THE House prosecution panel will seek to have Vice President Sara Duterte’s lawyer, Michael Wesley Poa, declared a hostile witness when he takes the stand next week in her impeachment trial.
Lanao del Sur Rep. Zia Alonto Adiong, the prosecution spokesperson, said Thursday that Poa’s current role as a member of Duterte’s defense team makes him adverse to the prosecution’s position.
“He is actually part of the defense panel, so he is adversarial to the position that the prosecution panel is standing on,” Adiong said.
“In effect, it is very clear that he would be presented by the prosecution panel as a hostile witness,” he added.
Poa, who previously served as Duterte’s chief of staff and spokesperson when she was education secretary, is scheduled to testify on Sept. 2 as the prosecution pursues allegations involving the misuse of P112.5 million in confidential funds at the Department of Education (DepEd).
He is now part of Duterte’s defense team.
If the Senate impeachment court grants the prosecution’s request, Poa would become the third prosecution witness to be declared hostile in the proceedings involving the alleged misuse of confidential funds.
The first was Gina Acosta, a former special disbursing officer of the Office of the Vice President (OVP). Presiding Officer Sen. Francis “Chiz” Escudero declared her hostile after finding that her continued employment under Duterte and her position in a counter-affidavit filed before the Office of the Ombudsman indicated an adverse interest.
OVP Assistant Secretary and Assistant Chief of Staff Lemuel Ortonio was later declared the second hostile witness, with the court citing his continued co-terminus employment under Duterte as a potential adverse interest.
Adiong stressed that the prosecution cannot unilaterally declare Poa hostile and must first establish sufficient grounds before the impeachment court.
“Only the impeachment court can actually qualify him to be as such,” he said.
The prosecution is expected to focus on Poa’s former position at DepEd and his involvement in addressing audit findings during Duterte’s tenure as education secretary.
Adiong said Poa was involved in responding to an audit observation memorandum (AOM) concerning DepEd’s confidential funds.
“It was also Atty. Poa who responded to the AOM,” he said.
Poa’s testimony would place a member of Duterte’s current defense team on the witness stand to testify about matters arising from his previous role as a senior DepEd official.
Adiong declined to disclose the prosecution’s specific line of questioning, including whether Poa would be asked about his dealings with the Commission on Audit after the agency flagged the confidential fund expenditures.
He said the details would depend on the prosecution’s direct examination of Poa.
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