Ex-energy secretary Rene Almendras declines FPH board nomination

Jose Rene Gregory D. Almendras

First Philippine Holdings Corp.’s (FPH) crowded board race has narrowed after former energy secretary Jose Rene Gregory D. Almendras withdrew his nomination ahead of the Sept. 25 stockholders’ meeting.

Almendras had been among five new names nominated to the board and was seeking a seat as an independent director.

FPH, led by Federico "Piki" Lopez, is the family holding firm with direct stakes in First Gen Corp., one of the country’s largest energy producers, and real estate developer Rockwell Land Corp. 

FPH said Almendras formally declined due to “personal circumstances at this time which will not allow him to give the role the attention and commitment it deserves.”

Who is Rene Almendras

• Almendras spent more than two decades with the Ayala Group, holding senior roles across Ayala Corp., Ayala Land and Manila Water, where he served as president and chief operating officer.
• He is currently an independent director of Emperador Inc. and a consultant to Ayala Corp.
• Almendras served as energy secretary, Cabinet secretary and foreign affairs secretary during the Aquino administration and received the Order of Lakandula in 2016.
• He spent 13 years with Citibank and later became president of Aboitiz Group’s City Savings Bank at age 37, and served as president of the Management Association of the Philippines in 2024.

What’s next? 

His withdrawal leaves 17 nominees competing for 15 board seats, meaning at least two candidates will still miss out if the board size remains unchanged.

The other new nominees are Puno Law managing partner Roderico V. Puno, Romulo Law partner Lee Benjamin Z. Lerma, Rayomar president Jose Ramon R. Garcia and Dusit Thani Philippines vice chair and president Evelyn R. Singson.

They join returning nominees Federico R. Lopez, Benjamin R. Lopez, Francis Giles B. Puno, Richard B. Tantoco, Emmanuel Antonio P. Singson, Mercedes Lopez-Vargas, Miguel Ernesto L. Lopez, David O. Chua and Diana V. Pardo-Aguilar, along with independent nominees Stephen T. CuUnjieng, Jaime I. Ayala, Cirilo P. Noel and Cielito F. Habito.

The board vote comes as the Lopez group undergoes an ownership revamp following tycoon Ramon S. Ang’s looming entry into FPH parent Lopez Inc. 

—Edited by Miguel R. Camus