Spanning a media conglomerate that brought to millions of Filipinos opioids like Ang Probinsyano, the well-loved tearjerker Maala Mo Kaya, famous celebrities like Anne Curtis; a once-upon-a-time power monopoly; a water utility company and many other businesses including the now forgotten BayanTel, the Lopez business empire used to be the most powerful conglomerate in the country.
Now its media giant ABS-CBN is crippled without a franchise, years after the group was forced to sell Manila Electric Co., its most lucrative business for a time.
One of its stalwarts, former Philippine ambassador to Japan Manuel “MML” Lopez, has passed away and was laid to rest on Tuesday. Young and old celebrities and singers and diplomats flocked to his wake.
His elder brother, the 92-year-old chairman emeritus Oscar Lopez, is semi-retired and no longer very visible to the public.
MML, too, has long been semi-retired but his death puts the spotlight on the once sprawling empire and its future in an increasingly competitive and complicated business landscape.
Through the decades, the business community witnessed the Lopez empire’s rise and fall – and more cycles of rising and falling.
What happens next for the Lopezes under the second Marcos administration?
To look at what the future holds for the empire, it is important to revisit its past.
From Marcos Sr.’s ally to bitter enemy
Its story started with its patriarch Don Eugenio Lopez Sr., born in Iloilo in 1901. He was generally reckoned before martial law to be the wealthiest man in the Philippines. It’s been said that their family was deemed to have wielded more power than any Filipino president ever had, at least before the era of Ferdinand Marcos Sr.
The don was the definition of oligarchy and was a patriarchal figure who was never shy about displaying his wealth.
Says The New York Times in a 1975 article:
“When he and his wife celebrated their golden anniversary, champagne bubbled from an ornamental fountain. His political interests were similarly displayed in the pages of a newspaper, The Manila Chronicle, that was counted among his lesser assets.”
For decades, indeed, the Lopez clan was among the country’s richest but the empire’s destiny – and power – were intertwined with that of Ferdinand Marcos Sr.’s.
Don Eugenio was once upon a time Marcos’ patron, supporting his political career until they had a falling out.
Many believe that Marcos would not have risen to power without the support of Don Eugenio. But because of their falling out, Marcos would play a role in the Lopez family’s reversal of fortunes.
Roller-coaster
Martial law was the beginning of a roller-coaster journey for the Lopez clan and their business interests. They lost Manila Chronicle, Meralco and ABS-CBN, among others, and Eugenio Lopez Jr., Don Eugenio’s eldest son, was arrested.
Don Eugenio’s second son Oscar Lopez said in 2006 in a speech before the Management Association of the Philippines:
“This was mainly due to the strong stand which my father and his newspaper, The Manila Chronicle, took against the graft and corruption of the Marcos regime.”
After the Marcos era, the Lopezes were able to regain control of Meralco, the empire’s crown jewel but Meralco would later become a curse of sorts for the group as it was always the reason for political attacks against the Lopezes.
Eventually, in 2008, the Lopezes were forced to relinquish its controlling stake in Meralco, a decision which to this day continues to be at the center of debates. Many believe the Lopezes made that fatal mistake when it gave up Meralco, although it seemed the only option for the group at the time.
It was said to have caused a temporary rift between patriarch Oscar Lopez and his younger brother MML, who did not want to give up Meralco.
And just when the group thought nothing could be worse than losing Meralco, Rody Duterte went after the franchise of ABS-CBN.
The once mighty media giant had fallen.
Today, the roller-coaster ride continues. Under the second Marcos administration, there’s no telling what will happen next.
Recalled Oscar in that 2006 speech: “After my father died in San Francisco in 1975, the whole story of the Lopez business could have ended and died with him. And yet, after the martial law debacle, the family business managed to come back bigger and stronger than ever, primarily because my father had three sons whom he had trained well and who worked with him in all his companies.”
He was referring to his brother Eugenio or Geny, himself and MML.
Seventeen years later, and with the passing of MML, Oscar is now the only living son of Don Eugenio.
Third generation leader Federico “Piki” Lopez, Oscar’s second son, is now the one steering the ship as chairman of the group’s listed holding company First Philippine Holdings.
Piki is said to have been trained well by Oscar in business but his expertise is in power and not in media, say industry observers.
The company’s power business First Gen Corp. may also be in for a rough time when Malampaya runs out of gas in the next five years or so, sources said.
Some expected Geny Lopez’s son Gabby to be the third generation leader but he had a falling out with Duterte and thus eventually had to resign from ABS-CBN.
Will the third generation Lopez leaders be able to lead the business group for a strong comeback? Only time will tell. For now, what is obvious is that the Lopez empire is no longer the mammoth conglomerate that it used to be.
* * *
Email: eyesgonzales@gmail.com. Follow her on Twitter @eyesgonzales. Column archives at EyesWideOpen on FB.