Most people are probably not aware of this, but the recent hullabaloo over the denial of a broadcast franchise for ABS-CBN Corp. is actually the second franchise-related scandal since last year to have the Lopez surname attached to it.
Since 1996, the Lopez Group, through its investment arm First Philippine Holdings Corp. (FPH) — whose core business is the group’s energy-sector interests — has owned a 30-percent stake in the Panay Electric Co. (PECO), which, until relatively recently, was the sole electricity distributor for Iloilo City and three neighboring municipalities. Founded in 1923, PECO has been the main business of the Cacho family since 1927.