The Supreme Court (SC) stated that it found no judges involved in the alleged information leak incident during the raid on a Philippine offshore gaming operator (POGO) company in Porac, Pampanga Province last June.
"We conducted a preliminary investigation, but did not obtain positive results regarding the involvement of judges. We indeed investigated this issue," said Chief Justice Alexander Gesmundo.
In June, authorities arrested 58 Chinese, Vietnamese, and Malaysian individuals during the raid on the Porac POGO compound.
However, an official from the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) mentioned that over 1,000 people were expected to be arrested, and there were concerns that information about the operation might have been leaked.
Senator Zhang Qiaowei later stated that the results of the raid indicated that Chinese criminal groups might have influence in the judicial sector.
This prompted the Supreme Court to initiate an investigation into the matter.
According to Gesmundo, no similar incidents have occurred since then.
"After that incident, we have not monitored any other events," he said.
"Because we ensure—I think [Assistant Chief Justice] Midas [Marquez]—has already instructed judges to be very careful when handling applications for search warrants from law enforcement," he added.
The Chief Justice stated that the higher court has warned judges and court staff not to engage in actions that "damage the integrity of the court."
"But I assure you, we constantly warn our court staff and judges not to engage in actions that damage the integrity of the court. This is something we continually remind ourselves of," he said.
