MANILA - Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea lodged Tuesday a third libel complaint against Manila’s special envoy to Beijing Ramon Tulfo over his corruption allegations against the government administrator.

Medialdea personally filed before the Manila City Prosecutors Office the complaint that stemmed from Tulfo's 2 opinion pieces published on The Manila Times.

In the first piece titled "Self-purgation should start with the Cabinet", Tulfo wrote that Medialdea's office allegedly withheld the release of a P272-million reward for an informant who tipped off authorities on P1.3 billion worth of smuggled crude oil.

The informant Felicito Mejardo supposedly gave P72 million to a certain Vianney Garol to help him get the reward and was later told that the money went to "ES", the call sign of Medialdea, claimed Tulfo last July 25.

In another opinion piece a week later, the columnist challenged Medialdea to resign from his post, saying the latter is a "nincompoop" and "is much more incompetent" than Tulfo's sister, Wanda Tulfo-Teo.

Tulfo-Teo quit as tourism secretary last year after her agency faced investigation over the placement of P60 million worth of ads in the television show of her brothers, Ben and Erwin Tulfo.

Medialdea, in his complaint, said he does not know Garol and that the justice department denied Mejardo's claim for cash reward.

Tulfo "is remiss in the performance of his duties as a journalist, as he keeps on publishing articles and attacking individuals without exerting any effort to verify his facts first", said the Palace official.

Medialdea also noted that Tulfo is the first journalist against whom he filed a libel complaint.

"I am not doing this just because I am offended by what he has written but because he is obviously using his position as a journalist to maliciously malign my honor, integrity and reputation," he said.

Medialdea demanded P80 million in moral damages and P60 million in exemplary damages from Tulfo and other respondents, which included Manila Times president and chief executive officer Dante Ang and several other executives.

Medialdea's earlier libel complaints against Tulfo cited his articles accusing the official of recommending unqualified candidates for key government posts, acting without President Rodrigo Duterte's consent, and abusing his position to curry favor.

Tulfo also ridiculed Medialdea's appearance in one opinion piece, he said.