Ivana Alawi Named in VAWC Case Filed by Wife of Bacolod Mayor Albee Benitez

Actress and social media sensation Ivana Alawi has been dragged into a case filed by Dominique “Nikki” Lopez Benitez, the wife of billionaire and Bacolod City Mayor Albee Benitez.

According to reports circulating on social media, Nikki accused her husband of violating the Anti-Violence Against Women and Their Children Act (VAWC) due to alleged emotional and psychological abuse caused by his supposed extramarital affair with Ivana. Nikki claimed in her complaint that Albee’s infidelity caused her severe mental and emotional distress.

She stated that for many years, she had suspected Albee of being unfaithful, but she could not gather solid evidence—until he, now a congressman-elect, filed a petition to annul their marriage, which is currently pending in court.

In that legal document, Albee allegedly admitted to fathering two children with another woman, “and his implied admission of his current illicit relationship with Ivana Alawi allowed me to confirm his marital infidelity.”

However, Albee, through his lawyer Atty. Peter Sanchez, strongly denied the allegation that he violated the VAWC law. Most of the accusations, he said, were already addressed more than 21 years ago.

Despite the judicial dissolution of their property regime in 2004, Mayor Albee has “continued to provide not just ordinary support, but a high standard of living—shouldering personal, household, and even extended family expenses for more than two decades. This included the complainant’s travel, business ventures, staff, and credit card charges—even long after their separation.”

Regarding the mention of a “third party”—believed to refer to Ivana—the lawyer stated that naming an individual who has no direct bearing on the merits of the case “only serves to divert attention and inflame public sentiment in the complainant’s favor.”

He also noted that this violates the confidentiality rule under the VAWC law.