Defense lawyer Michael Poa said Wednesday there was no illegality or conflict of interest in his participation in a 2023 meeting with state auditors, after the Senate impeachment court cleared him to continue serving as counsel for Vice President Sara Duterte.
Speaking at a press conference following the 13th day of Duterte’s impeachment trial on August 5, Poa emphasized that Senate Presiding Officer Francis “Chiz” Escudero had already ruled that his involvement did not constitute a positional conflict of interest.
“Nag-rule lang siya [Sen. Escudero] na wala namang conflict of interest,” Poa said. “It wasn’t a positional conflict of interest.”
Escudero issued the clarification earlier in the day after Senator-Judge Raffy Tulfo raised a point of order regarding Poa’s role, citing his attendance at a 2023 meeting with the Commission on Audit’s Intelligence and Confidential Funds Audit Office (COA-ICFAO).
Poa said he sought to address the issue publicly after being alluded to during the proceedings and in social media discussions, but noted that the court had already settled the matter.
“I just wanted to clear the issue so the public would not be misled about the nature of that meeting,” he said, adding that he would refrain from further comment to avoid violating sub judice rules.
He maintained that the meeting in question was not improper and was, in fact, initiated by COA-ICFAO, which invited officials from the Office of the Vice President (OVP) to clarify guidelines on the use of confidential funds.
“I have no personal knowledge on who called the meeting because I only relied on the OVP asking if I could join the meeting,” Poa said, noting that he was then serving as officer-in-charge undersecretary for finance.
According to Poa, testimony during the hearing also established that similar meetings are not unusual and are conducted with other government agencies.
“Sa akin lang is na-clarify na hindi illegal yung ganyan ng meeting, hindi lang OVP or DepEd ang ahensyang nakikipag-meeting at panghuli is that yung conflict of interest,” he said.
Poa added that the discussion centered on clarifying provisions of the joint circular governing confidential funds, and that any concerns raised were eventually addressed through an audit observation memorandum issued by COA.
He also said he had initially requested permission to speak before the impeachment court to provide context, but deferred after Escudero indicated it was unnecessary and that the matter had already been clarified through testimony.
Poa declined to elaborate further on the substance of the meeting, stressing that the issue had already been resolved.
“For me, it’s a dead issue,” he said.
The impeachment trial of Duterte on Wednesday has adjourned and will resume its 14th session on August 10.
