Professor Neric Acosta joined the Asian Institute of Management’s faculty in June 2008, and is a core faculty of the Institute’s Center for Development Management (CDM).
Professor Acosta brings to AIM valuable knowledge and expertise in management from over a decade of experience as a public servant and educator. Prior to joining AIM, Professor Acosta served three terms (1998-2007) as the Representative for the First District of Bukidnon. He authored nine laws, which were enacted in two legislative terms. He is the principal author and sponsor of the Clean Air Act of 1999, for which he received various awards and citations, including the Oscar Escobar Environmental Award and the Citizens’s Movement Against Pollution Award, both in 2002.
He chaired the Philippine Legislators’ Committee on Population and Development (PLCPD) from 2004-2007, and was its Corporate Board Secretary from 2001-2004. He was elected to the Executive Board of the Asian Forum of Parliamentarians on Population and Development (AFPPD), and has the distinction of being the only Filipino Parliamentarian in Niigata, Japan, in October 2001.
An academician even before he joined AIM, Professor Acosta has been teaching postgraduate and graduate-level courses on public policy and management at the Ateneo de Manila University School of Government (since 1999), at Xavier (Ateneo de Cagayan) University (since 1998); and graduate courses on political science at the De La Salle University Political Science (since 2007). On occasion, he teaches as a guest lecturer at the University of the Philippines National College of Public Administration.
A staunch believer in education as a great equalizer, Professor Acosta co-founded the Northern Bukidnon Community College, which caters primarily to Lumad minority students and scholars.
Professor Acosta has authored various articles on politics, leadership and governance, development, education, and the environment, published widely in various magazines and national dailies. His most recent publications include “Alternative Political Campaign Strategies” for the Friedrich Nauman Stiftung-Philippines (2005); “Philippine Political Culture” for the Ateneo de Manila School of Government (2001), and; “Population, Poverty, and Politics” (2001). His essay on “Internationalization and the Search for Global Identities”, won during a competition for Intersect-Japan in 1995. His articles on political and public life regularly appear in the Perspectives section of the website www.thelobbyist.biz.
In recognition of his contributions to policy-making, education, and advocacy work, Professor Acosta was included in NewsBizAsia’s 100 Most Influential Filipinos (2002), and was cited by Asiaweek as representing the “youthful, hopeful change for the country”. Adding to his numerous accomplishments, he was also selected as one of The Outstanding Young Persons (TOYP)- Asia Pacific by the Osaka, Japan Junior Chamber (1995). In the same year, his essay titled “In Search of the Global Village”, published by the magazine Intersect Japan and the PHP Institute of America in Japan, won the plum prize in the International Essay-Writing Competition on “Internationalization and Cultural Identities”.
Professor Acosta continues to live his advocacy in environment through his memberships in the Boards of the Earth Council of the Philippines and the Population, Health and the Environment (PATH) Foundation. He is also an active member of the Partnership for Clean Air, Philippines and the Founding Director of E-LEAD (Center for Ecological Governance, Leadership and Development). He is a member of the Board of the Cagayan de Oro College.
He is heavily involved in various non-government organizations, including as Project Director and Advisor to the micro-credit and livelihood assistance project of the Bukidnon Integrated Network of Home Industries, Inc (BINHI), a rural development NGO in Mindanao. He is a member of the Liberal Party of the Philippines, and was Vice-President for Mindanao until 2007.
A preferred resource person in the areas of rural and sustainable development, environmental protection, peace and development issues in Mindanao, leadership, governance, and democratization, Professor Acosta has addressed audiences in over 200 local and international fora.
An advocate of continuous learning, Professor Acosta was named World Fellow at Yale University (2004), and was a Doctorate Fellow at the East-West Center Institute of Culture and Communication in Honolulu, Hawaii (1989-1994). He completed his doctoral studies in Political Science at the University of Hawaii (1994), and earned his master’s degree in Public Affairs (International Political Studies), With Distinction, from the Indiana University of Pennsylvania (1987). He holds a BA in Political Science from UP Diliman (1986), where he was an active youth leader and member of the University Student Council.
Last updated: August 2009