Bacolod Rep. Albee Benitez got off scot-free from a criminal complaint filed by his estranged wife, Dominique “Nikki” Lopez, after the Makati City Prosecutor’s Office junked the case for an “insufficiency of evidence.”
In a 20-page resolution, the court ruled that Lopez fell short in substantiating her accusations that Benitez repeatedly committed marital infidelity, in violation of Republic Act 9262, or the Violence Against Women and their Children (VAWC) Act, to be brought to court.
“On a final note, while this Office commiserates with whatever complainant has gone through, this Office has to take into consideration the lack of evidence to support her case for violation of RA 9262,” read the resolution signed by Assistant City Prosecutor Mikhail Maverick Tumacder.
“All told, complainant failed to present sufficient evidence which would convince this Office that a reasonable certainty of conviction may be achieved if this case is filed in court.”
Lopez sued Benitez in April, accusing him of psychological, economic abuses, and infidelity, including a “current illicit relationship” with actress and social media star Ivana Alawi, which was denied by the latter.
Lopez told the court that although she had long heard of rumors of marital affairs, she had no proof to substantiate them, until Benitez petitioned for annulment last year and admitted fathering “two illegitimate children” with actress Daisy Reyes and Andrea del Rosario and his current relationship with Alawi, as grounds to dissolve their marriage.
However, the Makati court said that the evidence presented by Lopez was lacking in proving the existence of the lawmaker’s alleged extramarital affairs with Del Rosario, while his purported relationship with Reyes occurred before the VAWC was enacted.
As for Alawi, the court ruled that unreliable sources, such as news articles, photos of Alawi and Benitez in an airport that went viral on social media, and her sister’s testimony, “cannot conclusively prove their affair.”
“To accept the same as gospel truth, without corroborating sworn statements to explain what is being depicted in these photographs, is a dangerous precedent,” the resolution read. “The evidence submitted does not constitute sufficient proof to charge someone with a criminal indictment.”
This court’s ruling, Benitez said, only confirms that the accusations against him by his estranged wife were “baseless and malicious.”
“After a thorough legal review, the prosecutor found no basis to charge me with economic abuse or psychological violence. The allegations were unsupported by evidence and did not meet the legal standards for criminal prosecution,” he said.
With his vindication, the business tycoon-turned-politician hopes that the “matter now be laid to rest, and that innocent individuals, especially my children, be given the privacy to move forward away from this controversy.”