Actress Concepcion: I’ll fight for my son!

By Alvin I. Dacanay

Actress and former beauty queen Alma Concepcion expressed anew her determination to fight for her 14-year-old son Richard “Cobie” Puno’s rights after lambasting her ex-partner Rodolfo “Dody” Puno, former executive director of the Department of Public Works and Highways’s Road Board and a member of the politically prominent Puno family, for failing to financially support their child for more than half a year.

In a status update on Facebook (FB) late last week, 38-year-old Concepcion said that, “as a single mom, I will not only provide for my son, but I will fight for his rights!!”

This came after she posted an open letter to 64-year-old Puno on her social-media accounts last Monday that quickly went viral. In it, she wrote that she had tried to talk to him, but found that he had closed all channels and refused to talk to her.

“You’ve cut our son’s allowance since July. You ignored my calls. Maybe going to FB before the media should do it. Now it’s our time to ignore you. I won’t allow you to see my son. Ignoring us? OK. Will give you a dose of your own medicine,” Concepcion wrote.

“To all his family and friends, go ahead: I’m allowing you to get mad at me as long as you tell Dody. And by the way, your [anger] is nothing compared to mine. Been keeping this for seven months now. Go ahead, share the anger with me,” she added.

Addressing those in Puno’s camp who want to talk to her, Concepcion wrote, “Make sure you talk to him before talking to me.”

In a subsequent post, Concepcion wrote, “If you’re [Puno] having a hard time, just give kung ano lang kaya mo [what you can afford]. Your son will appreciate a token. A representaion that he is loved. It’s not the amount. Just make him feel you love him, that he is important. That he is a priority, too. Is it hard to give a reminder that he is important? I’m not asking much for my son. Kung ano lang kaya mo.”

In an interview, Concepcion said Cobie had supported her decision to go public on the matter and that Puno contacted their son last Wednesday. According to her, Cobie asked the former Road Board official to resolve the matter as soon as possible.

Puno or anyone from his immediate family is yet to respond publicly at press time.

Concepcion first gained attention for winning the Miss Hawaiian Tropic-Philippines title in 1993 and the Binibining Pilipinas-International crown in 1994. Her pageant victories led to a successful showbiz career that saw her appearing in such films as Sa Ngalan ng Pag-ibig (In the Name of Love) and Goodbye, America.

After a long hiatus, Concepcion revived that career with the independent film Babagwa (The Spider’s Lair) in 2013, and completed her interior design degree at the University of the Philippines in Diliman the following year. She now works as an interior designer for her firm Espasyo Manila, which was established in January.