In a per curiam decision, the Court En Banc found Judge Edralin C. Reyes guilty of Gross Misconduct and ordered his dismissal.

Additionally, his retirement and other benefits, except accrued leave credits, were forfeited, and he was perpetually disqualified from re-employment in any branch or agency of the government, including government-owned or controlled corporations.

The High Court also imposed a PHP17,500 fine on Reyes for simple misconduct due to negligence in supervising his court staff, leading to missing firearms, exhibits, and pieces of evidence in court custody.

Judge Reyes was charged when a laptop issued him was found to contain incriminating messages of bribery.

The discovery of the messages was made by the Management Information System Office of the Supreme Court that conducted repairs to a computer that was issued and previously used by the court official.

During a standard examination of the laptop, the MISO found a backup of iPhone messages revealing corrupt practices by Judge Reyes.

This discovery led to the extraction of data from the laptop by a forensic expert hired by the Office of the Court Administrator (OCA). The extracted data included SMS/iMessage conversations, contact information, photos, videos, and iPhone notes.

These messages showed Judge Reyes soliciting bribes from lawyers and private individuals in exchange for favorable actions on cases pending before him.

The investigation revealed frequent communication between Judge Reyes and Atty. Eduardo M. Magsino, Atty. Marlo E. Masangkay, Atty. Lysander Lascano Fetizanan, and Mayor Joselito Malabanan.

Specifically, Judge Reyes borrowed money and asked for “pabaon” or pocket money from Magsino whenever he attended seminars and trainings.

He also asked Masangkay to be his “dummy” in a transaction involving a 900-square-meter lot that he owns, and received money, a car, and guns from private practitioners in exchange for favorable actions.

Subsequent investigations through judicial audits of Branches 39, 41, and 43 of the Oriental Mindoro RTC confirmed Judge Reyes' misconduct.

The audits revealed that he demanded and received bribes in exchange for orders or resolutions granting bail or its reduction, decisions of acquittal, orders granting motion to travel abroad, and orders allowing a plea to a lesser offense.

The audits also uncovered that firearms in nine cases decided by Judge Reyes involving violations of Republic Act No. 10591, or the Comprehensive Firearms and Ammunitions Act, were not turned over to the Philippine National Police.

It was suspected that Judge Reyes and the lawyers he frequently communicated with may have kept the missing firearms after the cases were dismissed.

Further investigation conducted by the Judicial Integrity Board showed that Globe Telecoms confirmed that the mobile phone numbers retrieved from the laptop belong to Judge Reyes, Attys. Magsino, Masangkay, and Fetizanan, and Mayor Malabanan.

In his Comment, Reyes argued that the retrieval of his private mobile phone data from the laptop violated his constitutional right to privacy of correspondence.

He claimed that the messages recovered from his mobile phone were fake, altered, tampered, and unreliable because Judge Josephine C. Carranzo to whom the laptop was transferred, had an axe to grind against him.

The Court, in determining Judge Reyes’ administrative liability, emphasized that a government-issued computer, even if privately controlled, is subject to regulation and monitoring by the government employer.

It ruled that the SMS/iMessage exchanges and the findings of the audit team were admissible as evidence, as there was no violation of Judge Reyes’ right to privacy