Poa declared hostile witness by impeachment court
MANILA, Philippines – Vice President Sara Duterte’s defense counsel Michael Poa was declared by the Senate impeachment court as a hostile witness at the resumption of the trial on Wednesday.
Poa was called by the prosecution panel to testify on the P112.5 million in Department of Education (DepEd) confidential funds when Duterte was its secretary.
“The chair will proceed to declare Atty. Poa as a hostile witness, therefore giving Atty. [Benjamin] Tolosa the right to ask leading questions,” presiding officer Sen. Francis Escudero said.
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READ: VP Trial Day 21: Defense lawyer Michael Poa to testify in impeachment court
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Hostile witnesses are individuals presumed to favor the opposite party – in Poa’s case, the respondent, who is the vice president.
When Duterte was the secretary of DepEd from 2022 to 2024, Poa served as the agency’s chief of staff, an officer-in-charge of DepEd’s finance unit, and later Duterte’s spokesperson.
After Duterte’s stint at DepEd, Poa represented Duterte when she faced the first set of impeachment complaints against her in 2025.
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