The phrase “abogadong walang alam” (know-nothing lawyer) was ordered stricken from the record of the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte after lead defense counsel Sheila Sison protested its utterance by prosecution lawyer Jay Tolosa to describe hostile witness Atty. Michael Poa.

Impeachment court presiding officer Senator Francis “Chiz” Escudero granted Sison’s request, saying the description was inappropriate for a fellow lawyer.

“The chair hereby orders the phrase ‘abogadong walang alam’ be stricken from the record. The chair finds it discourteous, to say the least,” Escudero said

This after Duterte’s defense team on Wednesday accused prosecutors of using misleading and insulting language to portray former Department of Education undersecretary Michael Poa, who is also on their team, as personally responsible for P112.5 million in confidential DepEd funds.

Sison said the prosecution’s description of Poa as having “answered for” the funds was misleading, as his role in responding to Commission on Audit findings did not mean he was personally involved in disbursing or using the funds.

“This is quite misleading and appears to be deliberate to imply or insinuate that the witness was made to provide just mere excuses to the auditors,” Sison told the court.

Sison was responding to prosecutor Benjamin Tolosa Jr.’s 13-point offer of Poa’s testimony which sought to establish that the latter was among Duterte’s trusted aides but who acknowledged under oath that he knew nothing about the actual use of the confidential funds.

Tolosa then described Poa as an “abogadong walang alam,” saying Duterte tasked him with responding to CoA’s audit observations despite his lack of knowledge of the transactions.

Sison demanded that the phrase be removed from the record, arguing that Poa had rights under the rules to be protected from irrelevant, improper and insulting questions and conduct.

Tolosa later apologized if the remark had caused offense but claimed he was referring to Poa’s previous testimony before Congress, where the lawyer repeatedly said he had no personal knowledge of the use and liquidation of the confidential funds.

“There was never any intention on my part to insult you in any way,” Tolosa told Poa.