Philippine Asian News Today Vol 20 No 20 | Page 30

RP NEWS
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PHILIPPINE ASIAN NEWS TODAY October 16 - 31, 2018
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OPM icon Rico J. Puno takes a final bow at 65
RICO J. Puno, one of the
country’s Original Pilipino Music
icons, died of heart failure on Tuesday
at the age of 65.
The singer’s passing was
announced by his sister-in-law, concert
producer Anna Puno, on Instagram.
“Numbed with grief, I would like to
call on all entertainers in the OPM
industry as well as his worldwide fans
to stop for a moment and say a prayer
for one of the most respected singers
in the country,” she posted.
“I cannot help but say it was
serendipitous that Starmedia (her
production company) prepared a solo
40th anniversary concert for him and
a US tour with the OPM stalwarts and
colleagues just recently. Little did I
know that this [was] his final bow in
the live entertainment world. We will
forever miss the Total Entertainer but
his songs will forever be cherished in
our hearts,” she wrote.
Despite his failing health, the
legendary singer had been booked for
concerts through February 2019.
Anna said the artist had himself
admitted at the St. Luke’s Medical
Center in Taguig City on Monday after
experiencing difficulty in breathing.
“[Once] he was in the hospital,
they didn’t let him go. He went straight
to the ICU. He was revived at first, then
he was OK, but when everybody left,
he had heart failure. They were trying
to revive him for the second time, but
he didn’t make it [anymore],” she told
CNN Philippines.
In 2015, Puno had open heart
surgery after suffering a heart attack.
He underwent angioplasty to reopen
his blocked arteries in December
2017, and received a pacemaker
months later.
His health started deteriorating
in April, but Puno managed to be on
the ABS-CBN variety program “It’s
Showtime” as one of the judges in the
widely followed “Tawag Ng Tanghalan”
segment.
‘Tatak Rico J’
Born Enrico de Jesus Puno on
Feb. 13, 1953, Rico J as he came to
be known broke through the music
scene in the 1970s with his rendition
of Barbra Streisand’s hit single, “The
Way We Were.” Puno struck gold with
his unique cover, effectively launching
his trademark singing style which
incorporated Filipino lyrics and spoken
lines within the English originals.
From there, Puno came out with
songs that are now considered OPM
classics — “Kapalaran.” “Buhat,” “May
Bukas Pa,” “Macho Gwapito,” “Lupa,”
“Ang Tao’y Marupok,” “Sorry Na
Pwede Ba,” and “Magkasuyo Buong
Gabi,” a duet with Elissa Chan.
Dubbed as OPM’s “Total
Entertainer,”
Puno’s
last
live
performance in the country saw him
sharing the stage with fellow
veteran singers Imelda Papin,
Hajji Alejandro and Pilita
Corralas at the
“Aliw@40: The Ruby
Anniversary
Concert”
on
October 4. Shortly after, he
appeared in what would be
his last press conference on
October 18 for a November
23 concert with comediennes
Marissa Sanchez and Giselle
Sanchez titled “Sana Tatlo
Ang Puso” at The Theater at
Solaire.
Puno also dipped his
hands in politics, becoming
Makati City councilor in 1998.
He was reelected through 2007 to
complete the three allowable terms.
He ran but lost in his bid for
vice mayor in 2010. He won anew
as councilor in 2016. He filed his
certificate of candidacy for reelection
this month.
Malacañang paid tribute to the
singer.
Palace spokesman Salvador
Panelo offered the government’s
condolences to the family of Puno,
whom he called his “personal friend.”
“We express our condolences
to a legend that is Rico J. Puno. He
has contributed a lot to the music
industry,” Panelo told reporters.
Makati City also mourned Puno’s
passing.
“On behalf of the city government
and the people of Makati, I wish to
express our heartfelt condolences to
his bereaved family,” Mayor” Mar-Len
Abigail Abby” Binay said.
Binay lauded Puno’s legacy as a
singer, actor, comedian and television
host.
“Rico J was the ultimate
entertainment package. He not only
soothed the soul with his timeless
music, but also lifted up the spirit with
his effortless humor,” she said.
Puno is survived by his former
wife, Doris T. Puno, and eight
children. (A. Custodio with I. Iglesias,
C. Valiente& N. J. Servallos, MT)
Rody order draws mixed reaction
LAWMAKERS yesterday gave
varied feedbacks on the announced
“militarization” of the Bureau of Cus-
toms (BOC), an unexpected twist in
the P11-billion shabu smuggling plot
allegedly perpetrated with the conniv-
ance of dishonest officials of the BOC,
Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency,
and the police.
