ADVERTISEMENT
Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Poa downplays Ferrer-Kapunan courtroom tension, says lawyers have different styles

Poa downplays Ferrer-Kapunan courtroom tension, says lawyers have different styles

VP Sara Duterte's defense spokesperson says there was no intention to disrespect opposing counsel or the impeachment court

Published Aug 13, 2026 07:44 am

At A Glance

  • Poa said lawyers have their own approaches in court.
  • He said the defense did not intend to disrespect anyone.
  • Poa attributed the afternoon tension to the nature of the questions and objections.
VP Sara Duterte’s defense spokesperson Atty. Michael Poa downplays the apparent tension between defense lawyer Kristine Ferrer and prosecution counsel Lorna Kapunan during the impeachment trial, saying lawyers have different courtroom styles. (Manila Bulletin / file)
VP Sara Duterte’s defense spokesperson Atty. Michael Poa downplays the apparent tension between defense lawyer Kristine Ferrer and prosecution counsel Lorna Kapunan during the impeachment trial, saying lawyers have different courtroom styles. (Manila Bulletin / file)
Noting that lawyers simply have different courtroom styles, defense spokesperson Atty. Michael Poa downplayed the apparent tension between defense lawyer Kristine Ferrer and prosecution counsel Lorna Kapunan during the impeachment trial on August 12.
Asked about Ferrer’s conduct during the cross-examination, Poa said he did not believe she had been disrespectful.
“Sa akin maybe Atty Kristine highly charged — sabi ko nga every lawyer has his or her own style pero I don’t think naman that Atty Kristine was disrespectful kanina (For me, maybe Atty. Kristine came across as highly charged — but as I said, every lawyer has his or her wn style. I don’t think, however, that Atty. Kristine was disrespectful earlier),” Poa said.
“So, I don’t want to comment any further pero sa atin (but for us) I’m sure there was no intention to disrespect anyone be it opposing counsel the witness and of course the honorable court,” he added.
Lawyers have different courtroom styles
Poa explained that lawyers may have different approaches when questioning witnesses and raising objections, particularly during lengthy proceedings.
“Lawyers just have very different styles. I'm sure you can tell after seeing different faces, different lawyers the past few weeks,” Poa said.
He added that there was no intention on the part of the defense to disrespect opposing counsel, the witness, or the impeachment court.
“So, makita mo lang naman iba-iba ang estilo ng lawyers (you will see that lawyers have different styles), but I don’t think there was any intention to disrespect anyone,” Poa said.
Tension linked to questions, objections
Asked whether he had spoken to Ferrer about the apparent tension, Poa said he had not.
He attributed the change in tone between the morning and afternoon sessions to the nature of the questions and objections being raised.
“Siguro noong umaga yung nature ng questions, nature ng objections. Tapos sa hapon medyo nag-iba na yung nature of questions (Perhaps in the morning, it was the nature of the questions and objections. Then in the afternoon, the nature of the questions changed somewhat),” he explained.
Poa maintained that neither side intended to disrespect the other during the proceedings.
The apparent tension between Ferrer and Kapunan emerged during the August 12 proceedings of Duterte’s impeachment trial.
Ferrer earlier asked the impeachment court to address side comments from Kapunan and stressed the need for professionalism and respect among lawyers in the courtroom.
RELATED STORY:
https://mb.com.ph/2026/08/12/ferrer-flags-kapunans-side-comments-calls-for-courtroom-respect

Related Tags

Sara Duterte impeachment trial Michael Poa Kristine Ferrer Lorna Kapunan impeachment court
ADVERTISEMENT
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1561_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ static_articles_1562_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1563_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}

