Malacañang on Monday distanced itself from the libel complaint filed by Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea against Special Envoy for Public Diplomacy to China Ramon Tulfo, saying the Palace will “not interfere.”
“That’s between Executive Secretary and the journalist,” Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo told reporters in a press briefing.
“That is personal between the two so we will not interfere,” he added.
The charges stemmed from a July 25 column published in the Manila Times in which Tulfo accused Medialdea of sitting on a claim of government reward money by a certain Felicito Mejorado.
Mejorado said 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 Mejorado came to his office in Pasig City last week to ask for help because his reward has been supposedly pending with Medialdea’s office for one year, according to the column.
Medialdea has denied the allegations saying the appeal has not been pending with the Office of the President (OP) for a year but only for three months.
According to Medialdea, the OP received Mejorada’s Notice of Appeal on April 5, 2019.
He also said the “malicious accusations” were only meant to discredit him.
Tulfo also accused Medialdea of asking for money for the release of the tip through a certain Vianney D. Garol, but the Executive Secretary denied the claim.