This Lopez empire teleserye has turned into a high-stakes battle with all the elements of an edge-of-your-seat drama comparable to HBO’s Succession – a coveted throne, billion-peso deals, well-oiled PR machinery, a clout of top-rated celebrities and even a glittering viral dance performance in Coachella.
But how did it really get here? What happened during that controversial Feb. 27 board meeting of Lopez Inc., the ultimate holding company of Lopez companies?
Here’s what I gathered after sifting through court documents:
To begin with, this war did not happen overnight. It was a slow burn of sorts, with the Gabby Lopez-led majority already calling on Piki Lopez to be more transparent with respect to transactions of significant magnitude, including First Gen’s deals with Enrique Razon’s Prime Infra.
They claimed that the loss of trust and confidence in Piki arose not from any single incident but from a pattern of nondisclosure in matters that were material to Lopez Inc.
The proposal to remove Piki
Against this backdrop, the Lopez majority called for a special board meeting on Feb. 27. The majority consists of five of the seven-member board – Maria Eugenia (daughter of Presentacion); Miguel and Martin (sons of Manolo) and Gabby and Rafael (sons of Geny).
Two notices were sent via email on the same day (one with a Zoom link), with the following agenda:
A review of the organizational structure of Lopez Inc. and any other business related to the foregoing that may be brought before the board.
Rafael, chairman of Lopez Inc., started the meeting by citing the Feb. 13 regular board meeting of First Gen where its board approved the Prime Infra transaction.
This led to the proposal to remove Piki as president of Lopez Inc.
The floor was opened for comments. Piki’s brother Benjamin raised his objection, stating he was surprised at the proposal since the wording of the agenda referred only to a review of the organizational structure and not to the removal of a corporate officer or president.
Piki likewise objected to the plot to remove him.
According to court documents filed by Gabby’s camp in response to Piki’s injunction, Piki made no attempts to address the concern of loss of trust and confidence about his leadership.
The voting
The assistant corporate secretary Maria Amina Amado then asked each director about their respective vote.
The Lopez majority voted in favor of Piki’s removal, while Piki and Benjamin did not.
Gabby then nominated his cousin Miguel to be president, but Miguel declined and in turn nominated Gabby’s brother Rafael, who accepted the nomination. Martin seconded the nomination.
Rafael then noted that “there being no objection, he would be assuming the role of president.”
Only when Rafael asked Atty. Amado if there were any other matters to discuss did Piki note that, for the record, he objects to Rafael’s election for the same reasons.
Last ditch effort
From that tense meeting until March 8, the Lopezes tried to amicably settle the issue but to no avail. Gabby’s camp said Piki did not provide the explanation that the directors were asking for regarding the First Gen transactions.
On March 12, another meeting took place, with Rafael, as new president, presiding. Piki was also in the meeting.
But they were soon served a 72-hour TRO, filed by Piki. This was followed by a March 16 order extending the TRO until the application for an injunction could be heard.
Piki posted an injunction bond of P10 million dated March 25, 2026, upon which the Court issued the Writ of Preliminary Injunction, which prevented the implementation of the Feb. 27 board resolution removing Piki as president of Lopez Inc.
In the petition, Piki argued that the board resolutions removing him must be declared void because the “ground relied upon for [Plaintiff’s] removal is […] improper.”
“The plaintiff asserts that his removal as Lopez Inc. president was put into effect pursuant to an improper notice and on the basis of matters entirely outside the sphere of Lopez Inc.’s management and Federico’s functions as its president,” according to the case filed by Piki.
He also said the events surrounding his removal closely followed his opposition to the proposed use of Lopez Inc.’s reserve funds to infuse capital into ABS-CBN.
On the disclosure issue, Piki argued that he could not have disclosed the First Gen transactions to Lopez Inc. prior to their public announcement because doing so would have violated the Securities Regulation Code, particularly provisions on “insider tipping.”
Meanwhile, Gabby’s camp countered that Piki’s filing of the complaint was baseless and unfounded, arguing that it ran contrary to the standards of good faith and fair dealing expected in corporate conduct. They sought damages of at least P1 million each.
The majority also argued that other ordinary, speedy and adequate remedies were available, and that Piki failed to demonstrate that irreparable harm would result.
From peace to war
They also questioned the sufficiency of efforts to engage in meaningful dialogue, noting that such efforts were unsupported and insufficient.
At the end of the day, however, the court favored Piki. He also has the support of First Gen’s lenders including BDO, First Gen’s employees and shareholders.
Reading the court documents, I realized that all this happened because, it seems, each camp was just focused on guarding its own turf.
And perhaps, this is how an empire begins to crumble.
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Email: eyesgonzales@gmail.com. Follow her on X @eyesgonzales. Column archives at EyesWideOpen on FB.