Defense counsel Michael Poa called the impeachment proceedings on Wednesday "fair" after he appeared as a witness and was grilled by the prosecution throughout.
Poa took the witness stand as Vice President Sara Duterte’s former chief of staff during her stint as the secretary of the Department of Education.
In a short statement to the media after the day's proceedings, Poa said that it was better for him to remain neutral.
There are no confidential funds in the proposed 2027 budget of the Office of the Vice President, House Committee on Appropriations Vice Chairperson Representative Jose Alvarez said Wednesday.
"Wala. Nothing, nothing. So it is up to the president kung bigyan niya ng [if he will give] confidential funds yung Office of the Vice President. That is his discretion," Alvarez said in an ambush interview after the committee deliberations this afternoon, at which the OVP asked for P785 million for next year.
The impeachment of Vice President Sara Duterte is currently tackling her use of the confidential funds allocated to the OVP and to the Department of Education when she was education secretary.
Defense counsel and former undersecretary Michael Poa said Wednesday the Commission on Audit (COA) has yet to reverse its decision clearing the Department of Education's (DepEd) P75-million confidential fund spending for the first two quarters of 2023.
Poa made the testimony during the cross examination of lead defense counsel Sheila Sison on Day 21 of the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte, who served at the helm of the DepEd when the confidential funds in question were disbursed.
Sison asked Poa if he was aware of efforts or moves from COA to reconsider the credit notice or clearance on DepEd's P75-million confidential fund spending in 2023.
Poa replied: "As far as I'm aware, none at the moment."
Likewise, Poa also testified that COA did not issue a notice of suspension and notice of disallowance on DepEd's confidential funds spending from first to third quarter.
The Senate impeachment court on Wednesday ordered Commission on Audit (COA) employee Bresilio Sabaldan and two others to testify in the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte from September 7 to 9.
In his order, Senate impeachment court presiding officer Francis Escudero said the court had granted the subpoena request filed by lead prosecutor Gerville Luistro of Batangas.
Atty. Michael Poa on Wednesday maintained that he had nothing to do with the confidential funds of the Department of Education (DepEd), despite serving as the agency’s chief of staff and undersecretary while Vice President Sara Duterte was Education secretary.
On the 21st day of Duterte’s impeachment trial, Poa said documents showed that responsibility for handling the confidential funds rested with a special disbursing officer and a security officer.
“I understand the people who are asking, who are thinking, ‘Imposible naman na hindi niya alam, COS siya.’ But anyone who has worked with the Vice President would know that when she runs an office, it’s highly compartmentalized. Ibig sabihin, kung anong binigay sa iyo na function, ’yun lang ang tututukan mo,” he said.
(I understand the people who are asking and thinking, ‘It’s impossible that he didn’t know about the confidential funds because he was the chief of staff.’ But anyone who has worked with the Vice President would know that when she runs an office, it’s highly compartmentalized. That means you focus only on the function assigned to you.)
“Kung tatandaan natin, ’yung confidential funds, it started way before I became chief of staff,” he added.
(If we recall, the confidential funds started way before I became chief of staff.)
Poa served in several capacities at DepEd under Duterte, including as spokesperson, undersecretary, and chief of staff.
During her interpellation, Senator-Judge Imee Marcos asked Poa: “So maliwanag na maliwanag para sa iyo na ’yung confidential funds, hindi mo trabaho ’yun kahit COS ka ng Secretary?”
(So, it is very clear to you that handling the confidential funds was not part of your job, even though you were the Secretary’s chief of staff?)
Poa, who had been declared a hostile witness by the Senate impeachment court, answered in the affirmative.
Senate impeachment court presiding officer Francis "Chiz" Escudero on Wednesday discussed the possible adjusted schedule of the trial of Vice President Sara Duterte.
On the 21st day of the impeachment trial, Escudero informed the counsels in advance the draft trial dates for the upcoming weeks and months, given that the Senate has to begin deliberations on the proposed 2027 national budget.
He emphasized that the following schedule is still subject to confirmation and finality by next week.
On October 1 and 2; October 5 to 9; and October 12 to 15, trial will be for the entire day, from 10 a.m. up until early evening. There will be no sessions on these days.
Next, the trial will be temporarily suspended "to give way to the committee hearings of the Committee on Finance, which is also part of the break."
Escudero said the trial will resume on November 9 and 16, both Mondays.
"We shall proceed to normal programming on November 23 until we finish the case," the presiding officer added.
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.
The term ‘audit query’ has figured prominently in the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte, after a state auditor testified that officials of the Department of Education (DepEd) and the Office of the Vice President (OVP) asked the Commission on Audit (COA) to issue one instead of an audit observation memorandum (AOM).
The COA describes an audit query memorandum (AQM) as an issuance by state auditors to their respective auditees to document their queries relative to their audit.
“It is aimed to answer questions that may either lead to a clarification or may lead to the issuance of an Audit Observation Memorandum or other appropriate notices,” the COA said on its official website.
In simpler terms, an audit query indicates that state auditors have questions, and auditees are asked to explain or provide more information.
What is an AOM?
The COA defines an AOM as 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.”
While an audit query raises questions and seeks clarification, an AOM communicates audit observations and is used to obtain a formal response from the agency.
Senate impeachment court presiding officer Francis “Chiz” Escudero on Wednesday asked for the understanding and patience of the public and senator-judges as the defense and prosecution panels clashed amid the testimony of Atty. Michael Poa in the trial.
Escudero said this on the 21st day of the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte, as prosecution counsel and spokesperson Benjamin Tolosa Jr. and defense lead counsel Sheila Sison exchanged heated words while Poa was on the witness stand to testify on the alleged misuse of confidential funds.
“Para sa kaalaman din po ng kapwa ko senator-judges at mga sumusubaybay, mahirap na nga po na may dalawang abogadong nagkakaroon ng tagisan ng talino, gawin pa nating tatlo. Kaya pag-unawa lang po at pasensya ang hinihiling namin,” the presiding officer said.
(For the information of my fellow senator-judges and those watching the proceedings, it is difficult enough for two lawyers to have a battle of wits, let alone three. So we just ask for understanding and patience.)
Defense lawyer and former education undersecretary Michael Poa testified Tuesday that purchasing information from informants using confidential funds does not guarantee success in information gathering.
"Unang-una, hindi kailangan na kapag bumili ka ng information, necessarily, 'pag nakuha mo 'yung information, it will result to success," Poa said when private prosecutor Benjamin Tolosa, Jr. asked if evidence of success is required in the purchase of information as provided under Joint Circular 2015-01, which governs the use of confidential and intelligence funds.
Tolosa cut off Poa after such reply and said "That's my question (only), sir," but Poa insisted on explaining his answer and replied, "Come on, your honor. I'm trying to explain."
Senate impeachment court presiding officer Francis Escudero ruled that Poa should be able to further explain his answer.
Poa then added, "Hindi rin ibig sabihin na at the time na nakuha mo 'yung information and at the time that we needed to submit evidence of success [to the Commission on Audit], necessarily, may success na kaagad."
(It does not mean that just because you already got the information and we needed to submit evidence of success, it does not necessarily mean there is already a success.)
Tolosa then asked asked Poa to confirm that it was his position that the Department of Education (DepEd) paid informants with confidential funds for information, and compliance with 2015 Joint Circular does not necessarily require evidence of success. Poa replied: "Yes, Sir."
Poa also testified that he asked for military certification from then-DepEd undersecretary and retired Colonel Nolasco Mempin to liquidate the department's P15.5 million in confidential funds, and that Mempin did not have personal knowledge on how the P15.5 million in DepEd confidential funds were spent.
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