Poa: I didn't ask if rewards to informants from confidential funds resulted in success

Former Department of Education undersecretary Michael Poa on Wednesday said that he did not ask the DepEd's special disbursing officer (SDO) if the payment of rewards to informants using P15 million of the department's confidential funds resulted in success in information-gathering.

Poa made the testimony during Day 21 of the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte, at which he is also a member of the defense team. He was an official at DepEd when Duterte headed the department.

“Hindi po,” Poa responded when asked by Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian if he asked DepEd SDO Eduard Fajarda if it was Fajarda who disbursed the P15 million from the confidential funds as payment for rewards, and if that payment resulted in success in information gathering.

(No, I did not ask.)

“Hindi [ko] po [tinanong], kasi ang sinasabi parati po niya sa field, itatanong niya sa field. I understand field operatives,” Poa added.

(I did not ask because he always tell me that it was based on field, he will ask from the field.)

Gatchalian then noted that it was Fajarda’s mandate to disburse the confidential fund as the SDO and asked Poa again why he did not ask Fajarda on how the confidential fund was being disbursed.

“Hindi ko rin po tinanong na kung siya mismo ang nagbibigay kasi every time tatanungin ko siya kung saan makukuha ‘yung mga sagot sa AOM, ang parating [sagot] ay based sa field or tinatanong sa field,” Poa replied.

(I did not ask him further details because every time I ask him for answers to AOM, he tells me that the information is based on field inputs or asked from the field.)

An AOM is a written notification to the agency head and concerned officer/s informing of the deficiencies noted in the audit of accounts, operations or transactions and requiring comments thereto and/or submission of documentary and other information and requirements within a reasonable period.

The Commission on Audit issued an AOM on the P15-million DepEd fund spending, and it was Poa who answered the AOM even as he insisted that he had no personal knowledge on how the confidential fund of the DepEd was used. — BM, GMA News