LAWYER NO LONGER VP DUTERTE’S SPOKESMAN
AT the resumption of the House committee on good government and public accountability hearing on the OVP confidential fund, Poa said his consultancy contract has already been terminated.
Poa is the only former official of the OVP and Department of Education (DepEd) that is present during the hearing.
“I would like to inform the honorable committee that I am no longer connected with the Office of the Vice President (OVP),” Poa said.
“My consultancy contract was already pre-terminated,” he added.
It can be recalled that Poa served as undersecretary of the DepEd during the stint of Duterte as Secretary of the DepEd.
When the Vice President resigned as Education chief, Poa also resigned from DepEd and transferred to the OVP.
During the previous hearing of the committee, Poa informed the lawmakers that it was Duterte who had direct control over the confidential and intelligence funds (CIFs) during her tenure as DepEd Secretary.
He explained that while he was tasked with responding to an audit observation memorandum issued by the Commission on Audit (COA), he had no role in the decision-making process for the CIFs.
Aside from Duterte, DepEd’s Senior Disbursing Officer (SDO Edward Fajarda had direct control over the CIFs.
Also, Poa told lawmakers that he tasked then DepEd Undersecretary and retired Major General Nolasco Mempin to ask for certifications from military units to back up OVP’s spending of the P15 million confidential funds for informants in 2023.
He insisted he did it in good faith since COA was asking the OVP to respond to an audit observation memorandum (AOM) that questioned the spending.
