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MANILA - Someone who was passionate about his work, "fiercely loyal" to his team, and fun during social gatherings.

These are a few descriptions the late ABS-CBN executive Ricardo "Dong" Puno, Jr. received Tuesday from his friends and colleagues, as they remembered his work in the media to be "momentous", filled with top-rating programs.

• Veteran broadcaster Dong Puno passes away

Puno, who served as senior vice president of ABS-CBN News and Current Affairs and hosted some shows, passed away Tuesday afternoon due to a lingering illness, according to his family. He was 76.

ABS-CBN News Chief Ging Reyes said Puno was a "man of honor" who was kind to his staff despite his stature.

"We are deeply saddened by the passing of our former head, anchor and colleague... Dong, as we fondly called him, led our news organization during the 1990s, an era marked by numerous momentous events and top-rating news and current affairs programs, including his own talk show 'Dong Puno Live,'" Reyes said in a statement.

Reyes said she worked closely with the journalist-lawyer as one of the News Division’s executive producers.

"Dong seemed strict and intimidating at first, but he had a soft heart... He was fiercely loyal to his team and his staff, and I am so fortunate to see that side of him," she said.

Puno was broadcast journalist Kata Inocencio's "leader and mentor" in training staff, reporters and anchors in ABS-CBN News and Current Affairs, "some of whom are now top anchors of other networks and executives of big companies," she said.

"We worked so well together. I appreciated your guidance and support. You have my highest regard and respect," Inocencio said of Puno in a Facebook post.

"Very formal, professional, and positive even when you were already so angry!" she added.

CNN Philippines' Rico Hizon, who also considers Puno as his mentor, said, "I wouldn’t be in broadcast news without you. Thank you for believing in me."

Hizon, who became a BBC News and CNBC Asia news presenter, said he previously co-hosted a business program with the late broadcaster.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin, Jr., who hosted ABS-CBN's current affairs show "Assignment" from 1994 to 2003, recalled how some people mistook him before for Puno, as he paid tribute to his colleague.

"After Noli de Castro put me on TV for Assignment—the nowhere as popular English version of Magandang Gabi Bayan, my face was suddenly famous and mobs of fans would scream as I passed, 'Uy! si Dong Puno!" Locsin wrote on Twitter.

Goodbye my friend—cousin if distant on his mom's side. After Noli de Castro put me on TV for Assignment—the nowhere as popular English version of Magandang Gabi Bayan, my face was suddenly famous and mobs of fans would scream as I passed, "Uy! si Dong Puno!" I felt homicidal. https://t.co/lSkoNmWJGv

— Teddy Locsin Jr. (@teddyboylocsin) February 15, 2022

ANC anchor Karmina Constantino thanked Puno for his contributions in the broadcast industry.

LOVED TO SING AND DANCE

Reyes also fondly remembered how Puno became the life of the party during special occasions.

"I will never forget how much he loved our newsroom parties and outings. He loved to sing and dance during those parties! And he never failed to give us those homemade rum cakes for Christmas," she said.

According to Inocencio, the team "could never get to unhook" Puno from the microphone "especially when it was already a Joe Mari Chan song!"

"I love you, Dong! We are all gonna miss you," she said.

Locsin thanked Puno's brothers, including Ronnie and Reggie and their spouses for taking good care of him, as he expressed his "deepest condolences to them" and to his wife and children.

"I feel the loss way out here," the foreign minister said.

"My heart bleeds that you are no longer with us... You will forever have a special place in my heart. Rest well Atty Dong, you will be missed. My deepest sympathies to Tita Christy and the family," Hizon said for his part.

"It’s been a long, tiring journey. Rest now and live eternally in peace," ANC's Constantino said.

In 2000, Puno was also appointed by former President Joseph Estrada as press secretary.

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