SEC to probe Piki’s complaint vs ABS-CBN execs

MANILA, Philippines — The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said it would look into the complaint filed by tycoon Federico “Piki” Lopez against ABS-CBN Corp. executives.

The complaint seeks for an urgent investigation on the alleged “systemic fraud, misrepresentation and unabated dissipation” of assets by the ABS-CBN’s top management.

“We will look into it,” SEC chairperson Francis Lim said. He declined to give additional comments.

In a complaint filed with  the SEC on May 6, 2026, Piki has asked the commission to audit ABS-CBN and investigate its top management, led by its chairman Martin “Mark” Lopez for allegedly “squandering tens of billions of pesos of the losing media company’s resources” as well as for violations of the Revised Corporation Code and the Securities Regulation Code.”

Aside from Mark Lopez, respondents named in the complaint are ABS-CBN president Carlo Katigbak and its treasurer and group chief financial officer Ricardo Tan.

Piki, a member of ABS-CBN’s board of directors, claims that the actions of the ABS-CBN management “reveal a concerning pattern where a significant amount of corporate funds were disbursed in recent years to unduly favor certain officers of the corporation, and/or to siphon cash out of the corporation through unnecessary expenses.”

He said the expenses “are clearly causing damage and prejudice to the rank-and-file employees, minority shareholders, the creditors and the investing public.”

According to the complaint, ABS-CBN’s financial decline started even before it lost its franchise in 2020, with the company reporting a net loss of P2.6 billion in 2019, despite being the number one network.

From 2020 to 2025, it said ABS-CBN piled up at least P45.5 billion in accumulated net losses.

In particular, Piki wants the SEC to  probe  the P3.18 billion released by ABS-CBN as payment to its top company officials and “favored persons” from 2020 to 2025.

His complaint estimated that the compensation and advances to officers, managers and other individuals would reach P10.6 billion, or 23.38 percent  of the accumulated losses, during the same period.

It claimed that authorizing the payment of P10.6 billion as compensation packages and advances despite the company’s solvency problems constitute “a conscious and intentional design to do a wrongful act for the dishonest purpose of giving undue preference and benefit.”

Piki also raised concerns over ABS-CBN’s P12.1-billion purchases of “property and equipment” between 2020 and 2025, when the company no longer possessed a franchise to construct, install, operate and maintain radio and television broadcasting stations.

He said these acts violated Sections 30 and 31 of the Revised Corporation Code, which hold directors liable for gross negligence or bad faith in directing corporate affairs and require fair and reasonable reporting of contracts with related parties.

“ABS-CBN’s financial statements show transactions lacking economic substance, unexplained account title changes and the omission of unfavorable auditor opinions,” it said.

Given the company’s liquidity issues, Piki is asking the SEC to appoint an independent management committee for ABS-CBN.

He said the body would protect assets of ABS-CBN from “fraudulent or grossly negligent expenditures” and “preserve the residual enterprise value of ABS-CBN before it is irrevocably dissipated.”

Piki said that that his earlier objection to the request for a P2 billion infusion into ABS-CBN was due to unresolved audit findings that should be addressed prior to deciding on the funding support.

He claimed that more than half of the P2 billion will again be disbursed by the company to its top five officers and other favored persons, “to the prejudice of its rank-and-file employees, minority shareholders, the creditors and the investing public.”

Meanwhile,  ABS-CBN has requested Piki not to drag the company in the family’s ongoing conflict.

“Please stop involving ABS-CBN in a fight that is not ours,” the company said in a statement.

Instead of publicly calling out certain employees, ABS-CBN said Piki should just engage the board in constructive discussion, noting that a public discussion is unfair to the employees and is uncalled for.

The company said majority of the Lopez family has already stated that the issues in their family dispute do not involve ABS-CBN.

“ABS-CBN’s entire workforce continues to focus on returning the company to solid footing. All these public accusations are painful distractions that take time and resources away from what is truly important to us,” the company said.

“We hope our stakeholders choose to support our mission of public service rather than add further obstacles to our recovery,” it said.

In a related matter, First Philippine Holdings Corp. (FPH), a listed company where Piki sits as chair and CEO, said it was allowed by the SEC to hold its annual stockholders’ meeting (ASM) on July 27, 2026 while deferring or excluding the election of directors from the agenda.

FPH deferred the holding of the company’s 2026 ASM which was previously scheduled on May 28.