National Capital Region election officers Romeo Lobregat, Rudolf Melon, Calixto Ramos and Marikina Voter’s Identification Division (VID) acting chief Florencia Saliuan have sent a complaint to the Judicial and Bar Council, claiming Benipayo was not fit to fill one of two SC vacancies.
The first three complainants branded the former court administrator as "unqualified because of his gross incompetence and dereliction of duty."
"He cannot be a fair, honest and equitous associate justice," they said in a three-page affidavit.
The bad blood between the NCR officers and Benipayo started when the latter allegedly showed bias in defending NCR director Ferdinand Rafanan. The three, along with other Comelec officials, had earlier signed a manifesto withdrawing support for Rafanan, citing "management deficiencies" and "lackluster supervisory performance."
Benipayo’s prejudice, the complainants said, became obvious when he allowed Rafanan to continuously lambast them publicly during a meeting.
They likewise accused Benipayo of ignoring an order from the Civil Service Commission to immediately resolve the matter. Worse, the complainants claimed, there was even a "surreptitious move to promote Rafanan."
"He (Benipayo) deliberately withheld any action on the matter, making him absolutely unqualified to sit as justice," they said.
For her part, Saliuan claimed Benipayo was "unfair, biased and had dictatorial tendencies."
She narrated that instead of acting on her physical injuries complaint against a subordinate, Benipayo, along with director Ester Roxas and executive director Mamasapunod Aguam, named her the respondent instead.
Much to her dismay, Saliuan was even terminated by Roxas and Aguam as VID chief, a move that Benipayo approved right away. The complainant claimed she wasn’t given a chance to defend herself.
"Benipayo is not worthy to be an associate justice. His actions prove that he is a biased and unfair person," she said in a two-page affidavit. "He can never be a just and impartial judge because he did not base his judgment on the records or facts of the case but on the baseless and unfounded recommendation of persons close to him."