Manila, June 25 -- Former senator Antonio Trillanes IV on Thursday filed a third libel complaint before the Department of Justice (DOJ) against the 18 former bodyguards of fugitive lawmaker Zaldy Co.

In his 27-page complaint, Trillanes also named as respondents Senators Allan Peter Cayetano and Rodante Marcoleta over statements made during a June 4 alleged hearing on anomalous flood control projects.

The complaint stemmed from a proceeding pushed by the Cayetano bloc despite acting Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian's announcement a day earlier that no official Senate business would be conducted on that day.

"It bears stressing that the June 4, 2016 so-called 'Blue Ribbon hearing' was a pre-meditated, politically motivated stunt inte...