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 A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a Ministry (government department), ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of ju ...

of the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

from 1979 to 1984.

Background

Puno was born on 4 January 1923 in

Guagua 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 ...

Pampanga Pampanga, officially the Province of Pampanga ( pam, Lalawigan ning Pampanga; tl, Lalawigan ng Pampanga ), is a province in the Central Luzon region of the Philippines. Lying on the northern shore of Manila Bay, Pampanga is bordered by Tar ...

and went by the nickname Carding. He attended the

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 ...

and

Manuel L. Quezon University The Manuel L. Quezon University (MLQU) is a private, nonsectarian, coeducational basic and higher education institution in Diliman, Quezon City, Philippines. It is named after the second president of the Philippine Manuel L. Quezon. History O ...

(MLQU). He went on to teach at MLQU, beginning a career of teaching law spanning decades and multiple institutions of higher education such as the

Ateneo de Manila , 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 ...

, the

San Beda College of Law San Beda College of Law is the law school college under the San Beda University, a private, Roman Catholic university run by the Benedictine monks in the Philippines.Directory of Higher Education Institutions, Commission on Higher Education, 2006 ...

, San Sebastián College,

Adamson University Adamson University ( fil, links=no, Pamantasang Adamson) also referred to by its acronym AdU is a private, Catholic coeducational basic and higher education institution run by the Congregation of the Mission in Manila, Philippines. The univers ...

and the

University of the Philippines The University of the Philippines (UP; fil, Pamantasan ng Pilipinas Unibersidad ng Pilipinas) is a state university system in the Philippines. It is the country's national university, as mandated by Republic Act No. 9500 (UP Charter of 200 ...

(UP). He was also a partner at Ledesma, Puno and Associates until 1962. Puno spoke

Filipino Filipino may refer to: * Something from or related to the Philippines ** Filipino language, standardized variety of 'Tagalog', the national language and one of the official languages of the Philippines. ** Filipinos, people who are citizens of th ...

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national id ...

and

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: ** Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Ca ...

, besides his native Kapampangan.

Politics

Puno was a

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house ...

(MP) for Region IV (

Metro Manila Metropolitan Manila (often shortened as Metro Manila; fil, Kalakhang Maynila), officially the National Capital Region (NCR; fil, link=no, Pambansang Punong Rehiyon), is the capital region, seat of government and one of three List of metrop ...

) from 1978 to 1984, and served as

from 1979 to 1984.

Later life

In 1984, Puno resumed his work as a lawyer and founded Puno and Puno Law Offices (PunoLaw). He continued to lecture in law until 1991. Puno was married to Priscilla Villanueva Puno, with whom he had twelve children. He died on 25 July 2018 after a lingering illness and is interred at the Heritage Park in

Taguig Taguig (), officially the City of Taguig ( fil, Lungsod ng Taguig), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in Metro Manila, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 886,722 people. Located in the northwestern shores of ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Puno, Ricardo 1923 births 2018 deaths Kapampangan people People from Guagua Ateneo de Manila University alumni Manuel L. Quezon University alumni 20th-century jurists Members of the House of Representatives of the Philippines from Metro Manila Justices of the Court of Appeals of the Philippines Secretaries of Justice of the Philippines Ferdinand Marcos administration cabinet members 21st-century jurists Burials at The Heritage Park