Monsour del Rosario
Filipino taekwondo champion, actor, and former congressman.
Manuel Monsour Tabib del Rosario III is a Filipino actor, taekwondo champion, and politician. He has appeared in action films locally and abroad. He holds roles as Secretary General of the Philippine Taekwondo Association and previously served as a Makati city councilor and congressman.
Quick Facts
- Office
- Member of the Philippine House of Representatives from Makati's 1st district
- Took office
- June 30, 2016
- Left office
- June 30, 2019
- Predecessor
- Monique Lagdameo
- Successor
- Romulo Peña Jr.
- Birth name
- Manuel Monsour Tabib del Rosario III
- Born
- 11 May 1965
- Birthplace
- Manila, Philippines
Facts from the source article.
Biography
Monsour del Rosario was born in Manila and spent his early years in Bacolod, his family's ancestral home, before relocating to Makati in 1979. His mother is of Lebanese descent, and his uncle, Albert del Rosario, was a prominent businessman who later served as the Philippines' foreign secretary. Del Rosario began his martial arts training under Joe Lopez-Vito, who taught the Moo Duk Kwan style of Tang Soo Do. When he moved back to Manila for high school, he switched to taekwondo in 1977, studying under Hong Sung-Chon, widely regarded as the father of Philippine taekwondo. Under Master Hong's guidance, he earned an 8th Dan black belt in the Korean system. He is a graduate of De La Salle University in Manila. From 1982 to 1989, del Rosario was a member of the Philippine national taekwondo team, captaining the squad for his final four years. During that period, he was the country's top-ranked lightweight competitor and an eight-time national lightweight champion. His international career included the 1988 Seoul Olympics, the Southeast Asian Games, the Asian Games, the World Games, the World Taekwondo Championships, and the Asian Taekwondo Championships. He won gold at the 14th and 15th Southeast Asian Games, a bronze at the 10th Asian Games, and advanced to the quarterfinals at the 1988 Seoul Olympics. Together with Stephen Fernandez, he founded the Olympians Taekwondo Training Center, a dojang in Taguig.
Acting career
Monsour del Rosario started appearing in Filipino action movies in 1986. He took leading roles in films like Bangis, Buhawi Jack, and Pintado. His career also included international projects such as Demonstone, Bloodfist II, Techno Warriors with Darren Shahlavi, When Eagles Strike, Bloodfist 2050 with Matt Mullins, and The Hunt for Eagle One. In 1991, he acted alongside Phillip Salvador, Aurora Sevilla, and Willie Revillame in Joe Pring 2: Kidlat ng Maynila, and with Lito Lapid, Monica Herrera, and Johnny Delgado in Medal of Valor: Habang Nasasaktan Lalong Tumatapang. His more recent films were Super Noypi and Tatlong Baraha.
Political career
Monsour del Rosario’s political career began with a loss: he ran for councilor of Makati’s 1st district in 2007 under Senator Lito Lapid’s ticket but did not win. He tried again in 2010, this time under the Nacionalista Party, and secured a seat. He was reelected in 2013 under the United Nationalist Alliance (UNA), then Makati’s ruling party. In 2016, he initially planned to run for reelection but instead became a substitute candidate for representative of the 1st district after Ichi Yabut decided to run for councilor again. Del Rosario won that three-year term. During his time in the House, he authored 58 bills and 47 resolutions as principal sponsor, and co-authored 118 bills and 9 resolutions. Among the laws he helped pass are the Telecommuting Act (as principal author) and, as co-author, the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act, the Philippine Passport Act, the Free Irrigation Service Act, and the Universal Healthcare Act. Although eligible to run for another term as representative, he chose to run for vice mayor of Makati in 2019 under PDP–Laban, as Junjun Binay’s running mate, but they lost. He then ran for senator in 2022 under Reporma, finishing 29th and losing again. In 2025, he made a second bid for vice mayor of Makati, this time as Senator Nancy Binay’s running mate under UNA, but placed second to Kid Peña.
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