Rico J. Puno was a popular Filipino pop singing artist, comedian, and television host who was credited as a pioneer-promoter of original Filipino music. He started the trend of incorporating Tagalog lyrics in his rendition of the American song The Way We Were and other foreign songs.
He passed away on October 30, 2018 (Manila time)
Also known as Rico J. and as The Total Entertainer, Puno became known as a singer who regularly infused his on-stage performance with tongue-in-cheek comedy and adult humor. He hosted the noontime variety show Pilipinas Win na Win alongside Rey Valera, Marco Sison and Nonoy Zuniga for two months in 2010 replacing Kris Aquino. He also hosted on Happy Yipee Yehey together with John Estrada, Randy Santiago, Mariel Rodriguez, Pokwang and Toni Gonzaga as one of the main host replacing Pilipinas Win na Win.
Puno was also active in politics. In 1998, he was elected as the City Councilor of Makati City from its 1st district until his third and last term ended in 2007. He ran for a comeback in 2010 as the vice mayoralty candidate of Makati City, but was unsuccessful. In 2016, Puno was elected as a councilor in Makati, under the United Nationalist Alliance (UNA).
