A.M. No. RTJ-20-2579 [Formerly A.M. No. 20-06-75 RTC - Office of the Court Administrator vs. Judge Edralin C. Reyes, Presiding Judge, Branch 43, Regional Trial Court, Roxas City, Oriental Mindoro

On August 8, 2018, the Supreme Court assigned an HP 240 G6 laptop (serial 5CD7525ZNo) to Presiding Judge Edralin C. Reyes of RTC Branch 39, Roxas City. Upon Judge Josephine C. Carranzo’s appointment to that branch, the laptop was transferred to her.
On December 27, 2019, Judge Carranzo returned the laptop to the Court’s Management Information Systems Office (MISO) for repair or replacement. On January 3, 2020, MISO found an iPhone backup on its hard drive. After running iBackup Viewer, MISO recovered SMS/iMessage conversations implicating Judge Reyes in corrupt practices and reported the finding to the Office of the Court Administrator (OCA).

On January 20, 2020, OCA engaged private digital forensic expert Dexter De Laggui, who confirmed the presence of messages showing Judge Reyes soliciting bribes from lawyers, private individuals, and politicians in exchange for favorable court actions.
OCA recommended filing an administrative complaint, preventive suspension of Judge Reyes, a judicial audit of RTC Branches 39, 41, 43, and coordination with the Anti-Money Laundering Council.
On June 9, 2020, the Supreme Court En Banc docketed the matter as A.M. No. RTJ-20-2579 (Office of the Court Administrator vs. Judge Reyes), preventively suspended Judge Reyes, secured court premises, and directed a judicial audit.

Three audit teams examined 20 criminal and civil cases in Branches 39 and 43, confirming that Judge Reyes demanded pocket money (“pabaon”) and bribes for bail reductions, dismissals, plea bargains, and travel permits; they also noted suspicious case dismissals and nine instances of untransferred firearms in convicted‐case records.
A PNP Criminal Investigation & Detection Group report (September 14, 2020) corroborated irregularities and corrupt practices, including the removal of firearms from court custody; it recommended criminal and administrative charges.

The Judicial Integrity Board (JIB) Report (June 22, 2022) itemized numerous messaging exchanges between Judge Reyes and lawyers/litigants (e.g., Atty. Magsino, Atty. Masangkay, Atty. Fetizanan, Mayor Malabanan) arranging bribes, car and firearm gifts, and drafting of decisions.
Judge Reyes filed comments (December 15, 2022; supplemental) contesting privacy violations, alleging tampering of messages, and arguing judicial errors should be corrected by appeal, not administrative sanction.
The JIB’s final recommendation (June 8, 2023) found substantial evidence of gross misconduct, bribery, and mismanagement, and proposed Judge Reyes’s dismissal and disbarment.

Whether retrieving iMessages from a court-issued laptop violated Judge Reyes’s right to privacy, requiring exclusion under the exclusionary rule or fruit-of-the-poisonous-tree doctrine.
Whether data uncovered by judicial audit teams are inadmissible derivatives of any unlawful search.

Whether Judge Reyes committed gross misconduct, simple misconduct, gross ignorance of the law, serious dishonesty, or gross immorality.
What sanctions should be imposed and whether the evidence warrants concurrent criminal/prosecutorial or disciplinary proceedings against Judge Reyes and associated persons.