Manila Rep. Bienvenido “Benny” Abante said former Department of Education Undersecretary Michael Wesley Poa has an obligation to tell the truth about what he knows regarding the agency’s use of confidential funds when he testifies in Vice President Sara Duterte’s impeachment trial.

Abante said Poa, who served as a senior DepEd official during Duterte’s tenure as education secretary, should be held accountable for what he knew about the utilization of millions of pesos in public funds.

“Who is [Poa]? Pilate? When faced with God, he simply washed his hands? He said he has nothing to do with this but he does. Atty. Michael Poa must remember that it is his big boss who is involved in this,” Abante said in an online interview.

The lawmaker acknowledged that Poa is not the impeachable official on trial but said his testimony could shed light on DepEd’s use of P112.5 million in confidential funds in 2023.

“We just want to know what he knows about what the Vice President did, particularly with the confidential funds, particularly with the bribery that took place among the staff,” Abante said.

“I believe that Atty. Michael Poa is accountable because he knew everything that happened,” he added.

Abante based his assessment on previous hearings of the House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability, which investigated Duterte’s use of confidential funds.

He said Poa had previously maintained that he knew nothing about the transactions and was not among the recipients of confidential funds.

Abante said Poa may give the same answers when he testifies, but stressed that appearing before the impeachment court carries different implications.

“This time it is a totally different story. He is no longer facing a Committee of Good Government. He is now facing the impeachment court. He could either convict or exonerate the VP. If he is really loyal to the Constitution, if he really knows what this means, he must tell the truth,” Abante said.

House Deputy Speaker Paolo Ortega likewise argued that Poa’s previous role as Duterte’s spokesperson meant he was in a position to know details about processes within DepEd.

“You cannot speak, you cannot defend, you cannot honor your words if you don’t know anything. If you don’t know the details and you don’t know the entire process,” Ortega said.

“That’s how important he is to this trial.”

Poa is expected to testify as a prosecution witness as the impeachment court continues hearing evidence on Article I this week.