Puno introduced himself and his talent to the entertainment business by performing at folk houses and small clubs in Metro Manila. In 1975, while singing at the Palazzi, Puno met and performed with the American Motown group, The Temptations. Puno’s talent was later noticed by the executive producers from Vicor Records (now Vicor Music). His first record was Love Won’t Let Me Wait, while his first big hit was the Tagalog-infused The Way We Were.

In 1976, Puno won the Aliw Award for Most Promising Entertainer. Two years later, he became Aliw’s Entertainer of the Year. His Rico in Concert show at the Cultural Center of the Philippines launched him as one of the foremost Philippine pop stars.

In 1977, Puno covered the Carpenters song Merry Christmas Darling from his first Christmas album, The Spirit of Christmas which was originally sung by Karen Carpenter.

In 1978, Puno’s popularity and his regular concerts at the Araneta Coliseum (now SMART Araneta Coliseum) in Quezon City and his performance tours in the United States broke records in terms of audience attendance. His fame also made him into a sought-after product endorser including advertisements for San Miguel Beer in the 1970s.

In 1979, Puno represented the Philippines at the Tokyo Music Festival, with Lupa (Ground), a song that imparted messages on how an individual could strive to change for the better, on how to gain humility and other human values, on how not to judge others, and on how to struggle against one’s own weaknesses.

Owing to his rising popularity, various TV networks and movie producers soon came knocking on his door for more acting/hosting opportunities. GMA Network hired Puno to host a noontime variety show, Lunch Date which first aired on March 1986 and served as a replacement for Student Canteen. However, in 1987 he left the show after it reformatted. In 1994–1995 he headlined another noontime show, Chibugan Na (It’s Eating Time), aired on weekdays at 12 noon on RPN 9, with Hajji Alejandro.

He also covered the song Ang Huling El Bimbo in 1994 which was originally a major hit for The Eraserheads

He won a seat in the Makati City Council for the first district in 1998. Among Puno’s notable ordinances filed during his first term was the installation of a surveillance camera in every convenience store in Makati that operates 24 hours a day, as protection against robbers who prey on convenience stores. He left the city council after his third and final consecutive term ended in 2007. His seat in the city council was kept by his eldest daughter, Tosca Camille. Three years later, he teamed up with Junjun Binay to run for city vice mayor in Makati City. Although Binay won the mayoralty race, Puno lost to Barangay Valenzuela captain and ABC President Romulo “Kid” Peña Jr., who was the running mate of then-outgoing vice mayor Ernesto Mercado.

From 2001, the Greatest Hits series in Manila, produced by Viva Concerts helped maintain Puno’s popularity. These Greatest Hits concerts brought him together with other Greatest Hitmakers in the Philippine music scene during the 1980s, namely Philippine pop icons: Hajji Alejandro, Rey Valera, Nonoy Zuñiga and Marco Sison.

He also covered the song Mabuti Pa Sila in 2010 and originally composed and recorded by Gary Granada.

Puno returned as TV host for Macho Guwapito on the now-defunct Makisig Network. He was one of the judges in the inaugural week of the reality talent show Showtime on ABS-CBN. In 2010, he also hosted “Pilipinas Win na Win” and “Happy Yipee Yehey!” in 2011–2012.

As his daughter Tosca was term-limited, he successfully regained a seat in the Makati City Council in 2016. He planned to seek reelection in 2019 and had supported the candidacy of former Mayor Junjun Binay but he died after he filed his Certificate of Candidacy (COC). He was substituted by his daughter and former councilor, Tosca Camille, who would then go on to win a seat in the city council.

Rico was honored and awarded recently in ASAP Pinoy on ASAP show on ABS-CBN contributing his best in singing performing as a total entertainer who celebrating his 40th anniversary in music and entertainment movie and TV career in 2017.

Puno died of heart failure on October 30, 2018, in St. Luke’s Medical Center – Global City. He was 65. He was laid to rest at The Heritage Park in Taguig.