The majority faction of the Lopez family — which controls 71 percent of shares in the family’s ultimate parent company, Lopez Inc. (LI) — has withdrawn its resolution seeking the removal of Federico Lopez, also known as “Piki” Lopez, as president and CEO of LI, marking the first concrete step toward reconciliation within one of the country’s most influential business empires.

In a statement issued Thursday, 14 May, the majority faction said the dispute is now before the Court of Appeals for the lifting of the injunction secured by Piki Lopez, while also giving the family an opportunity to reassess and recalibrate in search of a resolution that would cause the least harm to all parties involved.

“Harm has been done to everybody. Reputational damage is there. Our family has been in a fishbowl with everybody looking in. Agreements have been signed with undeserved financial penalties especially for the investing public,” the majority faction said.

The feud traces back to concerns surrounding recent transactions entered into by family energy firm First Gen Corporation (FGen) with another influential local energy player. The majority faction alleged the deals were undertaken without the necessary approvals and contained “poison pills” collectively worth around P24 billion that would allegedly benefit Piki Lopez and his associates should they be removed from leadership, to the detriment of the Lopez group and its shareholders.

Earlier reports said the dispute also stemmed from disagreements over how proceeds from the FGen deals would be used, with a faction allegedly led by former ABS-CBN Corporation chairman Eugenio Lopez III pushing for the funds to help support the broadcast giant, which has struggled since losing its franchise six years ago.

The beef escalated on 27 February, when Piki Lopez was removed in a 5–2 vote as president of LI due to an alleged “loss of trust and confidence,” according to the majority faction. Lopez later secured court orders from the Mandaluyong Regional Trial Court blocking his ouster.

Efforts by the majority faction to ease tensions followed legal action initiated by Piki Lopez against several relatives and corporate officers. In a Tuesday clarificatory disclosure to the stock exchange, Lopez Holdings Corporation (LPZ) — the publicly listed holding company of the Lopez family — confirmed that Lopez had filed “a suit for indirect contempt” against several LPZ directors who voted in favor of submitting proposed nominee lists from both Lopez and his relative, Maria Teresa Lopez — mother of current ABS-CBN chairman Martin L. Lopez — in relation to the election of a new board of directors for subsidiary First Philippine Holdings Corporation (FPH), which owns 54.74 percent of FGen.

Last week, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) granted FPH an exemption allowing it to hold its annual stockholders’ meeting without electing a new board of directors, effectively freezing the current board — which includes Piki Lopez — in place amid the struggle for control over the family’s energy and real estate businesses.

In a separate disclosure issued Tuesday, FPH said the actions taken by the majority faction “effectively impaired the exercise by [Piki Lopez] of his authority as President of LI, thus failing to preserve the status quo.”

FPH also clarified that Piki Lopez filed the cases against his relatives and other company officers in his capacity as CEO of LI, with neither LPZ nor FPH being parties to the ongoing legal battles.

“The intra-corporate case, which is likewise pending before Br. 209, was filed by [Piki] against LI, Rafael L. Lopez, Miguel Ernesto L. Lopez, Eugenio L. Lopez III, Martin L. Lopez and Maria Eugenia P. Brown, in their capacities as directors of LI, and Atty. Maria Amina O. Amado in her capacity as Assistant Corporate Secretary of LI,” FPH’s disclosure read.

The first five individuals named in the case had earlier co-signed a statement backing Piki Lopez’s removal from LI, which they said was “in line with our values, that requires us to adhere to the rules and corporate governance we have adopted.”

The majority faction added Thursday that it remains open to a ceasefire, subject to a reasonable expectation of fair compromise and access to information, but warned that it is “more than ready to ramp up its efforts to protect its legal and pecuniary interests if there is none.”