A senator-judge in Vice President Sara Duterte's impeachment trial on Wednesday questioned whether defense lawyer Michael Poa had a conflict of interest in representing Duterte in proceedings centered on the use of confidential funds, but the Senate impeachment court swiftly ruled that no such conflict existed.

Senator-judge Raffy Tulfo raised the issue at the opening of the trial's 13th day, citing testimony that Poa had previously participated in meetings with Commission on Audit (COA) officials regarding the liquidation of confidential and intelligence funds while serving under Duterte in government.

"Hindi ba conflict of interest iyon para siya'y mag-represent dito ngayon sa pinag-uusapang confidential funds when in fact siya mismo pumunta doon sa COA office para makipag-usap sa kanila?" Tulfo asked presiding officer Senate President Francis Escudero.

Escudero rejected the argument, saying the impeachment case was against Duterte and not her lawyer.

"The respondent in this case, Senator-judge Tulfo, is the Honorable Vice President Sara Zimmerman Duterte," Escudero said. 

"Atty. Poa ... is not a named respondent to this case and in fact, he's one of the lawyers of the respondent. I believe there is no conflict with respect to that given he is not the one in trial in this case," he added.

Poa previously served as spokesperson of the Department of Education (DepEd) and held positions at the Office of the Vice President (OVP) during Duterte's tenure. He resigned from DepEd in July 2024, about a month after Duterte left the Marcos administration's Cabinet.

Former COA Intelligence and Confidential Funds Audit Office auditor Roderick Wamil on Tuesday told the impeachment court that he attended a September 2023 meeting involving Poa, OVP Chief of Staff Zuleika Lopez and other COA officials.

According to Wamil, Duterte's staff sought clarification on the liquidation process for confidential funds and asked auditors to issue an audit query rather than an Audit Observation Memorandum (AOM), a formal document used by COA to flag possible deficiencies or irregularities in government transactions.

During Wednesday's proceedings, Tulfo asked Wamil whether he had felt intimidated during the meeting. Wamil replied that he had not.

The senator-judge also pressed the witness on the use of aliases by confidential fund informants, a key issue in the impeachment case. Wamil said the documents he reviewed did not indicate whether the names of informants were aliases or real identities.

Tulfo further asked about a reported notice of disallowance against the OVP. Wamil said he had no personal knowledge of such a document.

On questions related to supporting documents for confidential fund expenditures, Wamil said receipts for purchases of ordinary goods would not, in his view, compromise national security.

The prosecution panel backed Escudero's ruling on Poa's participation in the trial.

"I agree with the ruling of the presiding judge. He is here acting in his capacity as lawyer, and lawyers are entitled to defend their clients," private prosecutor Lorna Kapunan told reporters during a break in the proceedings.

"Iba ang personality ni Atty. Poa in this case at sabi nga ni Presiding Officer Francis Escudero, hindi naman siya ang respondent o accused dito so wala tayong conflict of interest," she added.

Kapunan said Poa's prior role in government did not prevent him from serving as counsel for Duterte.

"There is no conflict of interest and I think it is ethical that he represents his client based on what he feels he should be doing," she said.

Asked for his reaction, Poa deferred to the court's ruling: "The Presiding Officer has ruled so I think that's settled.”