The House prosecution panel expressed its intention to call former Department of Education (DepEd) undersecretary Atty. Michael Wesley Poa as one of its witnesses concerning the alleged misuse of confidential funds of the agency from 2022 to 2023.

Public prosecutor Rep. Gerville Luistro made the announcement before the Senate impeachment court Wednesday as she listed their team’s witnesses for the upcoming week, requesting for a subpoena to be issued for his testimony.

Aside from Poa, Luistro also requested for the court to compel the appearance of Col. Manaros Boransing II, Col. Magtangol Panopio, and Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) official Marizza Grande.

Notably, the names of Boransing and Panopio were mentioned in the proceedings as their names appeared on the certifications that were submitted to the Commission on Audit from DepEd concerning how the confidential funds of the department were utilized.

Grande, on the other hand, had previously appeared in the impeachment proceedings against Duterte that were conducted under the House Committee on Justice.

The panel had previously stated that the PSA would be asked to present its findings on the names that were indicated in the accomplishment reports that were submitted by DepEd and the Office of the Vice President.

Amid Luistro’s request, senate impeachment court presiding officer Senator Francis “Chiz” Escudero mentioned that a subpoena for Poa would no longer be necessary as the defense lawyer had previously expressed his willingness to testify in the trial.

Despite Poa being initially slated for 2 September, Escudero also told prosecutors that the former DepEd official would be called to the witness stand a day earlier if Boransing and Panopio failed to appear on 1 September.

Similar to Grande, Poa was also present during the Justice panel’s inquiry into the impeachment complaints lodged against his client.

He was identified under the committee as having information on how the documents that were part of DepEd’s accomplishment reports were prepared.

Attorney-client privilege

While he served as an official under Duterte as education secretary, Poa has since become one of the Vice President’s lawyers in the ongoing impeachment trial.

Even with the perceived restrictions on attorney-client privilege, Poa maintained that he was open to answering and testifying as much as he could when it came to his experience under DepEd.

The defense lawyer maintained that he would only invoke the legal rule unless it was necessary.

“If questions are about my time under DepEd, then it should really be answered. I have always maintained that position,” he told reporters in a post-trial press conference.

Poa further mentioned that their team was very much aware that he would be called to testify in the proceeding given that his name was indicated in the prosecution’s pre-trial brief.

Given that knowledge, he reiterated that he was prepared to take the witness stand.