MANILA, Philippines – Lawyer Michael Poa announced on Tuesday, November 5, that he is no longer the spokesperson of Vice President Sara Duterte.
Poa shared this development amid intense congressional scrutiny over alleged fund misuse by Vice President Sara Duterte.
“I would like to inform the honorable committee that I am no longer connected with the Office of the Vice President,” Poa said when Manila 3rd District Representative Joel Chua asked him about his current role in the Office of the Vice President.
Poa said that the OVP has pre-terminated his consultancy contract as spokesperson. Rappler reached out to the OVP for more details but they have yet to respond as of this posting. We will update this story once we received their reply.
Prior to his role at the OVP, Poa was Duterte’s chief of staff and spokesperson at the Department of Education. He resigned from the DepEd when the Vice President relinquished the agency’s leadership in June. He was appointed as OVP spokesperson in August.
Poa also previously served as the chief of staff of the Government Service Insurance System, and as a member of the GSIS Editorial Board from 2011 to 2013.
In the October 17 House hearing, Poa revealed that he had sought certification from the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) to justify the use of DepEd’s confidential funds for youth leadership summits despite the agency’s lack of direct involvement in the military-led event.
Poa had also admitted “occassionally” receiving envelopes with cash from the Vice President. He said that he received an envelope in December 2022, explaining that, as the DepEd spokesperson, he had occasionally used his own money to assist individuals who sought help from his office.
Poa has been attending the House probe, while other OVP officials have consistently skipped the four hearings. – Rappler.com
