Chalssea Kate Echegoyen

Marivic Pareja, Director of the House of Representatives Legislative Information Resources Management Department, takes her oath as a witness for the prosecution team during the 16th day of the impeachment trial against Vice President Sara Duterte on Monday, August 17, 2026. Senate PRIB

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VP Sara Impeachment Day 16

ABS-CBN News

<p>MANILA — Defense counsel Michael Poa, who is also spokesperson and who the prosecution has presented as a witness, said Wednesday that he first learned that a security officer had received confidential funds when he heard of it at a congressional hearing in November 2024.</p><p>Poa made the admission as the prosecution in Vice President Sara Duterte’s impeachment trial confronted him with testimony from former DepEd special disbursing officer (SDO) Edward Fajarda.</p><p>Poa had previously testified before the House of Representatives that he was aware of only two people who were privy to the confidential funds: Duterte and Fajarda.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/9/2/impeachment-court-declares-poa-as-hostile-witness-1026"><strong>Impeachment court declares Poa a ‘hostile witness’</strong></a></div><p>But during a Nov. 25, 2024 hearing, Fajarda testified that he turned over the confidential funds to Col. Dennis Nolasco, whom he identified as a security officer.</p><p>“I’ll be more precise. That was the first time that I heard that there was a security officer,” Poa said.</p><p>He also confirmed that this was the first time he heard that the confidential funds had been transferred by Fajarda to Nolasco.</p><p>The prosecution then asked whether Poa knew about Nolasco when he was preparing DepEd’s response to the Commission on Audit’s (COA) Audit Observation Memorandums (AOMs). Poa verified. </p><p>He also acknowledged that he could not have spoken to Nolasco about the funds when preparing the response because he only talked to Fajarda.</p><p>“Yes, because I only spoke to SDO Fajarda,” Poa said.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>WHY POA WAS AT THE COA MEETING </strong></div><p>Senator-judge Imee Marcos also asked Poa who initiated a meeting with COA concerning the confidential funds.</p><p>Poa said the Office of the Vice President (OVP) informed him about the meeting and that COA’s Intelligence and Fraud Audit Office (ICFAO) had called it.</p><p>“OVP ‘yung primary concern. OVP got in touch with me asking if I wanted to join since ako rin naman ‘yung [undersecretary] for finance at that time so pumunta po ako,” Poa said.</p><p>He said he initially thought the meeting would concern DepEd, but COA told them it had not yet audited DepEd’s submissions.</p><p>“Akala ko pag-uusapan ‘yung DepEd pero ang sabi sa akin ay hindi pa nila na-audit yung DepEd submissions, so ang nangyari, pinag-usapan lang yung OVP,” he said.</p><p>According to Poa, COA told OVP officials that they needed to be more specific in their fiscal and financial plans.</p><p>Poa also explained why he said he was not aware of the details surrounding the confidential funds despite his position as a senior official.</p><p>“I understand the people who are asking, thinking na impossible naman na hindi niya alam,” Poa said.</p><p>“But anyone who has worked with the VP would know that when she runs an office, it’s highly compartmentalized,” he added.</p><p>Poa said his responsibilities as Duterte’s chief of staff were focused on managing the office rather than handling the confidential funds.</p><p>“Kung ano lang ‘yung binigay sa’yo na function, ‘yun lang ‘yung tututukan mo,” he said.</p><p>He said that when he became Duterte’s chief-of-staff in April, the confidential fund had already been established.</p><p>“Ang binigay sa akin na mandato when I finally became her chief-of-staff in April… siguraduhin mo na hindi nag-aaway-away ‘yung mga Usecs na yan, siguraduhing maayos ‘yung palakad, at meron kaming matatag na agenda,” Poa said.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>DUTERTE DID NOT GIVE HIM DETAILS</strong></div><p>Poa also testified that he once tried to seek Duterte’s instruction on what to say if he was asked about the confidential funds.</p><p>According to Poa, Duterte told him that the details should not be publicized because doing so could jeopardize the confidential operations.</p><p>“For me, ang basa ko doon ay ayaw niya i-share sa akin yung details. So hindi na ako nagpumilit,” Poa said.</p><p>Poa maintained that the handling of the confidential funds was not part of his responsibilities.</p><p>In discussing the liquidation and audit findings, he indicated that the special disbursing officer was responsible for the funds.</p><p>As the officer-in-charge for finance, however, Poa was expected to attend to matters involving COA audit observations when an AOM was received.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>NO EFFORT TO VERIFY</strong></div><p>The prosecution later asked Poa whether he took any steps to verify Fajarda’s statement with Duterte after hearing that the confidential funds had allegedly been turned over to Nolasco.</p><p>Poa said no.</p><p>He explained that he had already resigned as OVP spokesperson at the time, so his communication with Duterte was no longer the same.</p><p>He also said he did not take further action to verify the claim. </p><p>“No, because it did not relate to the AOM anymore,” Poa said.</p><div><br/></div><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/9/1/army-officer-says-no-confi-funds-provided-for-youth-leadership-summits-1343">Army officer says no confi funds provided for Youth Leadership Summits</a></div><div><a href="http://google.com/search?q=impeachment+trial+abs+cbn&amp;sca_esv=310041c079f8198e&amp;biw=1280&amp;bih=712&amp;tbm=nws&amp;sxsrf=APpeQntSNlLU7KZhLYgAY8_oybOwtmr_EQ%3A1788333972019&amp;ei=lM-XarBjkfTaug_nksTQBw&amp;ved=0ahUKEwiw_ZCZr8-WAxURulYBHWcJEXoQ4dUDCA0&amp;uact=5&amp;oq=impeachment+trial+abs+cbn&amp;gs_lp=Egxnd3Mtd2l6LW5ld3MiGWltcGVhY2htZW50IHRyaWFsIGFicyBjYm4yBRAAGIAEMgQQABgeMgsQABiABBiKBRiGAzILEAAYgAQYigUYhgMyBRAAGO8FMggQABiABBiiBDIIEAAYgAQYogQyBRAAGO8FSNYhUABY0h1wBHgAkAEAmAHPAaABnBOqAQcxMS4xMC4xuAEDyAEA-AEBmAIToAKhDcICDRAAGIAEGA0YsQMYgwHCAgoQABiABBgNGLEDwgIQEAAYgAQYigUYDRixAxiDAcICBxAAGIAEGA3CAgYQABgHGB7CAggQABgFGAcYHsICChAhGAoYoAEYwwTCAggQABgIGAcYHsICBhAAGAUYHsICChAAGAUYBxgeGArCAgYQABgIGB7CAggQABgFGB4YDcICCBAAGAgYHhgNmAMAkgcEMTAuOaAHi4kBsgcDNi45uAeNDcIHBjItMTQuNcgHeIAIAQ&amp;sclient=gws-wiz-news">Prosecution mulls dropping bribery impeachment article to shorten trial</a></div><div><br/></div><div><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/QijYbtJUnvc?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div>

<p>Defense counsel and spokesperson for the defense panel Michael Poa said Wednesday that he first learned a security officer had received confidential funds during a congressional hearing in November 2024.</p>

Defense counsel and spokesperson for the defense panel Michael Poa said Wednesday that he first learned a security officer had received confidential funds during a congressional hearing in November 2024.

Poa says he first learned of security officer handling confidential funds at House hearing

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Poa says he first learned of security officer handling confidential funds at House hearing

Chalssea Kate Echegoyen,

ABS-CBN News

Published September 02, 2026 03:58 PM PHT

Read More:

Confidential funds

Impeachment trial

Michael Poa

Sara Duterte

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