‘This Isn’t Piki vs Gabby. It’s Piki vs All of Us’

The Lopez cousins who own 71 percent of Lopez Inc have come together against Federico ‘Piki’ Lopez in a strongly worded joint statement, accusing him of using his position as president of the company for personal gain.

“This matter should have stayed private but Piki chose to make it public,” the cousins said in a statement that carried the title A Matter of Trust and Governance. “Over time, we’ve lost our trust and confidence in our cousin, Piki Lopez.”

The statement, released in the morning of Monday (April 27) was signed by 12 members of the Lopez family that represent the three branches that control 71 percent of the company. These are Maria Cristina Rosario Lopez Grassi, Roberta Pilar Lopez Feliciano, Maria Margarita Lopez Lichauco, Maria Eugenia Psinakis Brown, Eugenio Lopez III, Rafael Lopez, Ernesto Miguel Lopez, Manuel Lopez Jr., Ramon Javier Lopez, Miguel Lopez, Michael Lopez Psinakis, and Martin Lopez.

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In the statement, the cousins accused Piki of not informing them about the sale of 60 percent of First Gen’s natural gas business to Prime Infrastructure of tycoon Enrique “Ricky” Razon in November 2025. The same thing happened, the cousins allege, when First Gen Acquired a 33 percent stake in Prime Infra’s hydropower business for P62 billion in April 2026.

“Excluding us from such significant decision was a clear failure in Piki’s fiduciary responsibility and a circumvention of corporate governance,” the cousins said.

The 71-percent majority cousins also acknowledged the “poison pills” embedded in the deals, which they said were designed to tie Piki and his designates to their position and make it extremely costly for the company to remove them from managerial roles.

“Through the poison pills, Piki secured his position as chairman and CEO and secured management control of the company, effectively making him indispensable because the cost of removing him, even for performance would be too great,” the cousins said.

“Piki’s fiduciary duty mandated him to place the interest of the beneficial owners above his own, ensuring he did not use his position for personal gain. This was not the case. Piki’s interests superseded those of his shareholders,” they added.

It was for these reasons, the majority cousins reiterated, that they voted to remove Piki as president of Lopez Inc., the private private holding and investment vehicle that ultimately owns Lopez Holdings Corporation, once known as Benpres, which, in turn, holds big stakes in First Philippine Holdings (FPH) and ABS‑CBN. (FPH controls First Gen and Energy Development Corp., and around 87 percent of Rockwell Land).

“To be clear, he will remain a board member, just not as president,” the statement read. “Our only motive has been to do the right thing. It has never been to rob any one individual of their future or reputation.”

The bombshell statement is the latest in the battle for control of one of the country’s biggest conglomerates that have played out in public over the last few weeks. After the cousins voted 5-2 in February to remove Piki as chairman and CEO of Lopez Inc., (only Piki and his brother Jay voted to keep him in place), Piki took the fight to the courts, eventually securing a preliminary injunction that barred the implementation of the board resolution from a Mandaluyong regional trial court. The 71-percent cousins have since asked the court to lift the injunction, arguing that it improperly blocks the will of the majority owners and the operation of the by‑laws.

Since then, information about the so-called “poison pills” have come out, which have complicated the majority cousins’ plan to oust Piki. Essentially, the deal with Prime Infra carries the clause that should Piki or any of his designates are removed from their managerial roles for any reason, First Gen will have to shell out as much as P24 billion to Prime, as well as allow Prime to buy out First Gen from the gas and hydropower deals at a 25 percent discount.

In the statement, the 71-percent bloc said that removing Piki was not an easy decision to make nor was it led by a single person or faction of the family. “From the start, keeping our families intact and unscathed was of primary importance,” they said. “It was never our intention to go down this path or to proceed as has unfolded.

“However, we collectively came to the same conclusion that, in the interest of all shareholders, this is the right path forward…It is by taking this action that we will achieve our main goal to do what’s right, protect the shareholders, safeguard the company and its employees, and take care of the legacy entrusted to us. We’re committed to being responsible and doing what’s best for everyone involved, constantly looking for ways to keep this ongoing battle focused solely on verifiable facts.”

A social media post from Gaucha Lopez, wife of Raffy Lopez, doubled down on the statement. “The bottom line is that after four years the Lopez Inc. board was never given access to the financial records of FPH,” Gaucha said. “We know nothing about FPH beyond what is in the public domain. Then, Piki does his multi-billion-peso transactions without consulting his cousins.

“Why is Piki so protective of FPH’s books? His actions are the reason there is a loss of trust. He is not transparent and runs the businesses we ALL own as if they were his own. This is not Piki vs Gabby. It is Piki vs ALL of us.”

In sharing the statement on his own Facebook profile, Manuel “Beaver” Lopez Jr. said “This isn’t something we started or wanted” along with a broken heart emoji.

Piki Lopez has yet to issue a response to his cousins' statement as of the publication of this story.