Profile of Chief Public Attorney

 

 
About the Honorable PAO Chief
Persida V. Rueda-Acosta
Senior Fellow, Nippon Foundation Asian Public Intellectuals Fellowship [API],
Fellow, Salzburg Global Seminar, US International Visitor, 2002,
Member, International Legal Aid Group [ILAG], International Association of Bloodstain 
Pattern Analysts [IABPA], International Corrections and Prisons Association [ICPA],
Integrated Bar of the Philippines [IBP], Philippine Bar Association [PBA].
Professor, Ateneo de Manila University Law School, Rockwell, Makati City
Recipient of 60 Most Outstanding UE Alumni Award , 2006,
 Cum Laude, Bachelor of Science [General], 1982
 
 
Chief Persida V. Rueda-Acosta, 4th Placer in the 1989 Bar Examinations, is the Chief Public Attorney of the Public Attorney’s Office (PAO), an agency that is mandated to give free legal assistance to indigent clients. She was appointed in February 2001 by H.E. President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. Since then, she has become a herald of hope to the poor and the oppressed who are searching for justice. 
 
Chief Acosta’s dedication as a public servant has continuously endeared her to the masses. Nonetheless, this admirable trait had already earned her the highest Presidential Lingkod Bayan Award in Outstanding Public Service from the Civil Service Commission in September 2004. Thus, she was promoted to a rank that is equivalent to a Department Secretary, as provided under Section 5 of Executive Order No. 508, entitled, “Instituting the Lingkod Bayan Award as the Presidential Award for Outstanding Public Service”, dated March 2, 1992, issued by the late former President, H. E. Corazon C. Aquino.
 
In January 2004, her zealous efforts in the case of death convicts Roberto Lara and Roderick Licayan coupled by her burning conviction to revere life in spite of threats to her very own led to the freeing of Lara and Licayan from the throes of death by lethal injection. This single thread of event proved to be a solid chain that served as a vital link to the staying of the executions of hundreds of death row convicts, granting of executive clemency to 70-year-old and above inmates, and the abrogation of death penalty in the Philippines on June 24, 2006.
 
She places the PAO on the map of international recognition as she personally handles cases with national and global significance that are entrusted to this office, which include the cases of the victims of the M/V Princess of the Stars (Sulpicio Lines, Inc.) tragedy; the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and the Communist Party of the Philippines/National Democratic Front/New People’s Army (CPP-NDF-NPA) in connection with the peace talks of the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) with these groups; “Angelica,” 13-year-old rape victim and deportee from Sabah, Malaysia; in the cases of former President Joseph Estrada when she was appointed by the Sandiganbayan as his counsel de oficio; the rebellion cases of this former president’s 149 supporters in connection with the May 1, 2001 Malacañang seige; and the cases of the 13 surviving military personnel who were convicted for the murders of the late Sen. Benigno Aquino, Jr. and Rolando Galman. (The said convicts had already been released by virtue of the executive clemency granted to them by H.E. President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.)
 
