An ongoing investigative series on a family business in crisis, and the corporate governance war it has become.
The Lopez family built an empire out of the things Filipinos cannot live without.
ABS-CBN put television into Filipino living rooms. Meralco powered the cities. Maynilad piped water into Metro Manila’s west zone. Bayantel connected phone lines. SkyCable brought cable into homes. The North Luzon Expressway (NLEx) carried traffic out of Manila. Rockwell Land built a city within a city in Makati. And through First Philippine Holdings, First Gen Corp, and Energy Development Corp, the Lopez family controls some of the country’s most significant energy infrastructure — natural gas, solar, hydroelectric, and geothermal.
For more than half a century, the Lopez family sat at the center of the country’s infrastructure, media, and energy landscape, accumulating not just wealth but the kind of institutional power that shapes public life.
Then the family fractured.
A dispute between two sets of cousins, Eugenio “Gabby” Lopez III on one side and Federico “Piki” Lopez on the other, is playing out across boardrooms, court filings, closed-door family meetings, and public speeches. At its center: who controls Lopez Inc., the private family holding company at the top of it all — and what happens to the companies, the employees, and the millions of Filipinos whose daily lives these businesses touch.
This series tracks that dispute from the inside.
The Series
[ANALYSIS] The Lopez ceasefire lasted only 26 days, then came the P50 billion math -> Rappler · June 11, 2026
The Clues the Lopez Ceasefire was Never Going to Hold -> Esquire · June 10, 2026
The business case of the Lopez-Razon gas and hydro deals -> Rappler · June 3, 2026
Lopez Inc: Phoenix or Butterfly with Lala Rimando Journalist and Author -> Let’s Talk with Pia Hontiveros · May 29, 2026
Compounding Faith: Deconstructing Piki Lopez’s Third Speech -> Esquire · May 29, 2026
From ‘king’ to ‘steward’: How Piki Lopez answered the Lopez family rift question –> Rappler · May 28, 2026
The Long War: What the Lopez ‘Ceasefire’ Really Says About Power and Fatigue -> Esquire · May 15, 2026
Ceasefire on paper, war in the courts: Why the Lopez feud is far from over -> Rappler · May 15, 2026
Trench warfare 101: When business fights like a war -> lalarimando.com · May 14, 2026
When the annual meeting has no election: What the Lopez family dispute means for every investor -> Rappler · May 12, 2026
First Gen sat on a P23.5bn Lopez clause for 60 days, then the family went to war -> Rappler · May 5, 2026
How to Read a Lopez Press Release — And What to Look For Between the Lines -> Esquire · May 5, 2026
How to make yourself very expensive to fire: The Lopez cousins’ war → Rappler · April 21, 2026
‘I Do Not Agree with the Phoenix’: The Lopez Who Rejected His Family’s Oldest Story -> Esquire · April 19, 2026
Inside Piki Lopez’s townhall as cousins rally for ABS‑CBN -> Rappler · April 18, 2026
Who writes the Lopez story? How lawyers, headlines, and ABS-CBN shape a family war → Rappler · April 17, 2026
Poison Pill and What the Lopez–Razon Deal Teaches Us About Power and Fine Print → Esquire Philippines · April 16, 2026
Covering Lopez vs Lopez without becoming part of the war → lalarimando.com · April 13, 2026
The 13-hour Meralco meeting: Inside one of the most dramatic shareholders’ battles I’ve covered → lalarimando.com · April 3, 2026
Explainer: Who Really Owns Lopez Inc.—and Why the 29% Cousin Is in Charge? → Esquire Philippines · April 1, 2026
How the Lopez family lost Meralco → Esquire Philippines · April 4, 2026
Part 3: Lopez vs Lopez — the secrecy fight behind the Razon power deals → Rappler · April 1, 2026
Part 2: The Lopezes, presidents, and the cost of dissent → Rappler · March 31, 2026
Part 1: Debt, discipline, and daring: Inside the Lopez Group’s high-risk bets → Rappler · March 31, 2026
More pieces forthcoming.
About This Series
Lala Rimando has covered the Lopez Group for over three decades — through the Benpres debt issues, Meralco boardroom wars, the ABS-CBN shutdown, and the family’s long reconstruction after Martial Law. This series draws on that history, current reporting, and primary documents.
Published in Rappler, Esquire Philippines, One News, several podcasts, and lalarimando.com.
Lala Rimando 