Monsour Del Rosario, a former Makati City congressman who drafted and delivered 292 bills and resolutions during his term (2016-2019), has seen how the pandemic impacted the country. In particular, how it put pressure on the Philippine government to act fast and address the immediate needs of the people in this very unfamiliar situation.
In a meeting with a group of Rotary Clubs from Makati and Parañaque, Del Rosario expressed his intention of proposing legislation that would help improve the lives of Filipinos. The meeting, which was held virtually on November 12, aimed to educate voters with the various issues that the country faces and to call on voters to choose leaders whose hearts are in the right place to serve and prioritize the needs of the people in the coming 2022 national elections.
Recognizing the contributions and sacrifices of healthcare workers during the pandemic, Del Rosario believes that the government should include the frontliners’ welfare among its top priorities. He proposes the “Healthcare Heroes Card” program, which shall seek to give healthcare frontliners — medical practitioners, nurses, medical technicians, etc. — similar privileges and benefits that the government is currently offering to senior citizens and PWDs.
On top of this, Del Rosario also aims to raise the salaries of nurses and other licensed medical practitioners across the country, as well as ensure that they are given proper hazard and overtime pays, and health insurance, to close the gap of salaries that they may receive overseas.
This is also in line with his other platforms to promote the economic revival in the wake of the pandemic. Del Rosario proposes a “special commission” that will focus mainly on creating jobs and exploring industries that will be suited to the temperament of the Filipino. As the father of the “Work From Home Bill,” now known as Republic Act 11165 of the Telecommuting Act of 2018, Del Rosario aims to improve working conditions in the country and to adapt to the “next normal,” especially for those who have been greatly affected by the pandemic. He also aims to push for the Magna Carta for the Poor to raise the standard of living of the poor and give them more opportunities in the current economy.
He also wants to improve the agricultural sector by creating an Agricultural Inter-agency Monitoring and Compliance Council (AIMCC) that would essentially collate, analyze, and simplify all the different laws and policies related to agriculture where farmers can directly benefit from its attached programs, incentives, and services. The proposed AIMCC will also be responsible for conducting regular consultations with farmers to determine their actual needs, come up with new policies to develop and modernize the agriculture sector, and submit a regular and open/public report for accountability.
Del Rosario, a Negrense who has learned the ways of the world at a young age and gained wisdom through athletics, also wishes to raise the value of sports and education in youth development. Having pushed the National Sports Training Center Act (RA 11214) and the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act (RA 10931) in his term in congress, Del Rosario will continue to pursue one of his previous bills, HB 1667 Free and Suitable Public Education for Differently Abled Children Act, which will establish special education (SPED) centers for children with special needs in regional public-school divisions, as well as provide standards, guidelines, and funding.
Sports has once spared Del Rosario’s life from the worst aspects of society and therefore wishes to pass on the values of humility, perseverance, discipline, fighting spirit, and, above all, honor to the younger generation by pushing for laws that would not only ease the current sufferings of people, but also improve their quality of life, and most importantly make future opportunities more accessible and attainable for all.