Eugenio Lopez Jr.

Eugenio Moreno López Jr. (4 November 1928 – 29 June 1999), popularly known as Geny López and Kapitan, was the chairman emeritus of ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corporation from 1997 to 1999.

Early life

He was born as Eugenio Moreno López in 1928 in Iloilo City. His parents were Eugenio Lopez Sr., a Chinese-mestizo (Mestizo de Sangley), owner of the publication Manila Chronicle and Chronicle Broadcasting Network, and his mother Pacita Moreno-López. He is a nephew of former Philippine Vice President Fernando Lopez. He took his education at San Beda College, Ateneo de Manila, Virginia Military Institute where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree, and Harvard University where he earned an MBA from Harvard Business School.^[2]

In 1956, he purchased equipment for the radio and television branches of ABS-CBN, which his father owned. He would later lead ABS-CBN as its president, until 1972. His father remained as the chairman of its board of directors as well as its CEO.

Career

Geny as Lopez fondly called, being the eldest child in the family was groomed by Don Eñing to be his successor for his business empire, including ABS-CBN. In doing so, Don Eñing was very hard on him and he worked harder to live up to his father's expectations. At that point, Don Eñing also owned the Manila Electric Company, the biggest power distributor in the country and the Manila Chronicle, a newspaper publishing company. Don Eñing also owned vast haciendas of sugar lands in Western Visayas and a recognized chieftain of businessmen involved in sugar industry.

On 1972, then Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos imposed Martial Law in the country. Soon after that, the Lopezes themselves became victims of Martial Law. In November of that year, two military officers visited Lopez at his Meralco office in Pasig City and invited him to Malacanang Palace, the President's official residence and office. Unknown to him, he was brought instead to the headquarters of the Presidential Security Command within Malacanang compounds. There, he was accused of conspiring with Sergio Osmeña III of attempting to assassinate Marcos. Osmeña, fondly called Serge, was the son of then Senator Sergio Osmeña Jr., a political rival of Marcos in 1969 elections and a grandson of former President Sergio Osmeña. During their incarceration, Serge and Geny became close friends and were soon transferred in the Maximum Security Unit in Fort Bonifacio, the headquarters of the Philippine Army in Makati City.

Eugenio Lopez Jr. Center for Multimedia Education, Ateneo School of Social Sciences

In 1973, with a promise by Marcos to release Lopez on the condition that Don Eñing give up some of his big businesses and turn over such to him, his family and his cronies. Thus, Don Eñing relinquished ownership of these businesses to Marcos. However, Lopez was not released and Don Eñing was double-crossed. Don Eñing died in exile in the United States in 1975.

In November 1974, Lopez embarked on a hunger strike along with Osmeña to protest the unjust detention of thousands of innocent Filipinos. This resulted in the release of 1,022 political prisoners in December 1974. Defiant to the very end, Osmeña and Lopez escaped from their maximum security prison cell in Fort Bonifacio in 1977. They immediately went into exile in the United States.

In exile, they became the directors of the Movement for a Free Philippines, an organization of anti-Marcos Filipinos in the United States that seeks for peaceful restoration of democracy in the Philippines. After the People Power Revolution, he re-acquired ABS-CBN and re-established it to become a prominent media conglomerate in the Philippines.

In 1995, the Gawad Geny Lopez Jr. Bayaning Pilipino Awards was formed by Lopez and his friend Fr. Nilo E. Tanalega, S.J. of UGAT Foundation, Inc., and named after him. The awards was given to the heroes and achievers in the society. In 1996, after grooming his eldest child, Eugenio "Gabby" Lopez III also known as Gabby to be his successor as leader of ABS-CBN, just like his late father did to him before, Geny retired from corporate business life and let Gabby be the chairman/CEO.

His second brother, Oscar took over the leadership of the Lopez Group, which has supervision over the Lopez-owned companies from him and his third brother, Manuel became the chairman and CEO of Meralco, which he previously held.

Death

López died of cancer on June 29, 1999 in Hillsborough, California, six months before the inauguration of the Millennium Transmitter and the new office building and studio annex of ABS-CBN Broadcasting Center. The office building was named in his memory.

In popular culture

López was portrayed by Christopher de Leon in the 1995 film Eskapo.

References