Court blocks Piki ouster

The battle for control of the Lopez empire has taken a courtroom twist.

Businessman Federico “Piki” Lopez is fighting back against his cousins, led by Eugenio “Gabby” Lopez III, after they ousted him as chairman and CEO of Lopez Holdings Corp., the ultimate holding company of the Lopez business empire.

Boardroom dispute

The conflict centers on a boardroom dispute led by Gabby Lopez and allied family members in replacing Piki Lopez following disagreements over financial support for debt-beleaguered ABS-CBN Corporation.

According to court filings, Piki was ousted during a 27 February 2026 board meeting.

Piki filed a complaint with the Mandaluyong City Regional Trial Court, calling his removal “illegal” and demanding reinstatement.

Three-day TRO

The court quickly intervened: on 11 March, it issued a three-day temporary restraining order halting Gabby and those aligned with him from pushing Piki out; the Temporary Restraining Order was extended until 1 April.

“At this stage of the proceedings, the court is satisfied that the circumstances justify the provisional protection of plaintiff’s (Piki’s) asserted right, subject to the posting of an injunction bond,” the court said.

The drama escalated on 26 March when the court slapped the cousins with a preliminary injunction, barring them from replacing Piki while the case is pending.

The dispute underscores broader challenges confronting broadcast media giant, ABS-CBN, which has struggled since the non-renewal of its broadcast franchise in 2020, forcing it to shut down free-to-air operations and significantly reshape its business model.

Personal move

Piki alleges the move was personal: his cousins installed Gabby’s younger brother Rafael, or “Raffy,” to punish him for refusing to funnel P2 billion in reserve funds from Lopez Inc. into ABS-CBN.

The respondents include Gabby, Raffy, Martin or “Mark,” chairman of ABS-CBN, Mark’s brother Miguel Ernesto or “Mike,” and cousin Maria Eugenia Psinakis Brown.

The seven-member Lopez Inc. board voted to oust Piki despite his and his brother Benjamin’s, or Jay’s, objections. Court records show the brothers had earlier opposed using the holding company’s reserves for ABS-CBN, citing “unresolved audit findings” and concerns that the funds would be diverted to executive payouts rather than addressing the media giant’s mounting losses.

To recall, the Lopez-led media giant narrowed its consolidated net loss to P2.24 billion in the first nine months of 2025, a 13 percent improvement from the same period last year, signaling that its pivot toward digital and content-driven revenue has started to pay off.

Rare public rift

The clash among the Lopez cousins marks a rare public rift within one of the Philippines’ wealthiest, most prominent business families whose holdings span energy, infrastructure and media.

Lopez Holdings Corp., First Philippine Holdings Corp., First Gen Corporation, and First Gen subsidiary Energy Development Corporation — the country’s largest 100 percent renewable energy company and a leading global geothermal producer — are all central to the sprawling Lopez Group.

Piki also serves as chairman across these companies. He is now asking the court to nullify the board resolution that declared his ouster and named his replacement, keeping the family’s power struggle very much in the public eye.