Sherwin Tinampay

Article (news)

#VPOnTrial: Day 21

Victoria Tulad

ABS-CBN News

<div><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/kAw5o2fgZgM?autoplay=1&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></div>Today is the 21st day of the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte. The Senate impeachment court will continue to hear article 1 on the alleged misuse, questionable liquidation, and systematic misappropriation of confidential funds of Duterte.Defense counsel and spokesperson for the defense Atty. Michael Poa is set to testify as a hostile witness on the alleged misuse of Department of Education confidential funds when Duterte was DepEd chief.  <div> </div>3:46 p.m. - The Senate impeachment trial court is adjourned. Trial will resume on Monday, September 7, 2026, 10 a.m. 3:41 p.m. - Trial will resume on November 9 and 16.  Trial will then continue from November 23 until it is finished.  The change, according to Escudero, is to accommodate the budget hearings. 3:39 p.m. - Escudero says that for October 1 and 2, October 5 - 9, and October 12 - 15, trial shall be from 10 am up to early evening. There will be no session. 3:25 p.m. - Poa is excused from the witness stand. 2:55 p.m. - Poa says he does not know if the P15.54 million confidential fund was solely for the Youth Leadership Summit or for other programs. 2:43 p.m. - Senator-judge Risa Hontiveros asks Poa if, knowing what he knows now, there was a violation of the law in Duterte&#x27;s actions regarding confidential funds. Poa says he would love to answer the question but cannot because aside from it being attorney-client privilege, whatever he would say would be biased.  Poa: “I would rather the evidence answer than a statement coming from one of her counsels.” 2:34 p.m. - Poa adds that the explanation to him of Mempin was Acknowledgment Receipts were given through the said certifications. 2:33 p.m. - Poa tells Senator-judge Joel Villanueva that he included the AFP certifications as proof of success of payment because these contained the words &quot;due to a synergistic exchange of intelligence and information, they were able to target areas where it will be held.&quot;  He admits the liquidation of reward payment must be acknowledgment receipts but he did not see these. 2:23 p.m. - Senator-judge Erwin Tulfo asks Poa if he was informed about the fictitious names in acknowledgment receipts.  Poa says he asked Fajarda for documents evidencing payment. Fajarda told him that it was confidential but still unsealed an envelope and showed Poa one or two acknowledgment receipts.  Poa says he did not see anything fictitious and only heard of the names Mary Grace Piattos and others during the House hearing. 2:13 p.m. - Sison asks Poa about the credit notice issued by COA to DepEd.  She asks if the AOM led to a Notice of Suspension or Notice of Disallowance.  Poa says no.  Sison ends her cross-examination. 2:09 p.m. - Tolosa ends his direct examination of Poa. 2:08 p.m. - Tolosa asks Poa if he admits that the VP approved the payment for each informant.  Poa says he would not know this.  Escudero says whether or not the head of an agency approved the payment was not contained in the AOM which Poa did not answer yes or no to. Escudero tells Tolosa: &quot;I think, Atty. Jay, we are going in circles quite frankly.&quot; Escudero says Poa and the previous witnesses for OVP have admitted that the use of confidential funds, liquidation etc. were done under the authorization, direction and approval of Duterte. 1:50 p.m. - Poa confirms that in a meeting with COA, they asked if an audit query could be issued to the OVP instead of an AOM, but mentions that this was just to clarify the specifics being asked from the said office.  He adds that the audit query is within COA&#x27;s power to issue and that if it couldn&#x27;t be given that time, then they would accept the AOM.  According to Poa, it was COA-ICFAO who called for the meeting, not OVP or DepEd. 1:38 p.m. - Escudero asks if the AFP Certifications were antedated.  Poa says he cannot speculate because there are many possibilities. He recalls the SDO asking him to follow up with Mempin for documents evidencing success.  The witness confirms that he was not aware of the certifications when they received the AOM. 1:32 p.m. - Tolosa points out that the AFP Certifications were dated December 5, 2023, December 30, 2023, and January 1, 2024 and says these already existed before DepEd received the AOM on February 2, 2024.  Tolosa asks if DepEd repurposed these certificates when it needed proof to justify the use of confidential fund.  Sison objects, says the question is misleading and argumentative.1:23 p.m. - Poa explains that Duterte knew of everything he did in answering the AOM including what the SDO told him and the documents he gathered. 1:16 p.m. - Poa confirms she heard former OVP SDO Gina Acosta say before the impeachment court that she disbursed the confidential fund to OVP Security Officer Raymund Lachica.1:07 p.m. - According to Poa, it was his first time hearing that there was a Security Officer and that the confidential fund was transferred to him in the House hearing. 1:05 p.m. - Tolosa asks Poa if he remembers Fajarda saying in a House hearing that Duterte gave the permission for him to disburse the confidential fund to DepEd Security Officer Colonel Dennis Nolasco. Poa says he remembers something to that effect.  Sison objects to the questioning saying the prosecution can ask Fajarda regarding this and not Poa.  Escudero sustains the objection. 12:59 p.m. - Poa says what he knew during a hearing in the House of Representatives was that VP Duterte and former DepEd Special Disbursing Officer (SDO) Edward Fajarda were the two people privy to the use of confidential funds. 12:55 p.m. - Poa confirms that he took the AFP certifications as is and was not sure if these would suffice in responding to the AOM.  He also confirmed that the certificates did not identify the rewarded informers. 12:52 p.m. - Tolosa continues his direct examination of Poa. 12:51 p.m. - Trial resumes. 12 p.m. - The Senate impeachment trial court takes a recess. Trial will resume at 12:45 p.m.11:56 a.m. - Escudero tells Tolosa to just ask Poa directly without showing the video of Flores.  