Senate impeachment court declares Michael Poa hostile witness

The Senate impeachment court on Wednesday declared Atty. Michael Poa as a hostile witness in the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte. Senate impeachment court presiding officer Francis “Chiz” Escudero made the ruling on the 21st day of the trial. “The chair will proceed to declare Atty. Poa as a hostile witness therefore giving Atty. Tolosa the right to ask leading questions but again as a reminder, not to ask misleading questions,” Escudero said. Poa is currently on the witness stand, presented by the House prosecution panel. His direct examination is being handled by Atty. Benjamin Tolosa Jr., prosecution counsel and spokesperson. Tolosa offered the testimony of Poa in the impeachment trial to qualify him as a hostile witness and prove several claims. “Number one, he’s one of the Vice President’s most trusted men,” Tolosa said, detailing the former positions of Poa in the Department of Education (DepEd) and Office of the Vice President (OVP). “Number two, he answered for P112.5 million he knew absolutely nothing about,” he added. Poa is testifying for Article 1 of the impeachment case, which accuses the Vice President of committing impeachable offenses due to systematic misappropriation and irregular liquidation of confidential funds amounting to P500 million released to the OVP and P112.5 million released to the DepEd. Tolosa further alleged that Duterte chose Poa as “the man who knew nothing” to answer the state auditors. “Siya ang inatasan ng Bise Presidenteng sumagot sa COA. Hindi ang SDO (special disbursing officer), hindi ang nag-disburse ng pera, hindi ang tumanggap ng pera. Ang abogadong walang alam,” he said. (He was the one assigned by the Vice President to answer the COA. Not the SDO, not the one who disbursed the money, not the one who received the money. The lawyer who knows nothing.) Defense lead counsel Sheila Sison countered, saying that Tolosa’s claims “sound really just rhetoric aimed to provide drama in this proceeding.” Escudero later ruled to strike off the record the line “abogadong walang alam” (lawyer who knows nothing) from Tolosa’s offer of testimony following Sison’s objection. — RSJ, GMA News