'But 'yan lang po talaga, na wala namang masamang nangyari doon. And, nabanggit ko na rin kahapon, that it was actually COA-ICFAO that asked for that meeting,' defense spokesperson Michael Poa says
MANILA, Philippines – The defense team of Vice President Sara Duterte reiterated on Wednesday, August 5, that there was nothing illegal about the meeting between the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and the Commission on Audit (COA) on Duterte’s confidential funds.
“In fact, Senator-judge Joel Villanueva even already helped me with that. Tinanong niya ‘yong witness kung may illegal ba doon, and the witness said hindi po kasi kahit ibang ahensya kinakausap din po kami (He asked the witness if there’s anything illegal about that, and the witness said nothing, because even other agencies talk to them),” defense spokesperson and counsel Michael Poa told reporters in a briefing.
“So, there was no need to expound on that,” he added.
On Tuesday, August 4, prosecution witness Roderick Wamil, former state auditor from COA’s Intelligence and Confidential Funds Auditing Office (ICFAO), testified that COA had a meeting with OVP and Department of Education (DepEd) officials in 2023 to discuss the offices’ confidential funds use. Both offices were under Duterte at the time.
