ABS-CBN rebuts false claims in Lopez family feud

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April 16, 2026 | 12:00am

MANILA, Philippines —  While it believes that the ongoing Lopez family dispute “should not be fought in public,” media firm ABS-CBN Corp. is not shying away from rebutting false claims and attacks against the company, as it also confirmed that one of its directors proposed the firm’s shut down.

In a statement, ABS-CBN said that public attacks on the company’s pension fund, its business performance as well as its leadership prove that those behind them do not have the best interests of the company at heart.

“This is a family dispute and should remain so. We also believe it should not be fought in public. However, ABS-CBN will not shy away from defending itself and any untruths leveled against it,” it said.

With the series of claims that many of the decisions around the company are not in line with proper stewardship or good investment, ABS-CBN said it is leaving it to the public to decide “whether those actions remain true to the family’s espoused values.”

It clarified, however, that repeated allegations that a P2-billion capital infusion would be used to pay out retirement benefits are false, as this has been refuted by all the board of directors members except one.

The company also said claims that 68 individuals “received preferred treatment” in the payout of their retirement benefits “are repeated lies” and are “designed to sow intrigue among employees.”

“These have been clearly explained to the full ABS-CBN board and to its compensation committee. The majority of these individuals are retirees who have received only partial or no retirement benefits, despite already retiring. They have agreed to voluntarily wait until ABS-CBN’s financial position improves before receiving full payment. They did not get preferential treatment,” the company said.

“In fact, they deferred receipt of payment so that the thousands of employees who were separated from the company received their separation pay in full,” it noted, saying that the remaining unpaid retirement obligation issue was raised with the company’s board late last November.

Contrary to what reports claim, ABS-CBN also said the largest decline in its pension fund was due to payouts to close to 6,000 employees who were retrenched as a result of the franchise loss.

This is proof of ABS-CBN’s commitment to fully meet all its obligations to its employees, it said.

ABS-CBN also confirmed a proposal to shut down the media company.

“Records show that one of our directors proposed shutting down ABS-CBN without so much as discussing how it would meet its obligations to its people. Records also show that the majority of the directors strongly argued for continued financial support for ABS-CBN rather than liquidation to address the welfare of the company’s employees and retirees, as well as its other stakeholders,” the media company said.

The Lopez family majority, representing three branches of the clan, earlier claimed that tycoon Federico “Piki” Lopez, in refusing to fund the network, proposed instead to close down and liquidate ABS-CBN last year.

ABS-CBN admitted that the firm has experienced challenging financial years following the loss of its franchise in 2020, but have shown steady and consistent improvement.

It said that its board of directors and the rest of the Lopez family have commended the company’s progress and emphasized its existence as important to the country.

“These continued public PR attacks against ABS-CBN are a disservice to the employees who have fought so hard to keep ABS-CBN alive, and to the public that has supported ABS-CBN throughout all its trials,” the company said.

“ABS-CBN has been fortunate to have been founded by Kapitan Geny Lopez. We were blessed to have spent time under his leadership and that of his son, Gabby. That leadership continues today through our chairman, Mark Lopez. Each generation has remained true to the values and mission of our founder,” it said.

Members of ABS-CBN’s board of directors earlier said the media company is not a party to an ongoing case involving a dispute within the Lopez family.

The feud involves tycoon Federico “Piki” Lopez, who sits as a director of ABS-CBN, and his cousins, which include Martin Lopez and Rafael Lopez, also members of ABS-CBN’s board.

Aside from Martin and Rafael, the respondents in the case Piki filed also include Eugenio “Gabby” Lopez III, Miguel Ernesto Lopez and Maria Eugenia Brown in their capacities as the directors of Lopez Inc., the ultimate parent firm of all the Lopez Group of companies.