Poa says he has no problem being listed as prosecution's witness

MANILA, Philippines — Michael Poa, defense lawyer of Vice President Sara Duterte, said on Thursday that he does not have a problem with being among the prosecution panel’s list of witnesses for the impeachment trial against the vice president.

“Yes, I think the prosecution listed me and I don’t have any problems with that,” Poa confirmed with Senate reporters.

Asked if he can testify to trial despite being a member of the defense team, Poa reiterated, “It’s allowed especially if their questions concern matters that do not pertain to my role as counsel for the Vice President, I don’t think there would be any problem with that.”

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READ: Duterte impeachment: Lopez, ‘Mary Grace Piattos’ among witnesses sought

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Poa said the situation is similar to his previous appearance as a resource speaker before the House of Representative’s committee on justice’s hearing.

Poa was then subpoenaed by the panel in his previous capacity as the spokesperson, chief of staff with the rank of Undersecretary in the Department of Education.

He was then asked to bring with him documents regarding the confidential fund submissions made by the DepEd to the Commission on Audit (COA) while Duterte was still Education secretary.

On April 14, Poa said he attended the hearing under compulsory process, without prejudice to the defense of the vice president.

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During the said clarificatory hearing, he was asked about his previous testimonies in the 19th congress where Poa said he received envelopes containing money from Duterte herself.

In the same hearing, Poa gave context to the nature of the payments and explained that they were mere reimbursements for when he used his personal money to initially pay for the expenses of the agency.

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Likewise, he reiterated a previous statement he had no personal knowledge on how confidential funds are operationalized.

According to the prosecution, for the Senate trial, Poa can “testify on the DepEd’s responses to COA audit findings and his procurement and submission of supporting documents despite having no personal knowledge of confidential fund expenditures.”

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This relates to Article I of the Articles of Impeachment that accuses Duterte of culpable violation of the Constitution, graft and corruption, and betrayal of public trust due to the misuse, misappropriation, and irregular liquidation of the P500 million pesos of confidential funds released to the Office of the Vice President and P112.5 million released to DepEd. /mr