Rep. Ruffy Biazon (PDP-Laban,
Muntinlupa) said President Duterte
has to clarify “which positions will be
taken over by military personnel, what
functions they will assume and the
parameters of their authority.”
“The BOC’s triple-mandate must
be considered - that of revenue col-
lection, trade facilitation and border
security and the delicate balance
among the three must be maintained.
What’s at stake is not just the anti-
drugs, anti-criminality, anti-corruption
drive of the administration but also
the country’s finances and trade,” Bi-
azon said.
A former customs commissioner
himself, Biazon said the President’s
order not only shows how frustrated
he was of the recurring problem of
smuggling and corruption in the BOC
but also indicates “his desire and
commitment to reform the agency.”
Rep. Robert Ace Barbers (NP, Su-
rigao del Norte), chair of the House
committee on dangerous drugs, said
he could not blame the President for
ordering the military takeover because
“desperate times call for desperate
measures.”
“If bringing in the Armed Forces
would help instill discipline and order
in the Bureau of Customs, so be it.
President Duterte, with the best inten-
tions in mind, needs all the support
of people who want to rid the agency
of corruption and shenanigans. Just
continue the fight!” Barbers said.
Barbers’ panel is planning to
schedule one last hearing into the
smuggling of P11 billion worth of sha-
bu allegedly stashed in four magnetic
lifters that slipped past the BOC.
Rep. Tom Villarin (LP, Akbayan),
a member of the seven-man opposi-
tion bloc at the Lower House, said the
President’s order was dictatorial.
“It’s an extreme response put-
ting a purely civilian bureaucracy un-
der military control. It’s as if President
Duterte has imposed nationwide mar-
tial law. The drug problem has now
become a weapon of convenience to
sound off the use of martial law pow-
ers,” Villarin said.
Villarin said the move “also de-
flects the main issue here — that of
exacting accountability to his appoin-
tees in the Bureau of Customs whom
he absolved without even an investi-
gation.”
Senators said militarizing the
BOC will not bring to an end the
shameful corruption already deeply
embedded in the agency.
Instead, putting the military in-
charge of the bureau is a temporary
solution that will merely see an inter-
mission in the corrupt practices of
dishonest officials and employees.
Sen. Francis Pangilinan said
“placing the AFP in charge of the
BOC may appear decisive and daring
but what we need are no nonsense
solutions, not theatrics.”
“The solution is not in the trans-
fer of any agency but in showing that
incompetent officials and the syndi-
cates they are in connivance with, all
big fish, are punished and held to ac-
count,” Pangilinan said.
He noted the cases of former
Customs commissioners Nicanor Fa-
eldon and Isidro Lapeña, who were re-
moved from the BOC after billions of
pesos worth of shabu shipments were
able to slip out of Manila ports under
the noses of customs officers.
Both Faeldon and Lapeña have
not been held liable for the entry of
the illegal drugs despite legislative
findings of their negligence, and in-
stead were transferred to other gov-
ernment offices.
“Regardless of who manages the
Bureau of Customs, if Malacañang it-
self tolerates and does not punish Fa-
eldon and Lapeña and doesn’t show
any teeth and outrage against drug
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lords, nothing will come of AFP’s
transfer because it will only follow
Malacañang’s orders,” Pangilinan also
said.
Sen. Risa Hontiveros said Malaca-
ñang should “repeal its revolving-door
policy of recycling corrupt and incom-
petent public officials.”
“Instead of rewarding the corrupt
and tolerating the incompetent, the
President should see to it that they
are not only permanently removed
and barred from public office, but
also administratively and criminally
held accountable for violations of the
standards of governance. He doesn’t
need the military for that. All it takes is
real political will,” Hontiveros said.
Sen. Panfilo Lacson said the
BOC should be headed by someone
who can apply the principle of leader-
ship by example “not in words, but in
practice.”
“It is second to none. There is no
substitute to it that I know of,” Lacson
said of the principle of leadership by
example
Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian said the
BOC management should not only
weed out and take out crooked offi-
cials and personnel, but likewise shift
to full automation of its operations. (
WENDELL VIGILIA AND JOAN DAI-
RO , Malaya)