MANILA — The House prosecution panel will call Vice President Sara Z. Duterte’s defense lawyer and former Department of Education (DepEd) chief of staff Michael Wesley Poa to testify next week as it continues presenting evidence on the alleged misuse of P112.5 million in DepEd confidential funds.

Lead prosecutor Batangas Rep. Gerville “Jinky Bitrics” Luistro told the Senate impeachment court on Wednesday that Poa and Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) Assistant National Statistician Marizza Grande are scheduled to testify on Sept. 2.

Poa served as Duterte’s chief of staff and spokesperson when she was education secretary and is now part of her legal team in the impeachment proceedings.

Luistro initially asked the court to issue a subpoena ad testificandum to Poa and Grande. Presiding Officer Sen. Francis “Chiz” Escudero, however, said a subpoena would not be necessary for Poa because he was already in court and had expressed willingness to testify.

Escudero said Poa could be called as early as Sept. 1 if either of the two military witnesses scheduled that day fails to appear.

“We submit to that, Your Honor,” Luistro said.

The two military witnesses are Col. Manaros Boransing II and Col. Magtangol Panopio, whose certifications were cited in DepEd’s response to Commission on Audit (COA) findings on its confidential fund expenditures.

Boransing and Panopio previously testified in a House investigation that their respective military units did not receive DepEd confidential funds for activities identified in the certifications, including Youth Leadership Summits.

Poa was involved in securing and submitting the military certifications as DepEd prepared its response to the COA findings. He was also previously identified in House proceedings as having information concerning the preparation of accomplishment reports for the department’s confidential funds.

Boransing was originally scheduled to testify Wednesday but sought a postponement to coordinate with his military superiors before leaving his post. Escudero granted the request, citing the “exigencies of his position” as commander of Task Force Zamboanga, and reset his testimony for Sept. 1, when Panopio is also scheduled to appear.

The prosecution also dropped retired Maj. Gen. Adonis Bajao from its witness list after the court encountered difficulties serving him a subpoena because his address could not be established.

Grande, meanwhile, is expected to testify on the PSA’s verification of names appearing in acknowledgment receipts submitted as documentation for the confidential fund expenditures.

The prosecution said the PSA’s findings would support its case concerning purported recipients whose identities could not be verified through official civil registry records.

The impeachment court also allowed the prosecution to mark additional documents obtained from the PSA ahead of Grande’s testimony.

The witnesses are being presented under the first article of impeachment, which accuses Duterte of misusing P612.5 million in confidential funds—P500 million released to the Office of the Vice President and P112.5 million to DepEd.