A defense lawyer who once ran the Department of Education’s internal operations under Vice President Sara Duterte acknowledged Wednesday that he himself might not be spared from legal consequences should the confidential fund allegations against her hold up.
The admission came from Atty. Michael Poa during questioning at the 21st day of Duterte’s Senate impeachment trial. Pressed by Senator-judge Risa Hontiveros, Poa agreed that culpability could extend beyond the Vice President to the subordinates who handled the disputed money at both the Office of the Vice President and DepEd.
Hontiveros framed the point directly: “Kung Atty., mapapatunayan na may sala si VP Duterte sa issue na ito, posible bang may pananagutan din sa batas ‘yung mga tauhan niya sa OVP, mga tauhan niya sa DepEd na tumulong sa kanya pagdating sa confidential funds?”
“As a lawyer, I would say, posible naman po. Just being objective, your honor,” Poa answered.
The senator then narrowed the question to Poa’s own position. “Being objective pa rin, posible rin po ba na kasama kayo doon? Tama po ba ‘yun?” she asked.
“Posible po. Sana po hindi, pero posible po,” he said.
Poa took the stand under unusual circumstances. Though a member of Duterte’s defense panel, he was summoned by House prosecutors and, shortly after taking his oath, was declared a hostile witness by presiding officer Senate President Francis Escudero, who granted prosecution counsel Atty. Benjamin Tolosa Jr. the latitude to pose leading questions during direct examination. Escudero’s ruling followed a tense moment on the floor, after the presiding officer struck from the record a prosecution characterization of Poa as a lawyer who “knows nothing,” calling the remark discourteous.
His testimony centers on the P112.5 million in confidential funds spent by DepEd across the first three quarters of 2023, released in three tranches of P37.5 million each while Duterte led the agency. That sum forms part of the P612.5 million at issue under Article I of the impeachment complaint, which also covers P500 million released to the OVP and accuses Duterte of misappropriation and irregular liquidation of the money.
Poa’s roles during the relevant period place him close to the paper trail now under scrutiny. Beyond serving as chief of staff and spokesperson, he functioned at one point as officer-in-charge of the department’s finance unit. His name has surfaced repeatedly in connection with how DepEd justified its spending to state auditors: during a 2024 House inquiry, Poa said he had asked then-Undersecretary Nolasco Mempin to secure military certifications supporting the liquidation of funds tied to a youth leadership program. Mempin, per that same inquiry, said his team issued the certifications without knowing they would be used to account for confidential fund expenditures.
Ahead of Poa’s appearance, House Deputy Speaker Paolo Ortega V had argued the lawyer possessed more knowledge of the confidential fund matter than Col. Raymund Dante Lachica, the former OVP security officer who received funds from disbursing officer Gina Acosta on Duterte’s instruction, according to Philstar.