{{ articles_filter_1564_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.mb-article-details { position: relative; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview, .mb-article-details .article-body-summary{ font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; font-family: "Libre Caslon Text", serif; color: #000; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview iframe , .mb-article-details .article-body-summary iframe{ width: 100%; margin: auto; } .read-more-background { background: linear-gradient(180deg, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0) 13.75%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0.8) 30.79%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000) 72.5%); position: absolute; height: 200px; width: 100%; bottom: 0; display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: center; padding: 0; } .read-more-background a{ color: #000; } .read-more-btn { padding: 17px 45px; font-family: Inter; font-weight: 700; font-size: 18px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; border: 1px solid black; background-color: white; } .hidden { display: none; }
function initializeAllSwipers() { // Get all hidden inputs with cms_article_id document.querySelectorAll('[id^="cms_article_id_"]').forEach(function (input) { const cmsArticleId = input.value; const articleSelector = '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .body_images'; const swiperElement = document.querySelector(articleSelector); if (swiperElement && !swiperElement.classList.contains('swiper-initialized')) { new Swiper(articleSelector, { loop: true, pagination: false, navigation: { nextEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-next', prevEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-prev', }, }); } }); } setTimeout(initializeAllSwipers, 3000); const intersectionObserver = new IntersectionObserver( (entries) => { entries.forEach((entry) => { if (entry.isIntersecting) { const newUrl = entry.target.getAttribute("data-url"); if (newUrl) { history.pushState(null, null, newUrl); let article = entry.target; // Extract metadata const author = article.querySelector('.author-section').textContent.replace('By', '').trim(); const section = article.querySelector('.section-info ').textContent.replace(' ', ' '); const title = article.querySelector('.article-title h1').textContent; // Parse URL for Chartbeat path format const parsedUrl = new URL(newUrl, window.location.origin); const cleanUrl = parsedUrl.host + parsedUrl.pathname; // Update Chartbeat configuration if (typeof window._sf_async_config !== 'undefined') { window._sf_async_config.path = cleanUrl; window._sf_async_config.sections = section; window._sf_async_config.authors = author; } // Track virtual page view with Chartbeat if (typeof pSUPERFLY !== 'undefined' && typeof pSUPERFLY.virtualPage === 'function') { try { pSUPERFLY.virtualPage({ path: cleanUrl, title: title, sections: section, authors: author }); } catch (error) { console.error('ping error', error); } } // Optional: Update document title if (title && title !== document.title) { document.title = title; } } } }); }, { threshold: 0.1 } ); function showArticleBody(button) { const article = button.closest("article"); const summary = article.querySelector(".article-body-summary"); const body = article.querySelector(".article-body-preview"); const readMoreSection = article.querySelector(".read-more-background"); // Hide summary and read-more section summary.style.display = "none"; readMoreSection.style.display = "none"; // Show the full article body body.classList.remove("hidden"); } document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", () => { let loadCount = 0; // Track how many times articles are loaded const offset = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]; // Offset values const currentUrl = window.location.pathname.substring(1); let isLoading = false; // Prevent multiple calls if (!currentUrl) { console.log("Current URL is invalid."); return; } const sentinel = document.getElementById("load-more-sentinel"); if (!sentinel) { console.log("Sentinel element not found."); return; } function isSentinelVisible() { const rect = sentinel.getBoundingClientRect(); return ( rect.top < window.innerHeight && rect.bottom >= 0 ); } function onScroll() { if (isLoading) return; if (isSentinelVisible()) { if (loadCount >= offset.length) { console.log("Maximum load attempts reached."); window.removeEventListener("scroll", onScroll); return; } isLoading = true; const currentOffset = offset[loadCount]; window.loadMoreItems().then(() => { let article = document.querySelector('#widget_1690 > div:nth-last-of-type(2) article'); intersectionObserver.observe(article) loadCount++; }).catch(error => { console.error("Error loading more items:", error); }).finally(() => { isLoading = false; }); } } window.addEventListener("scroll", onScroll); });
Join Our Newsletters

Sign up by email to receive news.

© 2025 Manila Bulletin The Nation's Leading Newspaper. All Rights Reserved.