| Office: | Chief of the Public Attorney's Office |
| Term Start: | February 23, 2001 |
| President: | Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo Benigno Aquino III Rodrigo Duterte Ferdinand Marcos Jr. |
| Education: | University of the Philippines Diliman (DSD) Harvard Kennedy School (SEF) |
| Birth Name: | Persida V. Rueda |
| Birth Place: | Mariveles, Bataan, Philippines |
| Nationality: | Filipino |
| Profession: | Lawyer |
| Spouse: | Benedicto Acosta |
| Children: | 2 |
Persida V. Rueda–Acosta (born 1961) is a Filipina lawyer who currently serves as the chief of the Public Attorney's Office (PAO) since 2001.
Acosta was born in Mariveles, Bataan in 1961 to Florencio and Herminia Rueda.[1] She was fourth among nine sibling with her father Florencio working as a mini-bus driver in Bataan and her mother Herminia was a dressmaker. According to Acosta, she was a consistent valedictorian in elementary and high school. She attended the Ateneo de Manila University School of Law under a scholarship but was forced to leave on her third year due to her parents unable to afford school fees. She was able to graduate at the University of the East in 1987.[2]
Acosta took the Philippine Bar Examinations thrice. She failed in 1987 and 1988 but passed the 1989 examinations placing fourth overall.[2]
Acosta was a professor at the Ateneo de Manila University School of Law as well as the University of the East, San Sebastian College, New Era University, and Bulacan State University.[3]
On February 23, 2001, then-President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo appointed Acosta to head the Citizen’s Legal Assistance Office (Public Attorney's Office; PAO since 2006). Since then, she served under the Benigno Aquino III, Rodrigo Duterte and Bongbong Marcos administrations.
Under Duterte, Acosta was awarded the Outstanding Individual for Government Service on August 29, 2016. In July 2016, she defended the police over deaths in the beginning of the Philippine drug war saying they were "almost negligible". Despite this, Acosta became the legal counsel for Kian Delos Santos, a high-profile case of a teenage boy who was killed in an anti-drug police operation.[4]
In 2023, the Supreme Court issued a show cause order against Acosta after she criticized the Code of Professional Responsibility and Accountability (CPRA).[5] After Acosta apologized, she issued an order for public attorney lawyers to follow the Supreme Court's new code of conduct.[6] The Supreme Court in an En banc judgment promulgated on February 28, 2024 fined Rueda-Acosta PHP 30,000 for indirect contempt of court and PHP 150,000 for grossly undignified conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice. PAO forensics expert Erwin Erfe was also fined PHP 10,000 for similar statements.[7]
Persida is married to a fellow lawyer, Benedicto M. Acosta, with whom she has two children.[1] [8]