Vice President Sara Duterte’s confidential fund transactions will come under fresh scrutiny this week as House prosecutors brace for her defense counsel, Michael Poa, to shield certain answers behind attorney-client privilege during his expected testimony.
Poa occupies an unusual position in the impeachment trial. Having worked as undersecretary, chief of staff, and spokesperson while Duterte led the Department of Education, he now sits on the legal team defending her against charges he may be compelled to speak about. Prosecutors intend to petition the Senate impeachment court to treat him as a hostile witness, hoping to resolve questions the House left open during its 2024 probe into the alleged misuse of secret funds.
Central to that line of questioning are military certifications DepEd used when answering Commission on Audit findings tied to roughly P15 million in confidential fund spending, some of it connected to Youth Leadership Summits. Former DepEd Undersecretary Nolasco Mempin told the 2024 House inquiry that he secured those certifications on Poa’s instruction as the department assembled its audit response.
Rep. Benny Abante Jr. of Manila, who chairs the House Committee on Human Rights, stressed that Poa is wanted for his firsthand knowledge as a ranking DepEd official rather than for his current legal role. “Ang gusto natin malaman, ano ang alam niya tungkol sa pinagagawa ng ating Vice President, particularly sa confidential funds,” Abante said.
Poa has signaled he will discuss his DepEd work but reserves the right to invoke privilege where his defense duties intersect. Deputy Speaker Paolo Ortega V said the prosecution has readied itself for either outcome. “Kung hiningi ng prosecutors o ng prosecution team na maging parte po siya sa roster of witnesses, kahit na hostile witness po siya, ibig sabihin nakahanda po ‘yung team para po sa kahit anong bagay na kanyang maaaring sabihin or i-invoke,” he said during an online briefing Monday.
Should the court grant the request, Poa would become the third hostile witness after former OVP special disbursing officer Gina Acosta and Assistant Secretary Lemuel Ortonio. He could also take the stand as the prosecution’s opening witness this week if two military officers slated ahead of him do not show.
Ortega called Poa a “central figure” in the confidential fund allegation. “So hostile witness man si Atty. Poa o hindi, I believe he’s one of the central figures po sa impeachment na ito at dito po sa article na ito,” he said. In his view, Poa holds more useful information than Col. Raymund Dante Lachica, the former OVP security officer who received funds from Acosta on Duterte’s orders. “Dahil sa tingin ko, at the end of the day, mas marami pong information na alam si Atty. Poa kaysa po kay Lachica,” Ortega said.
The venue itself, Ortega argued, now allows for answers the House could not extract. “Ngayon nasa impeachment court tayo and I believe na ito po ‘yung proper forum para po mabigyang-linaw ‘yung mga tanong,” he said.
All of this falls under Article I of the impeachment complaint, which alleges misuse, misappropriation, and irregular liquidation of P612.5 million in confidential funds — P500 million channeled to the OVP between December 2022 and the third quarter of 2023, plus P112.5 million sent to DepEd in 2023.
