To prepare public litigators for higher positions, Public Attorney’s Office (PAO) chief Persida Acosta on Thursday initiated the conduct of the Empowerment, Accountability, and Capacity Building seminar to enhance their skills, knowledge, and resources.
“Let us not forget that I will not be at your side forever by the time I reach the compulsory retirement at 65,” she cited. “Wherever I may go, to be a lau drywoman or a cook to my family, that would just be fine,” she said.
She urged all public defenders to be an inspiration to other people. “Time will come that the one sitting beside you would be the next PAO chief,” she stressed. Acosta was appointed to head PAO on Feb. 23, 2001. She is retiring in 2026 at 65. She said she never expected that she would become the PAO chief, adding “I started as a public attorney 1 in the ‘90s in Manila.”
She said she is proud that several of their lawyers are children of judges and justices.
