FACT CHECK: Poa remains VP Sara’s counsel, defense spokesperson in impeachment trial

Lawyer Michael Poa serves as Duterte's legal counsel and defense team spokesperson in her impeachment trial. He stepped down as the Office of the Vice President’s spokesperson in 2024.

AT A GLANCE

• Lawyer Michael Wesley Poa stepped out of his role as Vice President Sara Duterte's spokesperson in November 2024, but remains her legal counsel and spokesperson of the defense team in Duterte's impeachment trial.
• Poa made this clarification after the Office of the Vice President appointed lawyer Paolo Panelo as its new spokesperson.
• Poa temporarily stepped aside as defense team spokesperson when he took the witness stand for the impeachment trial.

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Claim: Lawyer Michael Wesley Poa has vacated his post as Vice President Sara Duterte’s spokesperson.

Rating: MISSING CONTEXT

Why we fact-checked this: The claim was posted on September 9 by the Facebook page “Balita at Kaalaman,” which has more than 219,000 followers. The post has reached over 1,800 reactions as of writing.

The post, labeled as “breaking news,” reads, “Atty Michael Poa binitawan na ni #SaraDuterte after kawawain sa harap ng publiko. Grabe ginagawa sayo niyang praning na amo mo atty.”

(Sara Duterte dropped Atty. Michael Poa after being humiliated in public. That paranoid boss of yours is really putting you through a lot, attorney.)

Two other posts, uploaded on September 2 and 7 respectively, mention that Poa has resigned as Duterte’s spokesperson.

A YouTuber by the channel name “Mike Cervera Vlog” also posted a live stream commentary on August 29 with the title “Atty. Michael Poa nag resign na?!” As of writing, it has reached over 180,000 views and 400 comments.

The posts circulated following reports on September 9 that Duterte appointed lawyer Paolo Panelo as the new spokesperson for the Office of the Vice President (OVP).

The facts: Poa already stepped down as Duterte’s spokesperson on November 5, 2024. However, he remains Duterte’s legal counsel and her defense team’s spokesperson in her impeachment trial. He himself confirmed this in a message to the media on the day Panelo’s appointment was announced.

In a September 10 interview on Bilyonaryo News Channel, Poa clarified his role as he addressed social media speculation that he had been replaced or removed from Duterte’s team.

In November 2024, Poa said the OVP pre-terminated his consultancy contract as spokesperson, describing the move as a “mutual decision.” He added that he could not fulfill his contract as spokesperson because he deemed it difficult to face the media without losing objectivity. At the time, Poa was a resource person in a House panel probe into the OVP’s alleged misuse of funds.

In appointing Panelo as its new spokesperson, the OVP said he will “serve as the official point of communication, representing the views and positions of the Vice President and engaging with the media and public on relevant matters.”

Prosecution’s hostile witness: On September 1, Poa temporarily stepped aside as counsel and spokesperson for the Vice President’s defense team to take the witness stand in the impeachment trial.

He became one of the prosecution’s hostile witnesses, called to testify on Article I of the impeachment articles concerning Duterte’s alleged misuse of confidential funds.

During the trial, Poa faced questions around the use of P112.5 million in confidential funds of the Department of Education (DepEd). In his testimony, Poa said that during his time as DepEd undersecretary and chief of staff, he prepared the agency’s response to the 2024 Commission on Audit findings on DepEd’s use of confidential funds.

However, he said that he was unaware that Duterte’s security officer Colonel Dennis Nolasco handled the funds.

He clarified that his involvement in the confidential funds issue only began when he received the audit memorandum, and that he relied on other officials’ reports to respond to COA’s inquiries on the use of the funds. – Lourence Angelo Marcellana/Rappler.com

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