September 2, 2026

The prosecution called Poa, the clerk administered the oath, and the chair declared him a hostile witness, allowing leading but not misleading questions.

Poa confirmed that he joined DepEd as spokesperson in July 2022, became undersecretary and chief of staff in April 2023, became OIC undersecretary for finance in August 2023, and became head of the procuring entity in October 2023.

Poa said he had no personal knowledge of DepEd's confidential-fund operations and that his involvement began when he received the audit observation memorandum.

The memorandum identified ₱15.54 million in informer rewards for the first two quarters as lacking required supporting documents. Poa said he requested an accomplishment report from the field and ultimately received AFP certifications as the available evidence of success.

Poa acknowledged that the AFP certifications did not identify the rewarded informers or the specific information purchased. He said language about an intelligence-and-information exchange informed his decision to attach the certifications, but he could not say whether all the roughly ₱15 million in rewards related to the Youth Leadership Summits.

Poa said the AOM reply represented DepEd management's position based on the special disbursing officer's inputs and the certifications, while his description of the connection as a theory reflected his lack of personal knowledge. He said the special disbursing officer had not told him that he personally paid informers and that Poa had never spoken with DepEd's security officer.

Poa testified that he informed Vice President Sara Duterte about the AOM, obtained permission to coordinate with the special disbursing officer, briefed her on the account and records he gathered, and sent her the response before filing. He described her replies as acknowledgments and said she did not prevent the filing.

Poa described the September 2023 COA meeting as a discussion of the supporting documents required by the joint circular and a proposal to begin with an audit query. He said COA rejected that route and required an AOM.

Poa said the August 8, 2024 credit notice covered the first and second quarters only. On cross-examination, he said that, as far as he knew, COA had not reopened it, the two AOMs had not become notices of suspension or disallowance, and he knew of no such notices for the third quarter.

The prosecution completed direct examination, followed by defense cross-examination, prosecution redirect, defense recross, and senator-judge questioning. After no further senator-judge registered to intervene, the chair released Poa from the witness stand.