Friday, January 26, 2007

Run Carreon Run!

Everytime the election period comes around, I always look forward to seeing Mel Carreon file his certificate of candidacy.

Mel Carreon is a celebrity of sorts in Iloilo City. In fact, one of the ways I can tell if someone is from Iloilo City is if that person knows Carreon. A colorful character, Carreon is a perennial candidate in Iloilo City. The man has been running and losing in elections as far as I can remember. As most politicians Carreon has his own political party, the Lakas Loob-Kulba Lang ang Kapital Party (if you're Ilonggo you'll get it) or Lakas for short. During the 1998 and 2001 elections he ran for mayor against then-Mayor Mansing Malabor. In 2004, he ran for Congress against incumbent Raul "Jun" Gonzalez. I once saw him campaigning on board his "mobile HQ" wearing a red sash (ala beauty contestant) with the words: "Mel Carreon for Congressman" written on it. People usually just shake their heads when they see him on the campaign trail but there are some who could not contain their laughter. Many consider him crazy (bu-ang) for making a spectacle of himself and allowing himself to become an object of ridicule in Iloilo City. But I don't think he's crazy. In fact, during "off-election season," Carreon makes a living as an insurance agent. A cousin of mine once had the "privilege" of meeting and talking to the man at a coffeeshop in SM City and he claims that Carreon talked sense. I guess people don't take him seriously mainly because he is poor. As they say, in this country if you're poor you are called bu-ang, but if you're rich you are called "eccentric." Compared to some jokers masquerading as politicians, Carreon talks more sense and the only reason why people take these jokers seriously is because they have money and/or celebrity and Carreon does not.

Anyway, I was driving around the city a couple of days ago when I saw Mel Carreon's poster on a lamppost. I saw that this time around, he has set his sights on a much lower position, that of City Councilor. Someone told me afterwards that when asked why he opted to run for a lower post and not for Mayor or Congressman as many people expected him to do, Carreon replied (in Ilonggo): "Well, running for Councilor is cheaper than running for Senator!"

The man has a point.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

hehe. nice one!

Things like these makes me miss Iloilo more!

Anonymous said...

Carreon is just an ordinary Ilonggo like many of us who wants a real change for Iloilo in a political landscape dominated by rich and corrupt personalities. Let him fight a la Don Quizote

Anonymous said...

i met him once in a PUJ.. i think last year.. he told us that 6 months before the election he will go to makati for a one man campain..he said he is running for senator.. i dont know now.. theres not a report about hi,...

eric said...

and now he's running for president! http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5goiOljFfY676CfMM4jApPvhrRHgA