Poa disavows liquidation of DepEd funds
Lawyer Michael Poa, a high-ranking official at the Philippine Department of Education, has distanced himself from the liquidation of confidential funds during an impeachment trial. He testified that he signed audit responses based solely on information provided by a special disbursing officer.
Why it matters
The testimony highlights internal accountability issues and potential financial mismanagement within a major government department.
MANILA, Philippines - Although he signed the Department of Education's replies to a state audit on confidential funds, lawyer Michael Poa, Vice President Sara Duterte's second-in-command at DepEd, yesterday washed his hands of the matter, pointing responsibility instead to a former special disbursing officer (SDO) who is currently unavailable due to a medical condition.
During Day 21 of the impeachment trial of the Vice President yesterday, Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian questioned Poa's role in liquidating millions of pesos in confidential funds, focusing on how DepEd replied to the Commission on Audit (COA) regarding their issuance of an Audit Observation Memorandum.
An AOM is a warning from auditors about paperwork errors or financial issues that need fixing. In this case, DepEd was being asked to prove that the released confidential funds resulted in successful operations.
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