For years, the children of former Meralco chairman Manuel “Manolo” Lopez have helped run Rockwell Land. But they never owned enough shares to actually control it. That power belonged to First Philippine Holdings Corporation (FPH), the giant conglomerate led by their cousin, Federico “Piki” Lopez.
Now, rewind to April 2026. Four of Manolo’s children joined eight other Lopez cousins to publicly challenge Piki’s leadership of Lopez Inc., the family’s main holding company. They were fighting the cousin who chaired the company that controlled Rockwell, the very business they had continued running after the family gave up Meralco in 2009. (READ: The company the Lopezes gave up Meralco for: EDC, from oil crisis child to takeover target)
Seven months later, everything is about to change. On November 12, FPH announced that its board approved selling its controlling stake in Rockwell Land to Crème Investment Corporation, a firm tied to Piki’s cousin, Eugenio “Gabby” Lopez III and his siblings. The price tag: ₱15.92 billion.
Once the deal closes, Rockwell leaves Piki’s FPH group and moves under Gabby’s private firm. Gabby’s side of the family has backed Manolo’s children ever since the third-generation cousins’ feud broke out.
Here is the catch, though: Manolo’s children aren’t the ones buying Rockwell. Gabby is. Their direct ownership in Rockwell remains tiny.