4/29/2020 E-Library - Information At Your Fingertips: Printer Friendly The disqualifying circumstance affecting Arnado is his citizenship. As earlier discussed, Arnado was both a Filipino and an American citizen when he filed his certificate of candidacy. He was a dual citizen disqualified to run for public office based on Section 40(d) of the Local Government Code. Section 40 starts with the statement “The following persons are disqualified from running for any elective local position.” The prohibition serves as a bar against the individuals who fall under any of the enumeration from participating as candidates in the election. With Arnado being barred from even becoming a candidate, his certificate of candidacy is thus rendered void from the beginning. It could not have produced any other legal effect except that Arnado rendered it impossible to effect his disqualification prior to the elections because he filed his answer to the petition when the elections were conducted already and he was already proclaimed the winner. To hold that such proclamation is valid is to negate the prohibitory character of the disqualification which Arnado possessed even prior to the filing of the certificate of candidacy. The affirmation of Arnado’s disqualification, although made long after the elections, reaches back to the filing of the certificate of candidacy. Arnado is declared to be not a candidate at all in the May 2010 elections. Arnado being a non-candidate, the votes cast in his favor should not have been counted. This leaves Maquiling as the qualified candidate who obtained the highest number of votes. Therefore, the rule on succession under the Local Government Code will not apply. WHEREFORE, premises considered, the Petition is GRANTED. The Resolution of the COMELEC En Banc dated 2 February 2011 is hereby ANNULLED and SET ASIDE. Respondent ROMMEL ARNADO y CAGOCO is disqualified from running for any local elective position. CASAN MACODE MAQUILING is hereby DECLARED the duly elected Mayor of Kauswagan, Lanao del Norte in the 10 May 2010 elections. This Decision is immediately executory. Let a copy of this Decision be served personally upon the parties and the Commission on Elections. No pronouncement as to costs. SO ORDERED. Velasco, Jr., Peralta Bersamin, Villarama, Jr., Perez, Reyes, and Perlas-Bernabe, JJ., concur. Carpio, J., see concurring opinion. Leonardo-De Castro, Del Castillo, Mendoza, and Leonen, JJ., joins the dissent of J. Brion. Brion, J., see: dissent. Abad, J., see separate and concurring opinion. elibrary.judiciary.gov.ph/thebookshelf/showdocsfriendly/1/55820 20/49