‘ABS-CBN not a party to Lopez family feud’

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March 30, 2026 | 12:00am

MANILA, Philippines — Members of ABS-CBN Corp.’s board of directors, including Martin Lopez and Rafael Lopez, said the media company is not a party to an ongoing case involving a dispute within the Lopez family.

“Since losing its franchise in 2020, the company has faced challenges unlike any in its history. ABS-CBN has not stopped fighting to ensure its continued existence. It has not stopped serving. The last thing it needs is for its people to be misrepresented in a dispute it is not involved in,” members of ABS-CBN’s board of directors said in a statement.

Aside from Martin (chairman) and Rafael (director), ABS-CBN’s board members who issued the statement include company president and CEO Carlo Katigbak and independent directors Honorio Poblador IV, Emmanuel de Dios and Randolf David.

It did not, however, include Federico “Piki” Lopez, who also sits as a director of ABS-CBN.

Martin and Rafael were among the Lopez family members sued by Piki over his ouster as president of family holding company Lopez Inc.

Piki filed a complaint before the Mandaluyong City Regional Trial Court against his cousins in their capacities as the directors of Lopez Inc.,  which serves as the ultimate parent firm of all the Lopez Group of companies that include Lopez Holdings Corp., First Philippine Holdings Corp., First Gen Corp. and Energy Development Corp.

Aside from Martin and Rafael, the respondents in the case also include Eugenio “Gabby” Lopez III, Miguel Ernesto Lopez and Maria Eugenia Brown.

Piki’s removal as Lopez Inc. president was allegedly due to his refusal to infuse P2 billion in reserve funds from Lopez Inc. as fresh capital for the ailing ABS-CBN.

Piki and his brother Benjamin Lopez, as members of Lopez Inc.’s board, reportedly voted against the use of the reserve funds of their holding company for ABS-CBN, because of what they considered “unresolved audit findings” at ABS-CBN.

“We, however  wish to address two claims attributed to court records. First, on the claim of ‘unresolved audit findings.’ There were no audit findings. There is nothing to resolve. This claim is unfounded. Second, on the claim that the proposed capital infusion could go to ‘payouts for certain executives.’ No such payouts have been made. No such payouts are planned. This claim is equally baseless,” the statement issued by the members of ABS-CBN’s board of directors said.

“Serving the Filipino is not without its challenges. But it is also a mission worth standing up for and ensuring that it remains untarnished by allegations.  We, the members of the board of directors, continue to support ABS-CBN management in its mission to serve the Filipino people,” it said.