Nereus Acosta
Juan Romeo Nereus Olaivar Acosta, popularly known as Nereus Acosta, is a politician, academician, and political scientist in the Philippines. He is a former member of the Philippine House of Representatives, representing the first district of the province of Bukidnon from 1998 up to 2007.
Early life
Acosta was born on May 14, 1966 in Phillips, Manolo Fortich, Bukidnon.
Acosta studied at Our Lady of Lourdes Elementary School in Phillips, Bukidnon, graduating valedictorian in 1979. He studied in Xavier University during high school, graduating first honors in 1981.
Acosta earned a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of the Philippines in 1986, and attended the UP College of Law but did not graduate.
Acosta obtained a Master of Arts in Public Affairs (International Relations and Political Studies concentration) from Indiana University in Pennsylvania in 1987. He was conferred a Doctor of Philosophy in Political Science from the University of Hawaii, as a scholar of the East West Center, in 1994. He similarly attended the special programs on Leaders in Development Program (1999) and Environmental Economics (2002) at the Kennedy School of Government of Harvard University.
In the year 2004, Acosta was recognized as the first Filipino World Fellow of Yale University.
Academic, research, and consultancy
Acosta started as a staff researcher in the Committee on International Economic Policy of Representative Ramon Bagatsing in 1989. He was project director of the Bukidnon Integrated Network of Home Industries, Inc. (BINHI), a non-governmental organization involved in Grameen banking, in 1995.
Acosta taught as professor and academic consultant in Xavier University, University of the Philippines and the Bukidnon State College from 1992 to 1998. He was also a professorial lecturer at the School of Government of Ateneo de Manila University and at the Department of Political Science of De La Salle University, teaching graduate students on public policy and the Philippine development experience. Well-respected by his students, his teaching style is facilitative, insightful, and thought-provoking.
Currently, Acosta is a core professor of the Executive Education and Lifelong Learning Center (EXCELL) of the Asian Institute of Management.
Political life
Acosta first ran and won as a provincial board member of Bukidnon from 1995 to 1998. He ran and won a seat as Representative of the First District of Bukidnon province in Northern Mindanao for three consecutive terms from 1998 to 2007.
He was the principal author of many environmental laws in the Philippines, including the groundbreaking Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, the Solid Waste Management Act, and the Biodiversity Protection Act.
He is the national chairperson of the Kabataang Liberal ng Pilipinas, the youth arm of the Liberal Party (Philippines). At present, he is also the Secretary-General of the Liberal Party of the Philippines and the Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats.
Authorship
Acosta co-authored a book entitled "The Philippine Political Culture (View from Inside the Halls of Power)" and has written several articles on Philippine politics and good governance. He has also published "Alternative Political Campaign Strategies" for the Friedrich Nauman Stiftung-Philippines in 2005. Meanwhile, 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 like regularly appear in the Perspectives section of the website www.thelobbyist.biz.
Private life
Acosta is married to Carina Chotirawe, a full-time professor at Chulalongkorn University in Thailand. They have a son, Inigo Juan, born on February 11, 1996. Acosta is also featured in the recently released book Profiles encourage: Ordinary Filipinos making an extraordinary difference (Anvil Publishing) along with others who have made significant contributions in Philippine society.