenever people, whom he hasn’t met, express their appreciation of the help his office has extended to them. This coming midterm elections, Monsour is running for the vice mayoralty of Makati City to continue on that opportunity to serve. The sportman-turned-politician, however, will not totally put on hold his acting in showbiz.

“If there’s an offer, (why not?),” said Monsour, who has done The Trigonal and Blood Hunters: Rise of the Hybrids, all collaborations with Muay Thai World champion and director Vincent Soberano.