President Rodrigo Duterte (right) with Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea. –INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines — Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea said he would file another libel complaint against Special Envoy for Public Diplomacy to China and journalist Ramon Tulfo next week over his column that appeared in The Manila Times.
“We will file. Maybe next week. My complaint is already ready,” Medialdea said in a phone interview.
Medialdea said he would file a libel charge against Tulfo over the column titled “Self-purgation should start with the Cabinet,” which appeared in the Manila Times on July 25, 2019.
In his column, Tulfo claimed that a Felicito Mejorado told him that he has not yet received P272.07 million in reward money owed to him by the government for his tip on a smuggling operation in Mariveles, Bataan, in 1997.
Tulfo said Mejorada told him that his claim for his reward had been pending with Medialdea’s office for one year.
Mejorada admitted that a certain Vianney D. Garol, who supposedly claimed she is a presidential consultant, asked for P72 million for the release of the reward, adding that the amount asked was for Medialdea.
In his letter, Medialdea denied he knew Garol. He said that based on the Malacañang Records Office, Garol was appointed as project development officer II under the Office of External Affairs-Davao on August 1, 2005 but stopped operations on December 31, 2005.
Medialdea said Tulfo “seemed to have maliciously omitted a very important fact,” citing Mejorad’s claim for cash reward has been denied by the Department of Finance – Committee on Rewards.
Medialdea said the appeal has not been pending with the Office of the President (OP) for a year but only for three months.
He said the OP received Mejorada’s Notice of Appeal on April 5, 2019. He added that OP acted on Mejorado’s appeal and has asked the Department of Finance to forward all records related to his case.
He said he had already requested the National Bureau of Investigation “to verify the involvement of Garol and Princess Nicole Villarealin an apparent ‘fixing’ operation,” and has asked the Department of Justice to file the necessary criminal offense against Garol for representing herself as Presidential consultant and possible violations of the Anti-Red tape Act of 2007 and other relevant laws.
In June, the Palace official also filed a complaint against Tulfo his May 28, 2019 column titled “The law of karma and Trillanes,” which appeared in The Manila Times.
Medialdea said he filed a libel complaint against Tulfo over the “malicious imputations of crimes and dishonorable acts in the said article, which assassinated my character and good reputation.”
Tulfo alleged that Medialdea was Sandra Cam’s benefactor, claiming that the executive secretary and the Cam have an “unholy” alliance.
In a phone interview, Tulfo was unfazed and said he was ready to face the libel charges.
“I welcome them,” he said.
Asked if he would recommend to Duterte to fire Tulfo, Medialdea said: ” Of course I will never do that. I am not a cry baby like Mon Tulfo who is now conveniently saying that he is a journalist being harassed. /je