Rowegie Abanto

Atty. Sheila Sison and Atty. Michael Poa, members of Vice President Sara Duterte’s defense team, held a press conference on March 25, 2026, confirming that they submitted a letter to the House Committee on Justice declining participation in the ongoing proceedings. They argued that only the Senate has the constitutional authority to conduct impeachment trials.  Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News

Article (news)

Lawyer Michael Poa. Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News/File

ABS-CBN News

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/177613282624720260325-vp-sara-duterte-impeachment-defense-MT9.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Lawyer Michael Poa. <em>Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News/File</em></span></span></span></div><p>MANILA (<strong>UPDATE</strong>) — Michael Poa, one of the lawyers for Sara Duterte, on Tuesday showed up at the House of Representatives for a hearing on the impeachment case of the Vice President.</p><p>The House Committee on Justice is conducting the second hearing on the impeachment complaints against Duterte to determine whether or not there is a probable cause to impeach her.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/4/14/more-witnesses-expected-as-house-conducts-2nd-vp-sara-impeachment-hearing-0848">More witnesses expected as House conducts 2nd VP Sara impeachment hearing</a></div><p>The panel is expected to focus on Duterte&#x27;s alleged involvement in corruption, threat against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., and supposed questionable wealth.</p><p>Duterte, who is expected to again skip the hearings, is facing accusations of misusing a total of P612.5-million confidential funds of the Office of the Vice President and the Department of Education, which she has repeatedly denied.</p><p>Poa was a spokesman and undersecretary for the DepEd, which Duterte headed for two years.</p><p>When asked about his attendance despite questioning the House panel&#x27;s jurisdiction, Poa said, &quot;I was under compulsory process. That is without prejudice to the defenses of the Vice President.&quot;</p><p>Poa clarified that he was appearing before the panel as a former undersecretary, chief of staff and spokesperson of the DepEd &quot;and not as counsel for the Vice President.&quot;</p><p>His attendance came after<a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/3/25/house-panel-to-subpoena-sara-duterte-saln-nbi-findings-on-threat-vs-marcos-1241"> he and several others were subpoenaed</a> by the panel last month. </p><div><br/></div><div><strong>LUISTRO AGAIN DEFENDS HOUSE PROCEEDINGS</strong></div><div> </div><p>Batangas Second District Rep. Gerville Luistro, chairperson of the House panel, again defended the impeachment hearings in her opening speech Tuesday, saying the proceedings were not a trial but merely part of the process according to rules.</p><p>&quot;Wala pong agawan ng kapangyarihan. Let me be very clear, ang ginagawa natin dito ay hindi trial. Ang tanong lang dito, may sapat bang batayan para umusad ang proseso,&quot; Luistro said.</p><p>She stressed that the House of Representatives has the exclusive power to initiate all cases of impeachment while the Senate has the sole mandate to conduct a trial.</p><p>&quot;May kanya-kanya tayong proseso para magampanan ang ating tungkulin. Kung ano man ang tawag sa prosesong ito, hearing, inquiry, evaluation o kahit ano pa, hindi iyon ang mahalaga. Ang mahalaga, malinaw ang tungkulin at malinaw ang resulta,&quot; she said.</p><p>&quot;Hindi ito fishing expedition. Hindi ito bahala na si Batman. Hindi tayo nangangapa. Alam natin ang hinahanap natin — kung may probable cause ba o wala. At malinaw sa atin, hindi natin inaagaw ang kapangyarihan ng Senado magpasya kung guilty o not guilty ang opisyal.&quot;</p><p>Luistro alleged that petitions asking the Supreme Court to block the proceedings only discussed &quot;technicalities&quot; and failed to address allegations against the Vice President. </p><p>&quot;We will answer the lawyers in the Supreme Court. But we will answer the Filipino people here. Narito po ang proseso para linawin ang mga akusasyon, dito natin ito dapat pag-usapan,&quot; she said.</p><div><strong>—With a report from Vivienne Gulla, ABS-CBN News</strong></div><div><br/></div><div><strong>WATCH</strong></div><div><strong><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/UQXmJXuadjQ?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span></strong><br/></div>

<p>Michael Poa, one of the lawyers for Sara Duterte, on Tuesday showed up at the House of Representatives for a hearing on the impeachment case of the Vice President.</p>

Michael Poa, one of the lawyers for Sara Duterte, on Tuesday showed up at the House of Representatives for a hearing on the impeachment case of the Vice President.

Michael Poa attends 2nd VP Sara impeachment hearing proper

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Michael Poa attends 2nd VP Sara impeachment hearing proper

Rowegie Abanto,

ABS-CBN News

Published April 14, 2026 10:19 AM PHT

|

Updated April 14, 2026 11:24 AM PHT

Read More:

Sara Duterte

Sara Duterte Impeachment

Impeachment

Michael Poa

Gerville Luistro

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