Highlights: Day 21 of Sara Duterte impeachment trial | Sept. 2, 2026

MANILA, Philippines – Day 21 of Vice President Sara Duterte’s impeachment trial on Wednesday centered on the Senate impeachment court’s declaration of her own defense counsel, former Education Undersecretary Michael Poa, as a hostile witness for the prosecution, with presiding officer Sen. Francis Escudero granting private prosecutor Benjamin Tolosa Jr. the right to ask leading questions. 

Poa, who served as DepEd chief of staff from 2022 to 2024, was called to testify on the department’s disbursement of P112.5 million in confidential funds during Duterte’s tenure as education secretary. 

READ: Highlights: Day 20 of Sara Duterte impeachment trial | Sept. 1, 2026

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The examination opened with immediate friction. Tolosa’s offer of testimony, which ran to 13 points, was dismissed by defense lead counsel Sheila Sison as sounding “like rhetoric aimed at providing drama” in the proceedings.

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The impeachment court itself scolded Tolosa for engaging in what it called “intramurals” with the defense and wasting time after he opened by asking Poa whether he is a competent lawyer.

Prosecution spokesperson Rep. Zia Alonto Adiong and public prosecutor Rep. Joel Chua later said that Tolosa’s aggressive style reflects his background as a trial lawyer and is a deliberate strategy, not a liability. 

Among the substantive admissions Poa made under examination: he confirmed that not a single peso from DepEd’s confidential funds went to the Armed Forces of the Philippines for its Youth Leadership Summits in 2023, corroborating testimony from an Army officer the previous day. 

Poa also admitted that he only learned about the practice of handing over confidential funds to Vice Presidential Security and Protection Group officials during a House of Representatives hearing in October 2024, not while serving inside DepEd. 

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In a separate development that could reshape the trial’s remaining schedule, Chua announced the prosecution panel is considering dropping the bribery article against Duterte, similar to what prosecutors did during the impeachment trial of former Chief Justice Renato Corona. 

Chua was careful to say the decision is not yet final and that the bribery case is not weak, explaining that the panel is evaluating dropping it purely for efficiency.

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Lead prosecutor Gerville Luistro added that the panel may also forgo presenting the testimony of ailing former DepEd special disbursing officer Edward Fajarda, but only if the defense agrees to accept stipulations in lieu of live testimony. 

On scheduling, presiding officer Escudero informed the court of a proposal to hold whole-day trial sessions in October, running from 10 a.m. into the early evening, before suspending proceedings in November to give way to deliberations on the 2027 national budget. 

The Senate separately approved a resolution allowing its Committee on Finance to conduct budget hearings simultaneously with plenary sessions on Monday to Wednesday afternoons, after morning impeachment proceedings conclude. /dp

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Sources

1. Chua: Bribery case vs Sara Duterte remains strong
2. Senate allows budget hearings, plenary sessions after morning trials
3. DepEd ex-disbursing exec Fajarda may no longer be presented as witness
4. Solon: Style, witness factors in Tolosa’s demeanor at impeachment trial
5. Impeach court eyes whole day October trials, focus on budget in November
6. ‘Not a single peso’ in DepEd secret budget went to youth summits — Poa
7. Poa admits learning CF handout to security exec only at House probe
8. WATCH: Defense calls prosecution’s 13-point offer on Poa ‘rhetoric’
9. Impeachment court chides prosec lawyer for ‘intramurals’, wasting time
10. Poa declared hostile witness by impeachment court
11. WATCH: Sara Duterte lawyer Michael Poa takes the witness stand
12. House prosecution panel mulls dropping bribery case vs Sara Duterte

Editor’s note: This update was generated with the aid of artificial intelligence based on Inquirer.net, Philippine Daily Inquirer and Cebu Daily News articles and reviewed by a human editor.