Tolosa asks for reconsideration, but Escudero says there is no such thing. 11:54 a.m. - Sison objects to the playing of the clip, says it cannot be used to confront the witness because this is a third party declaration.  Tolosa argues that the clip is needed to provide context.  Escudero appeals to the parties to lower it down a notch. 11:47 a.m. - The prosecution plays a part of a House hearing where Rep. Keith Flores asked Poa about the use of AFP certifications and told him that this was wrong.  Poa was heard in the clip saying &quot;yes, but...&quot;  Flores then said: &quot;No matter how you look at it, it&#x27;s so wrong.&quot;  Poa responded: &quot;But, yes, factually that&#x27;s really what happened.&quot; 11:32 a.m. - Tolosa says during a hearing in the House of Representatives, Poa explained that the use of AFP certifications was on the premise that whatever activity conducted on the ground by the military was targeted because of information received from DepEd due to rewards given out. Poa confirms this. 11:29 a.m. - Poa says that as far as he knows, Mempin also has no personal knowledge of the use of confidential funds.  He says Mempin asked for certifications from the Armed Forces of the Philippines including those from Colonel Manaros Boransing II and Colonel Magtanggol Panopio for the Youth Leadership Summit (YLS). 11:25 a.m. - After DepEd received the AOM, Poa says he approached then Undersercretary Nolasco Mempin to ask for proof of success, particularly an accomplishment report. 11:23 a.m. - According to Poa, his involvement with confidential funds started when DepEd received the AOM. 11:22 a.m. - Poa says he told the DepEd&#x27;s SDO that they needed documents evidencing success for the payment of rewards. He adds that he has no personal knowledge of how the confidential funds were used. 11:19 a.m. - Poa clarifies that based on his interpretation of Joint Circular 2015-01, the payment of reward to an informant does not necessarily mean that there is already a successful result coming out of it. 11:07 a.m.  - Tolosa asks Poa if COA said the liquidation reports did not comply with the requirements.  Poa confirms this and says documentary evidence was lacking, according to COA. 11:04 a.m. - Poa confirms he filed the reply to the Commission on Audit&#x27;s (COA) Audit Observation Memorandum (AOM) dated February 1, 2024, which covers the liquidation reports of DepEd for the first and second quarter of 2023. 10:53 a.m. - Poa confirms he previously said that as DepEd spokesperson, he messaged VP Duterte to find out every time what she wanted him to say in interviews. 10:50 a.m. - Escudero gives a remark while a slide is being prepared: &quot;Para sa kaalaman din po ng kapwa ko senator-judges at mga nagsusubaybay, mahirap na nga po na may dalawang abogadong nagkakaroon ng tagisan ng talino, gawin pa nating tatlo, kaya pag-unawa lang po at pasensiya ang hinihiling namin. Parte po ito ng proseso para mapangalagaan hindi lamang ang karapatan ng respondent pero pati ng testigo.&quot; 10:43 a.m. - Poa also confirms he was the Head of the Procuring Entity (HoPE) of DepEd. 10:38 a.m. - Poa confirms that the day-to-day operations of DepEd in terms of its regular funds went through him. 10:25 a.m. - Poa is declared as a hostile witness. 10:22 a.m. - Sison asks the court to strike from the record Tolosa’s remark of &quot;abogadong walang alam.&quot; She adds that Poa has the right to be protected from irrelevant, improper and insulting questions.Tolosa says it was not his intention to insult Poa and apologizes to him. He explains that he was only referring to Poa&#x27;s statement during the hearing of the House of Representatives that he knew nothing about the use and liquidation of confidential funds.  Escudero rules to strike off from the record the &quot;abogadong walang alam&quot; remark.  Escudero: &quot;Chair finds it discourteous, to say the least, and should not be used in relation to a fellow lawyer, especially.&quot;<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1788316287621DAY 21 IMAGE2.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/>Photo courtesy: Senate 10:15 a.m. - Tolosa, in his offer of testimony, says Poa &quot;answered for P112.5 million he knew nothing about.&quot; </div>Sison says this is &quot;quite misleading&quot; and insinuates that the witness was made to provide excuses to auditors.<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1788315882770DAY 21 IMAGE1.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/>Photo courtesy: Senate 10:06 a.m. - Atty. Benjamin Tolosa Jr., counsel for the panel of prosecutors, will do the direct examination of today&#x27;s witness, Atty. Michael Poa.  </div>Poa, one of the counsels of Vice President Sara Duterte, was former Chief of Staff and Undersecretary of the Department of Education (DepEd).  Lead defense counsel Atty. Sheila Sison, meanwhile, will stand for their panel. 10:03 a.m. - Quorum is declared with 17 senator-judges. 10 a.m. - The Senate impeachment trial court convenes. Senator-judge Bam Aquino leads the prayer.<div> </div><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/9/1/live-updates-vice-president-sara-duterte-s-impeachment-trial-day-20-0947">LIVE UPDATES: Vice President Sara Duterte&#x27;s Impeachment Trial (Day 20)</a></div>

Follow this article for the latest updates on the 21st day of the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte.

Follow this article for the latest updates on the 21st day of the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte.

LIVE UPDATES: Vice President Sara Duterte's Impeachment Trial (Day 21)

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LIVE UPDATES: Vice President Sara Duterte's Impeachment Trial (Day 21)

Victoria Tulad,

Sherwin Tinampay,

ABS-CBN News

Published September 02, 2026 09:41 AM PHT

|

Updated September 02, 2026 03:47 PM PHT

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Vice President

Sara Duterte

Vice President Sara Duterte

Impeachment

Impeachement Trial

Senate

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