4/29/2020 E-Library - Information At Your Fingertips: Printer Friendly contends that he has an interest in the disqualification case filed against Arnado, considering that in the event the latter is disqualified, the votes cast for him should be considered stray and the second-placer should be proclaimed as the winner in the elections. It must be emphasized that while the original petition before the COMELEC is one for cancellation of the certificate of candidacy and / or disqualification, the COMELEC First Division and the COMELEC En Banc correctly treated the petition as one for disqualification. The effect of a disqualification case is enunciated in Section 6 of R.A. No. 6646: Sec. 6. Effect of Disqualification Case. - Any candidate who has been declared by final judgment to be disqualified shall not be voted for, and the votes cast for him shall not be counted. If for any reason a candidate is not declared by final judgment before an election to be disqualified and he is voted for and receives the winning number of votes in such election, the Court or Commission shall continue with the trial and hearing of the action, inquiry, or protest and, upon motion of the complainant or any intervenor, may during the pendency thereof order the suspension of the proclamation of such candidate whenever the evidence of his guilt is strong. Mercado v. Manzano[28] clarified the right of intervention in a disqualification case. In that case, the Court said: That petitioner had a right to intervene at that stage of the proceedings for the disqualification against private respondent is clear from Section 6 of R.A. No. 6646, otherwise known as the Electoral Reforms Law of 1987, which provides: Any candidate who has been declared by final judgment to be disqualified shall not be voted for, and the votes cast for him shall not be counted. If for any reason a candidate is not declared by final judgment before an election to be disqualified and he is voted for and receives the winning number of votes in such election, the Court or Commission shall continue with the trial and hearing of the action, inquiry, or protest and, upon motion of the complainant or any intervenor, may during the pendency thereof order the suspension of the proclamation of such candidate whenever the evidence of guilt is strong. Under this provision, intervention may be allowed in proceedings for disqualification even after election if there has yet been no final judgment rendered.[29] Clearly then, Maquiling has the right to intervene in the case. The fact that the COMELEC En Banc has already ruled that Maquiling has not shown that the requisites for the exemption to the second-placer rule set forth in Sinsuat v. COMELEC[30] are present and therefore would not be prejudiced by the outcome of the case, does not deprive Maquiling of the right to elevate the matter before this Court. elibrary.judiciary.gov.ph/thebookshelf/showdocsfriendly/1/55820 9/49