Ricardo Villanueva Puno Jr. (January 20, 1946 – February 15, 2022) was a Filipino television public affairs host, media executive, newspaper columnist, and

lawyer A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solic ...

Early life and education

Puno was born in

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...

on January 20, 1946, a son of former Minister of Justice under the Marcos administration,

Ricardo C. Puno Ricardo Concepcion Puno (4 January 1923 – 25 July 2018), also known as Ricardo Puno, Sr., was a Filipino lawyer, judge and jurist, and the Minister of Justice of the Philippines from 1979 to 1984. Background Puno was born on 4 January 1923 in ...

and a brother of former Department of Interior and Local Government Secretary, Ronaldo "Ronnie" Puno and former congressman Roberto "Robbie" Puno. Puno held a Bachelor of Arts degree (cum laude) from

Ateneo de Manila University , mottoeng = Light in the Lord , type = Private, research, non-profit, coeducational basic and higher education institution , established = December 10, 1859 , religious_affiliation = Roman Catholic (Jesuits) , academic_aff ...

(1965), a Bachelor of Laws degree (

cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sou ...

and

salutatorian Salutatorian is an academic title given in the United States, Armenia, and the Philippines to the second-highest-ranked graduate of the entire graduating class of a specific discipline. Only the valedictorian is ranked higher. This honor is tradi ...

) from the same University in 1969 and a Master of Laws degree from the

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States. Each class ...

Career

Puno was Senior Vice President for News and Current Affairs of the

ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corporation ABS-CBN Corporation is a Filipino media company based in Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines. It is the largest entertainment and media conglomerate in the Philippines. It is a subsidiary of Lopez Holdings Corporation which is owned by t ...

and Executive Vice President of the

ABS-CBN News Channel ABS-CBN News Channel, commonly known as ANC, is a 24/7 Philippine pay television news channel. It was launched in 1996 as the first all-news network in English language. The majority of its programs are produced by ABS-CBN News. The channel is ...

. On top of that, he wrote articles for his column ''My Viewpoint'' first appearing on ''

The Philippine Star ''The Philippine Star'' (self-styled ''The Philippine STAR'') is an English-language newspaper in the Philippines and the flagship brand of the Philstar Media Group. First published on July 28, 1986, by veteran journalists Betty Go-Belmonte, ...

'' and later ''

The Manila Times ''The Manila Times'' is the oldest extant English language, English-language newspaper in the Philippines. It is published daily by The Manila Times Publishing Corp. (formerly La Vanguardia Publishing Corporation) with editorial and administrati ...

''. He was the host for a public affairs program, ''Viewpoints'', shown on ANC. He was the senior partner of the Puno and Puno Law Offices, Vice President-General Counsel and Corporate Secretary of the nation's flag-carrier, the

Philippine Airlines Philippine Airlines (PAL), a trade name of PAL Holdings, Inc. ( PSEPAL (Philippine Air Lines until 1970), is the flag carrier airline of the Philippines. Headquartered at the PNB Financial Center in Pasay, the airline was founded in 1941 and i ...

(1986–1990 and 1978–1983) and a member of the Philippine Panel for International Air Negotiations (1979–1990). He was also a past president of the Manila Overseas Press Club. He was also the former president of

Guagua National Colleges Guagua National Colleges often called GNC is a private, non-sectarian Catholic school in Guagua, Pampanga, Philippines. It offers primary, secondary, and tertiary education. Guagua National Colleges founded by Fr. Nicanor M. Banzali, former pari ...

Guagua, Pampanga Guagua, officially the Municipality of Guagua ( pam, Balen ning Guagua; tl, Bayan ng Guagua), is a 1st class municipality in the province of Pampanga, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 128,893 people. The town o ...

from 2008 until his retirement in 2012. When President

Joseph Estrada Joseph Ejercito Estrada, (; born Jose Marcelo Ejercito; April 19, 1937), also known by the nickname Erap, is a Filipino politician and former actor. He served as the 13th president of the Philippines from 1998 to 2001, the 9th vice preside ...

assumed power, Puno was appointed

Press Secretary A press secretary or press officer is a senior advisor who provides advice on how to deal with the news media and, using news management techniques, helps their employer to maintain a positive public image and avoid negative media coverage. Duti ...

and ran unsuccessfully for a Senate seat in the 2001 senatorial race. After this debacle, he returned to the media profession and re-assumed his old position at ABS-CBN, but lost it anew after he chose to anchor the network's reformatted national late-night newscast ''

Insider ''Insider'', previously named ''Business Insider'' (''BI''), is an American financial and business news website founded in 2007. Since 2015, a majority stake in ''Business Insider''s parent company Insider Inc. has been owned by the German publ ...

'' with

Ces Oreña-Drilon Cecilia Victoria Oreña-Drilon (; born July 8, 1961), simply known as Ces Drilon, is a Filipino broadcast journalist. She presented news and public affairs programs for the News and Current Affairs division of ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corporation ...

in 2005. However, due to low ratings, the said newscast was canceled in the following year and was replaced by ''

Bandila ''Bandila'' () was a Philippine television late-night news program broadcast by ABS-CBN with simulcast worldwide via TFC, Originally anchored by Korina Sanchez, Henry Omaga-Diaz and Ces Oreña-Drilon. The program premiered on July 3, 2006, ...

