By MAE SINGUAY

Bacolod City Lone District Representative Alfredo Abelardo Benitez welcomed the decision of the Makati City Prosecutor’s Office to dismiss the complaint filed against him by his wife, Dominique Lopez-Benitez, for alleged violation of the Anti-Violence Against Women and Their Children (VAWC) Act.

“After a thorough legal review, the prosecutor found no basis to charge me with economic abuse or psychological violence,” Benitez said in a statement yesterday.

He said the allegations were unsupported by evidence and did not meet the legal standards for criminal prosecution.

“This resolution confirms what I have maintained from the beginning — that the accusations were baseless and malicious,” he added.

Throughout this process, Benitez said he remained silent out of respect for his family and confidence in the legal system.

Now that the matter is laid to rest, innocent individuals, especially their children, will be given the privacy to move forward away from this controversy, he said.

Earlier, Benitez’s legal counsel, Atty. Peter Sanchez said his client “firmly denies the baseless and retaliatory allegations made against him by his estranged spouse for alleged economic and psychological abuse.”

In late May, Dominique charged Benitez with violating Republic Act 9262, or the Anti-VAWC Act.

The marital issue went viral on social media after an alleged document, which was part of the 25-page complaint-affidavit filed by his wife, was posted online on different Facebook pages and online media outlets.

The case was filed shortly after Benitez initiated annulment proceedings in 2024, raising serious doubts about the complainant’s motives, Sanchez said./MS, WDJ