The House prosecution panel said it intends to call defense team lawyer Michael Wesley Poa as a witness in the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte.

This is in connection with the alleged misuse of the Department of Education’s confidential funds from 2022 to 2023 when Duterte was the DepEd secretary and Poa was an undersecretary.

House prosecutor Rep. Gerville Luistro announced before the Senate impeachment court on Wednesday the witnesses who will testify for their team next week and requested the issuance of subpoenas for them.

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

Boransing and Panopio were mentioned during the proceedings after their names appeared on certifications submitted by the DepEd to the Commission on Audit concerning the utilization of the department’s confidential funds.

Grande had appeared in the impeachment proceedings against Duterte before the House Committee on Justice.

The prosecution panel had earlier stated that the PSA would be asked to present its findings on the names listed in the acknowledgement reports submitted by the DepEd and the Office of the Vice President.

As per Luistro’s request, impeachment court presiding officer Sen. Francis “Chiz” Escudero said a subpoena for Poa was not necessary as the defense lawyer had expressed his willingness to testify in the trial.

Like Grande, Poa also appeared before the House justice panel during its inquiry into the impeachment complaints filed against Duterte.

The committee identified him as having information on how the documents included in DepEd’s accomplishment reports were prepared.

Attorney-client privilege

Poa has since become one of the Vice President’s lawyers in the ongoing impeachment trial.

Despite the perceived limitations imposed by the attorney-client privilege, Poa said he was willing to answer questions and testify to the fullest extent possible about his experience at the DepEd.He said he would invoke the legal rule only when necessary.

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