Atty. Michael Poa says he relied on Disbursing Officer in defending DepEd confidential funds

Former Education Undersecretary Michael Poa admitted on Wednesday that he relied on information provided by the agency’s Special Disbursing Officer (SDO) when defending the Department of Education’s (DepEd) use of confidential funds before state auditors, even as doubts mount over whether the alleged intelligence operations actually took place.

Poa, a key aide to Vice President Sara Duterte during her tenure at DepEd, made the statement during the Senate impeachment trial under questioning by Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian.

Gatchalian scrutinized two DepEd responses to an Audit Observation Memorandum (AOM) issued by the Commission on Audit (COA).

The memorandum questioned whether the agency could substantiate its claims that released confidential funds were used in successful intelligence operations.

Gatchalian highlighted Poa’s assertions in the written responses—which bore Poa's signature—that intelligence gathered from informants contributed to successful military operations, including activities tied to Youth Leadership Summits (YLS).

The senator noted that Poa appeared much more definitive in his written submissions to COA than in prior congressional hearings, where he qualified his statements as true only “in theory.”

Poa testified that he had no firsthand knowledge of the operations when he signed the documents. Instead, he said he relied on statements from Edward Fajarda, then DepEd’s SDO, whom he presumed had direct knowledge of the transactions.

“Kasi po ’yung sagot d’yan sa AOM, ’yan ang nasabi sa ’kin no’ng SDO. ’Yung SDO kasi ’yung may personal knowledge,” Poa testified. “When I wrote that letter, it was a representation of the position of DepEd based on inputs given by the SDO and ’yung nakita ko sa certification.”

Poa’s defense places renewed focus on Fajarda, whose testimony could prove crucial. The former SDO was scheduled to appear before the impeachment court last week, but his testimony was postponed after his physician reported he had suffered a stroke.

While Fajarda and his wife, former DepEd Assistant Secretary Sunshine Fajarda, are expected to testify next week, it remains uncertain whether his health will permit an appearance or if his account will align with Poa’s testimony.

The House prosecution panel stated Monday it would not force the ailing official to testify.

During Wednesday's proceedings, Gatchalian also challenged the validity of DepEd's intelligence claims regarding the Youth Leadership Summits.

On Tuesday, Col. Magtanggol Panopio testified that information provided by DepEd personnel to the military consisted largely of "open source" community reports—such as teachers reporting issues like teenage pregnancy and substance abuse—rather than classified intelligence obtained through paid informants.

“Pero iba naman ’yung naririnig namin kahapon sa mga colonel—na wala silang nakuhang confidential information sa DepEd,” Gatchalian pointed out.

When pressed on whether Fajarda personally handled payments to informants, Poa admitted the SDO never confirmed doing so.

“Hindi po. Ang sinasabi sa ’kin lagi ng SDO parati ’pag humihingi ako ng kahit anong document or explanation, ang sinasabi po ay galing sa field,” Poa said.

“Ang tanong ko, sino nagbibigay ng cash? 'Di ba dapat siya nagbibigay ng cash?” Gatchalian asked.

“Wala po siya nabanggit sa ’kin na siya mismo nagbibigay ng cash,” Poa replied.

Gatchalian further questioned why Poa did not verify the claims with Col. Dennis Nolasco, DepEd’s security officer at the time, before responding to COA. Poa replied that he was completely unaware that DepEd even employed a security officer during his tenure.

“In fact, kahit ’yung security officer, ’di ko po alam na may security officer at ’di ko po nakita o nakilala si Col. Dennis Nolasco no’ng panahon ko sa DepEd,” Poa said. “Kung meron po, baka diniretso ko na siya nung time na ’yun.”

The admission led Gatchalian to suggest that DepEd officials drafted a defense first and attempted to source supporting evidence later.

“'Yung impression ko kasi, nag-justify ka muna bago mo hinanapan ng evidence,” Gatchalian remarked. “Bakit ’di mo na lang diniretso si security officer?”