Court dismisses violence against women case against Albee Benitez
The violence against women and children complaint filed against Bacolod Rep. Albee Benitez by his estranged wife Dominique Lopez has been dismissed by the Makati Prosecutor’s Office.
Lopez had accused Benitez of violating the Republic Act 9262, also known as the Anti-Violence Against Women and Their Children Act of 2004, for alleged economic and psychological abuse.
Assistant City Prosecutor Mikhail Maverick Tumacder said in a resolution that Lopez failed to show evidence that a reasonable certainty of conviction may be achieved if the case is filed in court, The Philippine STAR reported. The decision was approved by acting City Prosecutor Melvin Matti.
Benitez welcomed the news, noting that the accusations made against him were baseless.
"The prosecutor found no basis to charge me with economic abuse or psychological violence," he said. "I remained silent out of respect for my family and confidence in the legal system. This resolution confirms what I have maintained from the beginning, that the accusations were baseless and malicious."
He asked the public to put the issue to rest so that innocent individuals, especially his children, may be given the privacy to move forward away from the controversy.
In her complaint, Lopez claimed that she "found strong evidence" that Benitez had been cheating on her when he filed a still-pending petition to annul their marriage.
She alleged that he admitted to having fathered two illegitimate children and hinted at an "illicit relationship" with social media star Ivana Alawi.
"It was only when I received the Petition for Declaration of Nullity of Marriage filed by Respondent and after reading the admission of Respondent of having fathered two (2) illegitimate children, and his implied admissions of his current illicit relationship with Ivana Alawi, that I was able to confirm his marital infidelity," the document read.
"I felt utterly betrayed by the Respondent and was devastated beyond compare after finally discovering and confirming the truth in the Respondent's lies," Lopez continued.
Benitez repeatedly brushed off his wife's allegations as "baseless and retaliatory." Alawi also previously denied the third party accusations, saying she only met the mayor during a work trip in Bacolod and that he wasn't the only politician that she became friends with. She also noted that she was seeing "a respectable businessman and not a politician" at the time. Alawi likewise indirectly addressed the issue on her YouTube vlog when she stressed that she is not a homewrecker while being subjected to a lie detector test.
