FIRST Philippine Holdings Corp. (FPH) has been allowed to proceed with its annual stockholders’ meeting (ASM) on July 27 after a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) panel clarified that previous guidance applied only to parties covered by an ongoing court case involving Lopez Inc.
In a disclosure on Friday, the Lopez-led holding company said that it had received a letter dated June 30 letter from the SEC Ad Hoc Committee on Matters Concerning the Lopez Group of Companies.
The letter was said to have stated that guidance previously issued by the SEC’s Markets and Securities Regulation Department and Office of the General Counsel regarding the July 27 meeting applied only to the parties to a case pending before a Mandaluyong regional trial court (RTC) as well as successors, representatives and all persons acting for and on their behalf in Lopez Inc.
The committee also said the stockholders’ meeting may be conducted as scheduled, including the election of directors, provided it is held in a manner consistent with, a March 16, 2026 court order extending a temporary restraining order and directing the issuance of a writ of preliminary injunction.
Under the court order, the defendants in the RTC case, including their successors, representatives and all persons acting on their behalf, were prohibited from replacing Federico “Piki” R. Lopez as an officer, director or corporate representative in any corporation where Lopez Inc. holds shares and exercises voting rights through its president.
The order also prohibited the defendants from committing any act that would render the writ of preliminary injunction “ineffectual, moot or academic.”
First Philippine Holdings said it would coordinate with the SEC committee and seek clarification on the implementation of the guidance in light of the injunction and other pending cases, as well as the deadlines and other regulatory requirements for the July 27 meeting.
The company’s shares on Friday dropped P0.50, or 0.63 percent, to close at P79.50 each.