Federico 'Piki' Lopez has formally requested the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to investigate top officials of ABS-CBN Corp. He alleges misuse of company resources and financial reporting discrepancies.
In a verified complaint submitted on May 6, Lopez accused ABS-CBN chair Martin 'Mark' Lopez, president Carlo Katigbak, and chief financial officer Ricardo Tan of breaching the Revised Corporation Code and the Securities Regulation Code.
Lopez, who is a board member of ABS-CBN, claims that management has been involved in systemic fraud and misrepresentation, leading to severe financial losses.
Allegations of Financial Mismanagement
The complaint states that ABS-CBN incurred net losses of approximately ₱45.5 billion from 2020 to 2025, resulting in a deficit of ₱6 billion by the end of 2025. Despite these losses, Lopez alleges that the company continued to pay excessive compensation packages to executives.
In a flagrant display of bad faith and/or gross negligence, ABS-CBN has continuously paid exorbitant amounts of money to management and other corporate officers booked as compensation packages or advances amidst billions in net losses.
Piki Lopez's Complaint
The complaint also highlights concerns regarding bonuses that were allegedly reclassified to obscure the actual amounts received by executives during financially troubled years.
Lopez questions ₱12.1 billion worth of property purchases made despite the company's significant losses, as well as irregularities in reporting by subsidiaries, which included questionable dividend declarations.
Call for Forensic Audit
Lopez has requested the SEC to appoint an independent management committee to conduct a forensic audit of ABS-CBN's finances. This comes amid a broader family dispute over leadership within the Lopez business empire.
As of now, ABS-CBN has not publicly responded to the allegations made by Lopez.