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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Duterte's defense spox rejects 'conflict of interest' claims over COA meeting

Duterte's defense spox rejects 'conflict of interest' claims over COA meeting

Poa says meeting with COA officials was lawful and did not constitute a conflict of interest

Published Aug 5, 2026 07:40 pm

At A Glance

  • Defense spokesperson Atty. Michael Wesley Poa said the OVP-COA meeting was lawful and intended only to clarify audit guidelines.
  • The defense cited the presiding officer's ruling that there was no conflict of interest.
  • Poa declined to discuss further details, citing the Senate impeachment court's sub judice rule.
Defense spokesperson Atty. Michael Wesley Poa said the meeting between the Office of the Vice President and the Commission on Audit was intended solely to clarify audit guidelines, insisting that nothing illegal occurred and that the Senate impeachment court had already ruled there was no conflict of interest. (Mark Balmores / Manila Bulletin/file)
Defense spokesperson Atty. Michael Wesley Poa said the meeting between the Office of the Vice President and the Commission on Audit was intended solely to clarify audit guidelines, insisting that nothing illegal occurred and that the Senate impeachment court had already ruled there was no conflict of interest. (Mark Balmores / Manila Bulletin/file)
Dismissing allegations of wrongdoing or conflict of interest, the defense team of Vice President Sara Duterte on Wednesday, Aug. 5, maintained that a meeting between officials of the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and the Commission on Audit (COA) was lawful and intended solely to clarify audit guidelines.
In a press briefing, defense spokesperson Atty. Michael Wesley Poa said the issue had already been addressed during the Senate impeachment court proceedings and that there was no basis to conclude that the meeting violated any law.
Poa noted that Senate impeachment court Presiding Officer Sen. Francis "Chiz" Escudero had already ruled that there was no conflict of interest in the matter.
"Nag-rule lang siya na wala namang conflict of interest (The presiding officer simply ruled that there was no conflict of interest)," Poa said.
The issue was raised earlier by Senator-judge Raffy Tulfo, who questioned whether Poa's participation in the defense panel constituted a conflict of interest.
Tulfo cited the testimony of COA auditor Roderick Wamil, who said Poa was among OVP and Department of Education (DepEd) officials who sought the issuance of an "audit query," instead of an Audit Observation Memorandum (AOM), should the commission identify findings related to the agencies' confidential funds.
Meeting sought to clarify guidelines
Poa explained that he requested permission to speak during the impeachment proceedings because he wanted to place the meeting in its proper context after it had been mentioned in court and widely discussed on social media.
He said the witness had testified that government agencies commonly coordinate with COA to seek clarification on audit guidelines.
"I just wanted to clear the issue para naman hindi nami-mislead ang ating mga kababayan doon sa essence ng ganoong meeting (so that the public would not be misled about the true nature of that meeting)," Poa said.
Poa added that Senator-judge Joel Villanueva also asked the witness during the hearing whether anything illegal had occurred during the meeting, to which the witness replied in the negative.
According to Poa, the witness likewise testified that other government agencies also consult COA on audit matters.
Meeting requested by COA office
The defense spokesperson said the OVP informed him that the meeting had been requested by COA's Internal Control and Fraud Audit Office (ICFAO).
At the time, Poa said he joined the meeting because he was serving as officer-in-charge for finance.
"According to the OVP... it was called by ICFAO. They wanted to talk to OVP. So inimbitahan lang ako kung puwede akong sumama (According to the OVP, the meeting was requested by ICFAO. They wanted to meet with the OVP, and I was simply invited to join)," he said.
He said the discussion centered on clarifying the implementation of audit guidelines before COA later issued an Audit Observation Memorandum (AOM).
"Nasabi naman ng witness that it was really merely to clarify on the guidelines (The witness testified that the meeting was simply meant to clarify the audit guidelines)," he added.
Sub judice rule
Poa declined to elaborate further on the details of the meeting, saying he did not want to violate the Senate impeachment court's sub judice rule by discussing matters that remain part of the ongoing proceedings.
"I hope the media can help me also to not violate that rule," Poa said.
He likewise emphasized that the issue had already been sufficiently addressed in court and that he did not want to argue his position through the media after the presiding officer had ruled on the matter.
"I think that matter has been put to rest," he added.
Poa said the defense would continue to address issues through the impeachment proceedings while respecting the court's rules governing public statements. 

Related Tags

Sara Duterte impeachment Michael Wesley Poa COA meeting Senate impeachment court Office of the Vice President
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