PAO Chief Persida Acosta: The communicator
Feb 03, 2013 (Menafn - The Manila Times - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) --If there is a single most important reason why lawyer Persida Rueda-Acosta is ideal for her as Public Attorney's Office (PAO) chief, it is because she is an effective communicator.
Unlike other prominent lawyers who represent news making clients, Acosta has always stood out for being easily understood by her audience--be it the public watching her on the evening news; a group of beleaguered political prisoners; or a simple kasambahay. Even the most complicated of laws becomes palpable to the everyday Filipino when Acosta explains it them. A great thing indeed, especially since it is the everyday Filipino whom she serves.
"I'm often asked why I am easily understood even if I talk about the law; my answer is simple: I translate the law to the vernacular and simplify my explanation because the most important thing in what I do is communication," related the spunky and straightforward lady who also happens to be a widely-read columnist of The Manila Times.
"If I don't do that then I wouldn't be doing my job properly," she added. "The PAO Office caters to Filipinos who earn less than P14,000 a month and are in need of legal counseling. These are the people who need to understand me."
Humble beginnings
That she is able to explain the most difficult of legal jargons to the man on the street may be traced to her humble beginnings in Mariveles, Bataan.
Persida Rueda was raised by a simple family and grew up around a modest community. Naturally, she spoke the language of her peers, but all the same excelled in school because of her gifted intelligence.
The future lawyer was a valedictorian both in elementary and high school, and is a proud product of her province's public school systems.
"Since my parents didn't have the money to send me to college, I had to secure a scholarship,"
Acosta recounted. She promptly landed one of course, and studied at the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of the East. As expected too, she graduated Cum Laude.
She the went on to earn her Bachelor of Laws as a scholar at the Ateneo de Manila University, and completed her final years upon returning to the University of the East (UE).
"I had to transfer to UE because I started joining street rallies leading to [People Power in] '86," she added chuckling.
And so, even as a young student of the law, Acosta was already immersed in the ways and beliefs of the masses. She has always been one with the very people she would serve at the peak of her career. As Persida Acosta, the PAO Chief, she knows them and therefore can talk to them, relate to them, and most importantly have the commitment to defend them.
Persida, the personality
Acosta became a household name for her advocacy to resolve court cases through mediation and alternative dispute resolution. It is this very advocacy too, which is grounded on her exceptional communication skills, that turned her into a much admired personality when TV5 tapped her to host her own public service program, Public Atorni.
The show, which continues to run over TV5's Aksyon TV news channel, became a hit and even earned Acosta recognition from different award giving bodies, including the Star Awards for Television, the Famas Awards, and the Catholic Mass Media Awards among others.
While she has become a familiar face via nationwide TV, what truly makes her a beloved celebrity is when she delivers justice to the oppressed. When she continues to speak on behalf of the families of the victims of the ill-fated MV Princess of the Stars. When she brings to court the employers of a maltreated household helper. When she swings a conditional release for a political prisoner who is in need of a life-saving medical treatment.
These are the reasons why Atty. Persida Acosta is a champion of the Filipino.
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