MANILA, Philippines – Former Vice President Sara Duterte’s spokesperson, Michael Poa, has joined her legal team for the looming impeachment trial, which could potentially lead to her removal from office and disqualification from future elections.
On Monday, March 3, Poa filed his entry of appearance before the Supreme Court (SC), formalizing his role in Duterte’s legal team. An entry of appearance is a legal document that formally notifies the court that a lawyer represents a party in a case. This pertains to the Vice President’s SC petition for certiorari and prohibition, filed on February 18, questioning the validity of the fourth impeachment complaint, which was transmitted to the Senate on its last session day on February 5.
A certiorari petition asks a court to review another body’s decision or to review it if there’s grave abuse of discretion. If granted, it can overturn a decision or order. (READ: Sara Duterte asks Supreme Court to block her impeachment trial)
Senate President Chiz Escudero initially scheduled the trial on July 30.
“My role will be collaborative. I will be working closely with the rest of the legal team, particularly in relation to the petition filed before the Supreme Court,” Poa told Rappler when asked about his role in Duterte’s legal team for impeachment.
In her petition, Duterte argues that the House violated the “one-year bar” rule of the 1987 Constitution, which prohibits the initiation of impeachment proceedings against the same official more than once within a year.
The first impeachment complaint against Duterte was filed on December 1, 2024, with two more petitions filed within the same month. There were only 16 signatories in that complaint, consisting of former elective and appointive officials, members of the academe and the Catholic Church, and civil society leaders. The House did not act on these first three complaints.
The fourth complaint, which led to the impeachment of the Vice President, was fast-tracked through a resolution signed by 215 lawmakers.
Poa served as undersecretary and chief of staff of the Department of Education (DepEd), as well as the department spokesperson from July 2022 to July 18 2024. When Duterte resigned as DepEd chief, a month later, Poa was named spokesperson for the Office of the Vice President (OVP).
At the height of the House investigation into Duterte’s alleged misuse of funds in November 2024, Poa said that he was no longer her spokesperson. He had been attending the House probes, while other officials from the OVP had skipped the initial hearings.
Poa told Rappler that his decision to step down as OVP spokesperson was based on “personal and professional reasons.”
“At the time, I felt that I could not effectively carry out the role in the way it deserved to be done,” he said.
“Being part of the legal team, however, is an entirely different matter. At the end of the day, I am a lawyer first — and I strongly believe that the petition before the Supreme Court raises serious legal and constitutional questions that need to be addressed,” Poa added.
Before becoming Duterte’s spokesperson, Poa served as the chief of staff for various trustees of the Government Service Insurance System.
Poa specializes in criminal, civil and commercial litigation, taxation and special projects. He obtained his law degree from the University of the Philippines in 2018 where he graduated ninth in his batch. – Rappler.com