'' which marked the return of

Korina Sanchez Korina Maria Baluyot Sanchez-Roxas (; born October 5, 1964), known professionally as Korina Sanchez, is a Filipino broadcast journalist, television news anchor, senior field correspondent, magazine show host, radio anchor, and newspaper columnis ...

to the local newscasting scene. (Drilon then joined ''Bandila''.) He then ran unsuccessfully for the lone congressional seat of

Muntinlupa Muntinlupa, officially the City of Muntinlupa ( fil, Lungsod ng Muntinlupa), is a 1st class Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Metro Manila, National Capital Region of the Philippines. According to the ...

in 2007 against Congressman

Ruffy Biazon Rozzano Rufino Bunoan Biazon (born March 20, 1969), better known as Ruffy Biazon, is a Filipino politician currently serving as the Mayor of Muntinlupa since 2022. He previously served as Representative of Muntinlupa in the Philippine House of R ...

. With Biazon term-limited (he ran for and lost a Senate seat), Puno again contested the seat in the 2010 election against Biazon's father,

Rodolfo Biazon Rodolfo Gaspar Biazon (, born April 14, 1935) is a Filipino politician and former Philippine Marine Corps general. He was the Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) in early 1991 and then served as a Senator from 1992 to 1995 ...

, but lost garnering 27% of the vote against Biazon's 46%. In February 2011, he joined

AksyonTV Aksyon TV () was a Philippine free-to-air television network. It was a joint venture of Nation Broadcasting Corporation and TV5 Network, Inc. (international operations is under its subsidiary Pilipinas Global Network Ltd.), both under PLDT medi ...

and started hosting a weekly political commentary program called '' De Kalibre''. He was the recipient of various awards in the fields of media and law: the 1985 TOYM awardee for Media and a KBP Golden Dove awardee (Best Male Host for Magazine Show, 1999; Ka Doroy Achievement Award, 1993 and the Best Public Affairs Show, 1990). His program, ''Viewpoint'', won the Catholic Mass Media Awards as Best Public Affairs Programs for three consecutive years (1984, 1985 and 1986) and was elevated to the Hall of Fame. His television shows (''

Dong Puno Live ''Dong Puno Live'' was a Philippine talk show on ABS-CBN. It aired from February 2, 1995 to December 30, 2000 and from August 28, 2003 to June 29, 2005. Hosts Veteran broadcaster and respected commentator Atty. Dong Puno and Doris Bigornia take vi ...

'', ''Viewpoint'' & ''Focus'') have also received recognition from the Gawad CCP Para sa Telebisyon and

PMPC Star Awards for Television PMPC Star Awards for Television is an annual award-giving body recognizing the outstanding programming produced by the several TV networks in the Philippines. It was founded by the Philippine Movie Press Club, an organization of tabloid repor ...

. In March 2014, he joined

DWIZ DWIZ (882 AM) is a radio station owned and operated by Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, a subsidiary of the ALC Group of Companies. The station's studio is located at the 5th Floor, Citystate Centre, 709 Shaw Boulevard, Brgy. Oranbo, Pasig, and i ...

and started hosting a public affairs radio program called "Karambola".

Personal life and death

Puno was married to Clodelsa del Castillo and they have two sons, Ricky (born 1969) and Donnie (born 1970), and nephew Randolf del Castillo (born 1991) lived with him, and three grandchildren, Tana (born 1990), Sandro (born 1996) and Santi (born 2002). In 2015, Puno was reported to be afflicted with

Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a long-term degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that mainly affects the motor system. The symptoms usually emerge slowly, and as the disease worsens, non-motor symptoms becom ...

. He died on February 15, 2022, at the age of 76.

Filmography

Television series

*'' Viewpoint'' (1984–1994; GMA) *'' Business Today'' (1990–1994; GMA) *''

'' (1995–2000;

ABS-CBN ABS-CBN (an initialism of its two predecessors' names, Alto Broadcasting System and Chronicle Broadcasting Network) is a Television in the Philippines, Philippine Commercial broadcasting, commercial broadcast broadcast network, network tha ...

) *''Dong Puno Tonight'' (2003;

) *''Insider'' (2005–2006;

) *''Viewpoints'' (2006–2007;

ANC The African National Congress (ANC) is a social-democratic political party in South Africa. A liberation movement known for its opposition to apartheid, it has governed the country since 1994, when the first post-apartheid election install ...

) *''Kalibre 41'' (2011;

"now ONE PH") *''News5 Debates: Hamon sa Pagbabago'' (2011–2013; TV5 and

"now ONE PH") *''Dong Puno De Kalibre'' (2011–2013;

"now ONE PH")

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Puno, Dong 1946 births 2022 deaths Kapampangan people Filipino Roman Catholics People from Manila People from Muntinlupa Ateneo de Manila University alumni Harvard Law School alumni 20th-century Filipino businesspeople 20th-century Filipino lawyers Estrada administration cabinet members ABS-CBN personalities ABS-CBN News and Current Affairs people ABS-CBN people News5 people People with Parkinson's disease Secretaries of the Presidential Communications Operations Office