Lopezes slam Enrile for Meralco ‘yarn’

The head of the Lopez conglomerate yesterday took ex-senator and former Marcos defense minister Juan Ponce Enrile to task for "desperately trying to revise history by deodorizing something that is undeniably an asset grab."

Oscar Lopez, son of the late patriarch Eugenio Lopez Sr. who now oversees the family’s concerns, was reacting to Enrile’s assertions the past weeks justifying as legal the sale of Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) to a foundation controlled by the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos during the martial law regime.

The Lopezes have refused to comment on Enrile’s allegations after issuing a statement rectifying the reproaches of the former senator, reputed to be the main implementor of martial law.

But Lopez opened up after Enrile’s latest tirade at the "Kapihan sa Manila Hotel" last Monday.

In 1961, a group of Filipino investors led by Eugenio Lopez Sr. acquired Meralco from its American owners. Under Lopez Sr., Meralco rose to become the country’s largest private corporation, its power rates among the world’s lowest.

In November 1973, Benpres, the holding company of the Lopezes, sold the family’s 5.9 million controlling shares in Meralco, worth around $5.7-million at that time, to the Marcos-controlled Meralco Foundation, at a giveaway price of $1,500 payable in 10 years but depending on the availability of cash flow.

Lopez conceded that on examination of documents, it may seem that his family voluntarily sold Meralco to the Meralco Foundation without coercion or duress.

He stressed, however, that "those legal documents do not reflect the harsh reality that confronted the Lopezes during the martial law period."

"You must look at the reality of the situation in order to understand what really happened to the Lopezes during martial law," the Lopez scion added.

Lopez likened the Meralco sale to a kidnapping situation. His brother, Eugenio "Geny" Lopez Jr., thrown to prison without charges and without trial, was the hostage. Marcos was the kidnap mastermind. Meralco was the ransom which the family paid.

He cited a chronology of events which transpired from 1972 to 1973 showing a "real conspiracy" to force the Lopezes out of Meralco.

Marcos set in play a series of legalistic maneuvers to force the Lopezes to sell out.

The squeeze was kicked off by a big slash in approved rate hike, issuance of a presidential decree vesting the National Power Corp. with a monopoly in power generation and transmission, and a freeze on Meralco loans imposed by the Central Bank.

Lopez Sr. finally surrendered Meralco to Marcos in November 1973 with the assurance that Geny would be released from prison. His namesake was still behind bars when he died of cancer in July 1975.