As the nationwide head of the PAO she has been hailed by the Philippine media for being “indefatigable and incorruptible.” For her admirable personal and professional attributes, commendable work ethic and dedication to the cause of the indigent clients of the PAO she has been honored and conferred the following recognitions: Discovery of the Year Award (Category: Poetry) given by the Aliw Awards Foundation Incorporated; Ulirang Ina Award for Law and Judiciary from the National Mother’s Day & Father’s Day Foundation, Inc. Ulirang Ina Awards Committee; Up Close and Personal with Marissa del Mar 1st Impact Awards (Awardee for Good Governance-Executive) given by Millicent Productions; Award of Recognition given by ABS-CBN’s public service program, “Exklusibong Explosibong Expose (XXX)”; Outstanding Public Servant of the Year (2008) Award jointly given by the United Filipino Seafarers (UFS) and Tinig ng Marino Maritime Newspaper;Huwarang Pilipino Hall of Fame jointly given by the Huwarang Pilipino Foundation, Inc., DZRB, Philippine Broadcasting Service, and NBN Channel 4; Gawad Sagisag Quezon   jointly   given    by   the   Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino, Integrated Bar of the Philippines-Bulacan Chapter, and the Quezon City Academy; Special Award for Community Service for the Year 2008 given by the Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption; Making A Difference for Women Awardgiven by the Soroptimist International-Bataan;Huwarang Pilipino Grand Achievement Award 2007 givenby DZRB-Radyo ng Bayan and Huwarang Pilipino Foundation, Inc.;Gusi Peace Prize 2007 for working for people's amelioration, to find peaceful solutions to advocate social justice and humanitarian law in the Philippines, from the Gusi Peace Prize Foundation;60 Most Outstanding Alumni Award from theUE Alumni Association;Huwaran Kang Pinoy Award from the radio program, “Batuigas: Kasangga ng Batas,” DZXL RMN Manila; Kayamanan ng Bansa (Living Treasure) Award from the Feminist Movement in the Philippines; Huwarang Pilipino Award for Government Service from DZRB-Radyo ng Bayan, PBS, and Huwarang Pilipino Foundation, Inc.;Certificate of Recognitionfor epitomizing the value of excellence and the spirit of volunteerism as an International Visitor in effecting meaningful change in the field of law and government service in her capacity as Chief of the Public Attorney’s Office (PAO), from the International Visitor Program-Philippines Alumni Foundation Inc.;National Maagap Award for Public Servicefrom the Organized Response for the Advancement of Society (ORAS), Inc.;Most Outstanding Alumna Award from the UE Law Alumni Association, Inc.;Outstanding Citizens of Quezon City Awardin recognition of her outstanding contribution in the field of Humanitarian and Community Service; Woman of Distinction Award from the Soroptimist International of Ortigas and Environs. Awarded for being at the forefront of Free Legal Aid and Access to the Courts, Justice and Human Rights, and honored for her significant role in helping bring about a just and humane society;Commendationfor her active participation and untiring support to the public service program of “Ugnayan ng Anghel ng Masa”;Plaque of Recognitionfor her continued support and unwavering service to the public, from the public service program “Isumbong Mo Kay Tulfo,” Huwarang Pilipino Award from the Huwarang Pilipino Foundation in cooperation with Huwarang Pilipino, DZRB, Radyo ng Bayan, PBS;Plaque of Appreciationas Resource Speaker on “Child’s Rights”; Award of Recognition from the IBP of the Philippines, Manila (J.B.L. Reyes) Chapter in acknowledgment and recognition of her outstanding achievements as member of the Bar that merited her appointment as Chief Public Attorney that brought honors to the ranks of IBP Chapter I – Manila; Plaque of Appreciationfrom the Integrated Legal Assistance Organization (ILAO) Foundation, Inc. in appreciation of her support and cooperation in the launching of the Integrated Legal Assistance Organization and for having pledged her willingness and readiness to be of assistance to the goals and aspiration of ILAO in its endeavor to assist the less fortunate countrymen to have more in law and in its related fields; Asian Public Intellectuals (API) Senior Fellowship awarded by the API- Nippon Foundation; Plaque of Appreciationas Resource Speaker in the “Orientation on Sexual Harassment”; Plaque of Recognitionas an Outstanding Law Professor in Government Service from the U.E. College of Law; Certificate of Appreciationfrom the University of the East College of Law in recognition of her outstanding performance as Chief, Public Attorney’s Office; Plaque of Recognitionfrom the Philippine National Police Criminal Investigation and Detection Group; Certificate of Appreciationfrom the Program AKSYON NGAYON of DZMM Radyo Patrol Sais Trenta (ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corporation), December 26, 2001; and the U.E. Law Alumni Award for BAR Topnotchers as its first recipient.
 
Chief Acosta’s achievements in public service, free legal aid, prison reforms and other human rights endeavors have also been acknowledged abroad, hence the invitations to her as a resource person. She has delivered speeches and presentations that imparted her knowledge and experiences in her fields of expertise in international conferences regarding Free Legal Aid, Justice and Human Rights in foreign countries.
 
This devoted and multi-awarded public servant who hails from Cabcaben, Mariveles, Bataan, has an impressive academic background. She was a consistent valedictorian from elementary to high school. In college, she was a consistent dean’s lister at the University of the East (UE), where she graduated with a BS General course, cum laude. When she took up her law studies at the Ateneo de Manila University and UE, she was a Dr. Antonio del Castillo Memorial Scholar and President Dalupan Scholar, respectively.
 
In spite of the demands of her work as the nationwide head of 1,407 public attorneys and 966 support staff housed in 294 district offices and 17 regional offices, she finds time to teach and mold future officers of the court, inspiring them to tread the road less traveled, which is to defend the rights of the poor and the marginalized sectors in the Philippines. Chief Acosta performs this noble endeavor as a professor to law students at the Ateneo de Manila University.
 
Being her law students’ dedicated mentor and the newly-enacted Republic Act No. 9406, the law that elevated the PAO to an independent and autonomous office which Chief Acosta tirelessly worked and lobbied for, shine brightly in her roster of legacies in public service, legal aid and human rights advocacy.