Several judges at the Pasig City Court in the Philippines have recently received anonymous emails threatening that they will be shot during court sessions, causing high alert in the judicial system. The Supreme Court of the Philippines confirmed the threats on July 17 and emphasized that these intimidations are not due to individual cases but may directly target the entire judicial system. The police and cyber security agencies are now involved in the investigation, and the security level of the courts has been upgraded accordingly.
The first threatening email was sent at 3:24 AM on July 16, naming two judges who would be shot during their court appearances that day; hours later, another email claimed that "the gunman is in position" and advised the recipient to leave the court. The emails were signed as "Office of the Spokesperson of the Supreme Court," and it is not yet confirmed whether it is a fake account.
Despite this, the Pasig Court did not interrupt its proceedings that day. The Supreme Court immediately coordinated with the police and the Cybercrime Investigation Bureau to intervene and announced that necessary protection measures would be provided for court personnel. Court spokesperson Camille Ting emphasized that the judges would continue to perform their duties according to law and would not be shaken by intimidation.
The judges who were named in the threats are handling several sensitive cases, including illegal operations of POGO, transnational human trafficking, telecommunications fraud, and illegal detention involving Chinese businessman Guo Huaping, leading to speculation that the threats are related to these cases. However, judicial insiders believe that these threats may be aimed at impacting the overall court system, rather than targeting individual cases.
The Supreme Court has called on the public not to spread unverified speculations and to support the independence of the judicial system in handling cases. Currently, the national police and relevant cyber departments are investigating the source of the emails, not ruling out the possibilities of hacking, internal leaks, or external interference.
