Former Supreme Court Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno on Tuesday showed how to deal with hateful comments online, issuing a "fair warning" to a Marcos supporter that his actions have legal consequences before accepting his apology.
Sereno, who was ousted on the efforts of President Rodrigo Duterte's solicitor general, uses Facebook to counter pro-Marcos claims, mixing Bible verses with election pointers and Supreme Court rulings on the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos and his family.
She shared a screenshot of a comment from Facebook user Orly Gracia, who dared her on rough language to prove her claims against the Marcos family, whose scion, Ferdinand Jr. or Bongbong, is running for president in 2022. "Ipakita mo kundi busalan ko bungangan mo gaga," the comment read.
Sereno captioned the screenshot: "Ang pagbabanta mo ay labag sa batas. Pag-iisipan ko, kung sulit na itigil ko panandalian ang ginagawa ko para magka-oras sa paghain ng kaukulang reklamo. Anuman ang magiging desisyon ko, fair warning ito sa iyo."
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Garcia later apologized, with the words SORRY in all caps, in a private message to Sereno which she accepted. There's hope for Filipinos to set aside hate online, she said.
"Ang mga bagay-bagay po na nakakabahala sa atin ay maaaring mapag-usapan. Ngunit mahalaga na makuha muna ang tamang impormasyon bago lumundag sa konklusyon. Ang mga pananaw ko po sa pamilyang Marcos ay hinubog ng dekadang pagmamasid at pag-aaral ng mga ebidensya at dokumento," Sereno said.
Sereno said she would no longer take legal action against Garcia.
"Ikwekwento ko na lang po itong usapan natin bilang ehemplo ng reconciliation na maaaring mangyari sa mga kapwa-Pilipino," she told Gracia.
"Kung nakita ko po na sukdulan ang kasamaan na gustong ipalaganap, kikilos po ako, gaya ng paghahayag ng mga desisyon na naghahatol ng nakaw na yaman, na itinatanggi ng pamilya Marcos. Kaya ko naman po ipaliwanag lahat ng kuro-kuro ko at analysis sa facts," she said.
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